Kirkwood’s English Language Acquisition (ELA) course of study offers many opportunities for you to practice your English speaking and writing skills. A Kirkwood education can help prepare you for a better career or get you ready to transfer to a four-year institution.
All courses are taught in English, which helps prepare you for further study at Kirkwood. Additionally, studying English helps non-native speakers improve their employment and promotion opportunities.
English - Next Steps Français - Prochaines Étapes Español - Próximos Pasos
الخطوات التالية - عربى 中國 - 下一步 Tiếng Việt - Bước Tiếp Theo
| English as a Second Language (ESL) | English Language Acquisition (ELA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free/no tuition | Tuition (limited financial assistance available) | |
| Non-credit | Earn elective college credit | |
| Beginner/advanced classes available | Beginner/advanced classes available | |
| Classes cover all skills — enroll in one class at a time | Classes focus on one skill — enroll in multiple classes at a time | |
| 90-minute classes, 4 days per week | Classes available 5 days per week | |
| 7-week classes start in July, September, October, January, and March | 16-week classes start in August and January; summer classes start in May and July | |
| Learn academic and workforce-based language skills | Learn academic English for college | |
| Personalized instruction | Personalized instruction | |
| Small class sizes | Small class sizes | |
| Highly qualified instructors | Highly qualified instructors | |
| Pathway navigation assistance | Pathway navigation assistance |
In-person
Zoom
Talon (Not Zoom)
If you plan to apply for financial aid, do so as soon as possible by filling out the FAFSA.
If you have questions, call Sharon 319-398-5668 on the Cedar Rapids campus. In Iowa City, call Mohamed Joreya at 319-887-3628. You can also email ELA@kirkwood.edu.
Each student must make TWO appointments for placement. Choose your prefence of hybrid in-person and online testing, or online only testing below. Each option contains an online portion that is taken at home on your own computer.
1. Cedar Rapids Campus: In-Person + Online
Grammar/Reading/Writing at Cedar Rapids Test Center and Listening/Speaking Online Test
2. Iowa City Campus: In-Person + Online
Grammar/Reading/Writing at Iowa City Test Center and Listening/Speaking Online Test
3. All Online Testing:
Reading/Writing/Grammar Online Test and Listening/Speaking Online Test
You will take four to five classes at each ELA level and gain proficiency in these areas:
Summer Term
MONDAY
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. | Iryna Hasnikova | Zoom link (Meeting ID: 974 5445 7879 Passcode: 163803)
TUESDAY
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. | Iryna Hasnikova | Zoom link (Meeting ID: 974 5445 7879 Passcode: 163803)
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Sofia Chesney | in Language Lab Cedar Hall 3010
WEDNESDAY
2:30 – 3:35 p.m. | Iryna Hasnikova | Zoom link (Meeting ID: 974 5445 7879 Passcode: 163803)
THURSDAY
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Sofia Chesney | in Language Lab Cedar Hall 3010
SUNDAY
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Sofia Chesney | Zoom link (Meeting ID: 915 698 8268)
The Language Lab is located in 3010 Cedar Hall, on the main campus. It is open during tutoring hours.
Kirkwood offers the following courses in ELA. While ELA courses do not transfer to other colleges and universities, two of the Level 5 bridge classes, which count as 6 elective credits, and the Kirkwood speech requirement, do transfer.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-002 | L1 Reading and Writing | 6 |
| ESI-003 | L1 Listening and Speaking | 6 |
| Total Credits | 12 |
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-024 | L2 Reading and Writing | 6 |
| ESI-027 | L2 Listening and Speaking | 6 |
| Total Credits | 12 |
NOTE: Level 2 and 3 students may take an optional L2/L3 Keyboarding class for 1 credit.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-039 | L3 Listening Skills, Conversation, and Culture | 3 |
| ESI-040 | L3 Phonetics and Pronunciation | 3 |
| ESI-042 | L3 Reading and Vocabulary | 3 |
| ESI-038 | L3 ELA Grammar | 4 |
| ESI-037 | L3 ELA Writing | 2 |
| Total Credits | 15 |
Note: Level 2 and 3 students may take an optional L2/L3 Keyboarding class for 1 credit.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-062 | L4 Culture and Conversation | 3 |
| ESI-069 | L4 Presentations | 3 |
| ESI-068 | L4 Reading and Vocabulary | 3 |
| ESI-064 | L4 ELA Grammar | 3 |
| ESI-063 | L4 ELA Writing | 3 |
| Total Credits | 15 |
NOTE: Level 4 and Level 5 students may take an optional math vocabulary course for one credit.
Level 5 Bridge Classes
Level 5 ELA students take four classes. Of these classes, two are bridge classes. These classes are taught in the same way as other credit courses, which allows students to practice their new skills and gauge their capacity for success after leaving ELA coursework.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-090 | L5 Culture and Conversation | 3 |
| RDG-130 | Effective Reading Strategies | 3 |
| ENG-101 | Elements of Writing | 3 |
| ESI-072 | Fundamentals of English Grammar | 3 |
| Total Credits | 12 |
NOTE: Level 4 and Level 5 students may take an optional math vocabulary course for 1 credit.
NOTE: Level 5 students may take an optional Health Care Communications course for three credits.
| Elizabeth Baertlein | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Instructor, ELA | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-5899 ext. 5152 319-398-4998 |
|||||
| Office: | 3020 Cedar Hall | |||||
| Education: | B.A.; St. Mary’s University, M.A.; St. Cloud State University | |||||
| Bio: | Betsy Baertlein teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) courses and has completed her master’s degree in teaching English as a second language at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, her bachelor’s degree in English at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. She has completed additional graduate coursework in the Language, Literacy and Culture doctorate program at The University of Iowa and her research interests include critical pedagogy and language learner identities. Betsy is a dedicated bicycle commuter and can be seen biking to campus in all weather. | |||||
| Ryan Dehner | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Associate Professor, ELA | |||||
| Phone: | 319-887-3957 | |||||
| Office: | Room 343 Iowa City Campus | |||||
| Education: | B.A.; University of Wyoming, M.A.; University of Iowa | |||||
| Bio: | Ryan has experience teaching world languages at the K-12, community college, university, and federal government level. Before Kirkwood, he taught Spanish at Laramie High School, supervised student teachers at The University of Iowa, and trained language teachers at the Defense Language Institute's Instructor Development Branch. He has resided in England, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and explored many parts of Europe, Central and South America, Australia, the Middle East, South-Central Asia, and Africa. His professional interests involve teacher mentoring, building cross-cultural understanding, working with refugee populations, L2 curriculum design, L2 methodologies, competency-based learning, and oral proficiency assessment. Ryan teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) courses. | |||||
| Esperanza Muñoz Pérez | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Professor | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-4998 | |||||
| Office: | 1019 Cedar Hall | |||||
| Education: | B.A. and M.A.; University of Iowa | |||||
| Bio: | Esperanza, a native of Spain, arrived in Iowa City in 1994 after living previously in Scotland and in the Pacific. Her passion for history, culture, and language was richly rewarded while working with 18th-century Spanish documents for the Micronesian Research Center at the University of Guam. All aspects of language intrigue her, whether related to her experience as an interpreter and translator or as a language professor for the last 16 years. Her love for Romance languages led her to study Latin, Portuguese, Italian, French language and Literature, as well as Medieval Spanish Literature. The intricacies of language have always been an important part of her academic and personal life. Esperanza teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes. | |||||
| Carlos Ortega-Amparán | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Assistant Professor, ELA | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-5988 ext. 5830 319-398-4998 |
|||||
| Office: | 3019 Cedar Hall | |||||
| Bio: | Carlos teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes. | |||||
| Olga Petrova | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Professor | |||||
| Phone: | 319-887-3952 | |||||
| Office: | Room 253 Iowa City Campus | |||||
| Education: | M.A.; English and German, Russian Pedagogical State University, St. Petersburg, Russia, M.A.; TESOL, University of Northern Iowa, Ph.D.; Linguistics, University of Iowa | |||||
| Bio: | Over the years, Olga has taught English and Linguistics at various levels to many audiences (high school, teacher-training university, adult foreign-languages program in Russia; undergraduate and graduate ESL and linguistics, Iowa Intensive English Program (IIEP) and Teaching Assistant Preparation Program (TAPE) at the University of Iowa). Olga has been teaching composition, linguistics, and ELA classes for Kirkwood Community College since 2002, as well as occasional linguistics classes at the University of Iowa. In the last few years, Olga has been teaching English Language Acquisition grammar, reading, and writing. | |||||
| Colleen Schmitt | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Instructor | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-5899 ext. 5989 319-398-4998 |
|||||
| Office: | 3024 Cedar Hall | |||||
| Education: | B.A.; Luther College, M.A.; Hamline University | |||||
| Bio: | Colleen holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from Luther College and earned an M.A. in ESL with an adult learner emphasis from Hamline University. Prior to joining International Programs, Colleen coordinated Kirkwood’s noncredit ESL program in Iowa City. Her professional interests include advocacy for English Language Learners and best practices for teaching students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Colleen is a licensed K-12 educator and taught high school English, Spanish, and ELL for several years. She has studied in Chile, Spain, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Mexico and has led service-learning trips for American students abroad. | |||||
Make an appointment for a Zoom meeting with our ELA advisor.
Global Learning Cedar Rapids / ELA & English Language Learners
3051 Cedar Hall
319-398-5668
ela@kirkwood.edu
Global Learning Cedar Rapids Main Campus
1154 Linn Hall
319-398-5579
international@kirkwood.edu
Global Learning Iowa City Campus
Room 101
319-887-3628
international@kirkwood.edu