On This Page
- Community ESL at Cornell
- Cornell International Teaching Assistant Program
- English for International Students and Scholars
- ESL Programs at Tompkins County Public Library
- Language Expansion Program - Language Corners
- Open Doors English
- T-S-T BOCES English as a Second Language Program
- Return to the ELSO homepage
Additional English Language Support
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Cornell University and other local organizations offer support for writing and speaking in English, which is available to all community members.
Community ESL at Cornell
Community ESL at Cornell is a conversation program, mainly for spouses of international graduate students and visiting scholars. There is a small fee charged for each course. This program has been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but watch their blog for announcements as things open up again.
Cornell International Teaching Assistant Program
The Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) International Teaching Assistant Program (ITAP) works with international teaching assistants (ITAs) to meet required levels of oral English proficiency for teaching assignments. The program helps ensure that ITAs have a successful teaching experience. All programs are being offered remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about CTI and ITAP, click here.
English for International Students and Scholars
Offered by the Cornell School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, this program provides courses that focus on English as well as social, academic, and cultural orientation to US academic environments. The courses are non-credit, charge a fee, and are available to anyone who'd like to take it (including spouses of graduate students, exchange students, visiting scholars, and post-docs). To learn more about English for International Students and Scholars, click here.
ESL Programs at Tompkins County Public Library
The Tompkins County Public Library offers ESL Talk Time and, in the spring, hosts Lifelong's Advanced English as a Second Language classes, all for free. These programs have been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but watch the TCPL event calendar for announcements as things open up again.
Language Expansion Program - Language Corners
The Language Expansion Program is a program of Cornell's Public Service Center. Through weekly Language Corners, the LEP provide a welcoming, encouraging, and fun environment for students to gather and practice their target languages. Some common ones include English, Spanish, Japanese, French, and German. Run entirely by students, participants converse in their target languages in a casual setting and learn from each other. All levels are welcome, and students may drop by any session at any time. LEP's goal is to provide this resource to the Cornell and Ithaca community to promote cultural understanding and language exchange. The Language Corners will be conducted entirely online throughout Fall 2020.
Open Doors English
Open Doors English provides affordable, comprehensive English classes, to empower students to live fuller lives, and to build richer community connections. Classes are organized by students’ levels of English proficiency, and are available during different times of the day, with all being offered remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about Open Doors English, contact Hilary Boyer at hboyer.ode@gmail.com, by phone at (607) 319-5051, or vist the website (opendoorsenglish.org).
T-S-T BOCES English as a Second Language Program
Funded by the New York State Education Department, the T-S-T BOCES ESL Program offers classes that focus on the English language skills needed for work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all ESL classes are being offered remotely. There is a registration fee. To learn more about events at T-S-T BOCES, click here.