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English requirements for admission

Students who are applying for admission to Luther College are required to complete an online language test via SKYPE. Students who complete grades 10, 11 and 12 at Luther are not required to write an English entrance examination in order to enter university.

LUTHER COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL ESL PROGRAM 2011 - 12

Purpose of ESL at Luther College

The objective of ESL at Luther College is to ensure students have the requisite comprehension of the English language to study at our school. The expectations at Luther College are designed to prepare students for success at the post secondary institution of their choice.  Luther College has an excellent reputation for preparing students well for post secondary studies.

Thus, students coming to Luther with a credit in English for example from another institution may not be able to succeed in our regular English classes.  The same applies to other humanities classes such as History and Christian Ethics.

As a result we now test all international students through Skype to measure their English comprehension skills.  Based on that assessment we place students in the appropriate level of ESL, or mainstream classes.

Luther College will be offering an ESL summer program at our university campus for students eager to improve their English comprehension prior to commencement of the academic year beginning in 2012.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL 

1. This program is for students needing to develop the requisite skills to participate in most of the academic program at Luther. 

2.  Intermediate students will meet daily with a private teacher assigned by Luther to work on their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. 

3.  Furthermore students will also meet in small groups (2 – 4 students per group) daily.  This will provide students with two full classes per day of ESL support to help ease their transition to our school.

4. Students will not be registered for humanities classes while in Intermediate level ESL.  The humanities include English, History, and Christian Ethics.  Furthermore students will not be able to study Science, or any language other than Latin. 

5.  Students are expected to display the requisite skills to study at the ESL Advanced level to pass the ESL Intermediate program.  To pass this Intermediate Level course students are required to achieve a grade of 75% or more.  

ADVANCED LEVEL

1. This program is for students needing to develop the requisite skills to participate in a full academic program at Luther. 

2.  Advanced level ESL students will attend a class specific for their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills daily. 

3.  In addition to the one daily class students will attend two weekly private tutoring sessions at an arranged time with an ESL teacher assigned by Luther.

4.  Students at this level will be registered in a grade nine English class in order to experience the expectation of humanities classes at Luther College.

5.  Students will not be permitted to study other humanities classes at this level.  These include History and Christian Ethics.

6.  Students are expected to receive a grade of 75% or more in order to pass this course and move into the Higher level ESL program.

HIGHER LEVEL

1. This program is for students ready to participate more fully in the academic program at Luther with considerations for their level of English comprehension.

2. Students at this level will meet in small groups (3 – 6 per group) daily.

3.  Students at this level will be registered to study English, and Christian Ethics. Students may be registered in a maximum of two humanities classes per term while studying Higher Level ESL with no more than one class in each subject.

4. Students who receive special permission from their Advanced ESL and English Nine teacher may also register for History, allowing them to take three humanities classes in total.

5. Students at this level will be expected to maintain an overall average of 60%, and pass all classes they are registered in to complete this final level of ESL program. 

6. Students are expected to receive a grade of 75% or more in order to pass this the Higher-level ESL program.  This will include student preparation for small group sessions and their Opportunities for Practice (OFP) work throughout the semester.

BEGINNER

1.  Students who test at this level will not be accepted into Luther College.  These students lack the requisite skills to function at Luther College not only academically but also in daily life.  Students may reapply at a later date but must reach an Intermediate level to be able to function and study at our high school campus.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER

All students planning to graduate from Luther College are required to study one Christian Ethics’ class per year of study at Luther.  Exceptions are possible if students have recognized credits in Christian Ethics at another institution prior to attending Luther College.

OFP – Opportunities for Practice, is a portion of the ESL program that measures student integration into the community at Luther.  Students are evaluated on their “practice” efforts to be involved in the co – curricular and community life at Luther College.  For example, students will benefit by joining an athletic team, student club, or participating in the school’s annual musical, these are just a few of the many options where students have opportunities to practice their English.

Student attendance is critical and will be a determining factor in whether or not students pass into either the next level of ESL or graduate from the ESL program.