Request Information
Ready to find out what MSU Denver can do for you? We’ve got you covered.
Have Questions? We have answers.
Contact UsHow to support students as they develop their academic language skills
As educators, we want to make sure that students learn and can apply what we present in our classrooms and labs. We also want to make sure that students who are developing their academic-level English can do so effectively as they work towards their college degree. Please refer to the resources below or check in with Immigrant Services staff (make an appointment here) to talk though your concerns, questions, or ideas.
Three departments provide writing & language development support.
- Writing Center
- The MSU Denver Writing Center can help with any writing assignment, at any stage of the writing process. They support writers across all writing levels and in any discipline, and they help with summary/response papers, journals, case studies, research projects, collaborative projects, digital projects, resumes, applications, presentations, and more.
- Tutoring Center
- Available both virtually and in person, MSU Denver’s Tutoring Center is a great place to meet with a tutor individually or as a group to review and practice academic subjects and reading/writing assignments.
- Immigrant Services Program
-
The Immigrant Services Program offers:
- Academic + ESL Tutoring
- Assist you in advocating for yourself and for language access
- Personalized language development goals for every semester
- Peer mentorship
-
- Emily Griffith Technical College offers several different types of English language programs, either free or at a low cost. You can register for the classes based on your needs, and you can take English classes either with a focus on career and professional readiness, or to prepare for college.
- Located in Aurora, New America College offers day-time & evening in-person English classes for personal, academic, and professional growth. Click here to learn more.
- The Community College of Denver’s English Language Learning for College and Career program offers students a holistic and student-centered approach to improving English-language acquisition. The ESL program offers pre-college Community ESL classes as well as career- and workplace-focused language instruction. More information can be found here.
- The Plaza Program, offered by Denver Public Libraries, provides an open & free space for immigrants from all over the world connect with resources and meet new people. Whatever you’re doing, Plaza Immigrant Services can help, and it is also a great place to practice basic, natural conversation and listening skills.
- The Community ESL program at the Community College of Aurora offers 6 English classes based on your skills, covering listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a single class. These courses are non-credit, and are offered at a low cost at the Aurora Language Center.
- The English Learning Center in Denver offers English language instruction to all students who would like to learn English, from beginners to advanced students. The school has been in existence for 16 years, and offers affordable, engaging instruction and practice opportunities.
Generally, accommodations are specific processes through which students with different ability levels access learning and/or demonstrate knowledge. Commonly, such accommodations (whether short- or long-term) are only provided through the Access Center, and faculty and staff must closely follow those adjustments to a student’s learning environment.
Language learning or “ESL” status alone is NOT grounds for an accommodation, and a student who is not yet equipped with the language to succeed in your classroom cannot request an accommodation based solely on being an English Language Learner.
That said, instructors can offer resources or adjustments to a student so that they can show mastery of the subject. It is important that those measures offered to the student are both meaningful, practical, and fair. Such potential adjustments could include:
- Additional time on an exam or in-class reading
- Allowing the use of limited translation tools (e.g., a dictionary)
- Allowing for multi-modal examinations (e.g., a verbal presentation in place of an essay)
Whether an adjustment is appropriate and should be offered depends entirely on the instructor’s assessment of the situation.
Some of the Immigrant Services’ staff have experience teaching or learning English as a Second Language, and we will gladly work with you and the student to determine what might be good options.