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ESL Meets DSL
5/29/2001
Beginning this summer, Contra Costa College will offer college credit for online courses in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) through GlobalEnglish's Web site. Students, who can enroll at Contra Costa from anywhere in the world, will take their courses entirely through GlobalEnglish. Kalkstein Fragiadakis believes this is the first complete college credit program for online ESL study. Elisabeth Xiezopolski, an instructor at Contra Costa, will be the departmental contact person and "e-teacher," and will host the Contra Costa/GlobalEnglish chat room. The courses are all self-paced and require an online final exam. Contra Costa will make as many campus resources available to the online students as possible, including access to the library's database, as well as an online copy of the student newspaper.
Xiezopolski will conduct regular office hours, timed, she says, "to be most beneficial to my students, wherever they happen to be located." Xiezopolski is excited about her new role as an e-teacher. "I'm looking forward to expanding and learning along with my students. It's a great way to have contact with people from all over the world," she says. The course material offers real benefits, she notes. "GlobalEnglish's site gives ESL students quick and easy access to news, and it's fresh all the time. It's really exciting material to work with."
The for-credit online ESL program begins June 25. Helen Kalkstein Fragiadakis will continue to offer "English through the Internet" to on-campus students in coming semesters.
For more information, contact Helen Kalkstein Fragiadakis at hkalkstein@contracosta.cc.ca.us or Elisabeth Xiezopolski at exiezopolski@contra costa.cc.ca.us.
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