What is the Basic English program?

The noncredit Basic English program at Columbus State began in 2000 in response to needs expressed by the College’s Admissions office and Modern Languages departments. The influx of refugees, particularly those from East African countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, had created a need for an ESL program that was more basic than the college-level (credit-bearing) developmental ESL program. Basic English was created to help refugee and immigrant students gain the language, literacy and cultural skills they needed to achieve their educational and career goals.

The Basic English program consists of a six-level series of core courses and a number of optional courses. Students take a placement test upon entering the program and take a test at the end of each level to determine if they have made the progress necessary to move to the next level of coursework.

Noncredit Basic English courses are presented in two ways. First, there are open-enrollment courses that take place on one of Columbus State’s campuses and at off-site locations, as needed. Also, specialized Basic English courses (e.g., workplace literacy for low-income immigrants/refugees) are frequently offered through grants or contract-funded programs.

Since 2000, there have been over 8,600 enrollments in the noncredit open-enrollment Basic English courses. When this number is added to the number who have taken basic English literacy courses that have been provided through grants and contracts, there have been nearly 10,000 enrollments over the past nine years.