English As a Second Language (ESL)

“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”
– Frank Smith, psycholinguist

The goal of the ESL Program at Pillar College is to help non-English speakers improve their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Upon successful completion of the program, students are expected to be adequately prepared for English-only college courses and pursue their bachelor’s degrees at Pillar College or any other four-year college in the United States.

The ESL Program consists of two types of programs:

ESL BLEND and ESL TRAD,  correlated to the Common European Framework (CEFR), merge the best features of well-known communicative methodologies while offering a balance of all four language skills, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar to help students learn to communicate with confidence.

All new students are required take the ESL Placement Test in order to be placed into the appropriate level. Students who score 78 and above are exempted from the ESL Program. Other exemptions include TOEFL iBT (78 or higher) or IELTS (6.0 or higher). Official TOEFL / IELTS score reports must be submitted prior to the beginning of a semester.

At the end of the ESL Program, students must take the ESL Exit Test that determines whether they may transition to our traditional program and begin to take English-only courses. Students are also encouraged to take TOEFL or IELTS if they plan on transferring to another institution. 

Fall 2017 Schedule

• ESL BLEND (Newark / Paterson / Somerset)
  Monday & Wednesday 6:00pm – 8:15pm (NWK & SOM)
  Tuesday & Thursday 6:00pm – 8:15pm (PAT)
• ESL TRAD (Somerset)
  Monday & Tuesday 3:15pm – 5:30pm and Wednesday 3:15pm – 5:45pm

For more information, please contact Magdalena Luna, M.A. (ESL Director) at 973-803-5000 ext.1102 or mluna@pillar.edu