The ELS program is a regular academic program and is open only to matriculated MIT students.
Our grade- and credit-bearing classes meet according to the MIT academic calendar and involve homework and exams. Our curriculum is designed for non-native English speakers to foster effective communication in a variety of academic and professional contexts. Any bilingual/ESL undergraduate or graduate student earning a degree at MIT can register for an ELS subject.
Current Semester Language Brochure containing advisor, staff, subject schedule and upcoming schedule information.
Information on the English Evaluation Test for accepted, incoming international graduate students.
Students from outside the MIT community are NOT accepted in the ELS program.
See the links below for resources at MIT for language study and for ESL programs in the metro-Boston area:
Spring 2021
All 21G subjects in Spring 2021 will be offered remotely, with synchronous class meetings in Zoom.
21G.219/220 Foundations of Academic and Professional Writing
21G.222 Expository Writing for Bilingual Students*
*Section 1 Meets MW 7:30-9 AM Eastern Time; Section 2 meeting TR 1-2:30 PM Eastern TIme
21G.223/224 Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation
21G.225/226 Advanced Workshop in Writing for Science and Engineering
21G.227/228 Advanced Workshop in Writing for Social Sciences and Architecture
21G.232/233 Advanced Speaking and Critical Listening Skills
21G.240 Imagining English: Creative Writing for Bilingual Students
Looking ahead
Fall 2021
21G.219/220 Foundations of Academic and Professional Writing
21G.222 Expository Writing for Bilingual Students
21G.223/224 Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation
21G.225/226 Advanced Workshop in Writing for Science and Engineering
21G.232/233 Advanced Speaking and Critical Listening Skills
21G.222 (undergraduate only) Enrollment limited to 15 for pedagogical reasons. Preference is given to students required to take the class according to the results of the FEE. If space allows, other undergraduate bilingual undergraduates may register, with preference given to ELS concentrators and other pre-registered students. (Undergraduates who have successfully completed 21G.222 or another CI-HW subject may not take 21G.220.)
All other ELS subjects: Preference will be given to undergraduates required to take the class and graduate students recommended for the class based on the results of the current school year’s English Evaluation Test (EET). Priority will then go, in descending order, to ELS concentrators, students recommended in previous years, other pre-registered graduate students, and other matriculated graduate students.”
MIT’s English Language Studies (ELS): FAQs
Q: Aren’t all entering MIT students proficient in English?
A: “Proficiency” is a tricky term. Students who have some proficiency in English conversation or general writing and perform well on standardized assessments of general English, such as the TOEFL exam, are frequently unprepared for academic communication in US higher education.
Q: Why does MIT have English language subjects?
A: Academic language competency is a cognitive, cultural and disciplinary process that takes place over time with instruction and support.
Academic and professional communication differs from the fundamental language study that many new MIT students have undertaken. MIT students are required to start participating actively in this communication intensive environment from the moment they arrive on campus. They will be making presentations, participating in teamwork and meetings, proposing and writing up research, and serving as recitation or lab Teaching Assistants.
Students take academic subjects in ELS to(a) learn the norms for communicating in academic and professional life, (b) improve accuracy and appropriateness of expression within this new context, and (c) develop the intuition and habits needed for successful communication within disciplinary and international professional communities.
Q: How are the academic subjects in MIT’s ELS program different from English language classes elsewhere?
A: The instructors have designed the curriculum and teaching methods in response to the needs and interests of MIT students within MIT’s communication culture.
The program is informed by the current research and best practices from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including professional and cross-cultural communication, 2ndlanguage acquisition and pedagogy, discourse analysis, and contrastive rhetoric. It allows for discussion of differences and similarities among Anglo-American and other cultural communication norms--important knowledge for global professionals.
This multi-disciplinary foundation creates an informed, efficient and effective teaching and learning culture for MIT students.
Q: How do I know which class is right for me or for my student?
A: The best place to start is with the results of the base-line English writing and speaking assessments provided to most first-year students: the Freshman Essay Exam (FEE)and English Diagnostic Review (EDR); the graduate English Evaluation Test (EET), the Graduate Writing Exam (GWE).
The assessment results and recommendations for coursework are disseminated to the students, their academic officers, and their advisors across the Institute before Registration Day.
Students who are interested in an ELS subject, and who have not received FEE or EET recommendations, are encouraged to meet with one of the GSL instructors to identify a suitable subject, if necessary.
Q: Who should take ELS courses in their first year of study?
A: Graduate students whose English Evaluation Test (EET) results indicate limited controlof the academic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) required for higher education will benefit from immediate instruction and guided practice in academic English. Two subjects, both offered fall and spring semesters, are designed for these students: 21G.224 and 21G.219.
Second-language acquisition research indicates that formal instruction is critical for most users of English as an academic language at the limited level. Students seem to make the greatest progress in modifying their pronunciation with instruction during their first year in an English-speaking environment. Therefore, we think students for whom the ELS subject Listening, Speaking & Pronunciation is recommended, and who take 21G.224 in their first year at MIT, will benefit more than if they wait until subsequent years.
For the same reason, students with limited reading comprehension and production of academic written texts require instruction to work toward accuracy, clarity and appropriate tone in academic writing. Students who are recommended to take the ELS subject Foundations of Academic and Professional Writing (21G.219) and take it within two or three semesters of arriving at MIT will be much better prepared to read critically within their discipline and to write up their research.
Q: Are ELS courses suitable for language study by non-student members of the MIT community?
A: Not usually. Becausethe ELS curriculum is designed for regular MIT undergraduate and graduate students; the materials, assignments, and pace are often a poor fit for the needs or desires of non-student members of the community.
ELS subjects are part of the regular, academic curriculum, which is covered by tuition. Registered students are expected to have fulfilled any prerequisites for the classes. Like all academic subjects at MIT, classes meet regularly every week over a full semester. The activities and graded assignments allow students to tackle a wide range of academic speaking and writing activities, to receive frequent constructive feedback from peers and instructors, and to track their progress.
Post-doctorate fellows and other employees who are interested in studying in the ELS program will find information on the Advanced Study Program site.
Q: Do graduate students need an EET recommendation to register for an ELS subject?
A: No. Any undergraduate and graduate student user of English as an academic language can register for an ELS subject. Most of our courses are offered each semester. Students who are interested in an ELS subject, and who have not received FEE or EET recommendations, are encouraged to meet with one of the GSL faculty members to identify an appropriate subject.
Q: MIT students are extremely busy. Why add to the time crunch by taking additional courses?
A: Efficient and effective communication is key to academic success. MIT’s ELS subjects involve strategies to develop efficiency, accuracy and appropriateness in the four language skills: academic listening, reading, speaking, and writing. At the same time, students can draw on their interests, coursework in their different disciplines, and research activities as the basis for most of their ELS class assignments.
This task-based pedagogy provides each bilingual student with a practical and more individualized approach than conventional language or writing classes provide. It also allows students to expand their linguistic flexibility and adapt to different communication contexts—e.g., making presentations, facilitating meetings, proposing and writing up research, leading recitations, communicating with the public-- with strategic organization, precise word choice, and audience-friendly sentence structure.
Q: Will students speak and write like native English speakers after taking an ELS course at MIT?
A: It’s unlikely. The goal of ELS coursework is to help students (1) identify and understand their individual strengths and weaknesses, (2) improve their accuracy and efficiency, and (3) increase their confidence in communicating appropriately in academic and professional contexts. These are realistic goals, and ELS coursework provides the systematic instruction, scaffolded practice and feedback to help students reach these goals.
Native-like proficiency is unrealistic, and unnecessary, for most people for the following reasons:
- Adult learners of English usually have different proficiency levels in the four skills. For example, they may have strong listening and reading skills, but weaker speaking and writing skills, or they may be proficient academic writers, but unable to carry on an intellectual conversation in English.
- People can be “native speakers” of more than one language, but even multi-lingual adults may have academic proficiency in only one language.
- The nature of a student’s native language, as well as native pedagogical and communication culture, greatly influence the ease with which she learns a 2ndlanguage.
- Unlike children’s language acquisition, adult 2ndlanguage acquisition is not linear. It typically demonstrates dips, plateaus and peaks. Language proficiency can improve or deteriorate over time.
- Academic English proficiency generally takes up to seven years to achieve in an ESL environment, so ongoing support is needed.
Q: How are the academic subjects in MIT’s ELS program different from English language classes elsewhere?
A: The instructors have designed the curriculum and teaching methods in response to the needs and interests of MIT students within MIT’s communication culture.
The program is informed by the current research and best practices from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including professional and cross-cultural communication, 2ndlanguage acquisition and pedagogy, discourse analysis, and contrastive rhetoric. It allows for discussion of differences and similarities among Anglo-American and other cultural communication norms--important knowledge for global professionals.
This multi-disciplinary foundation creates an informed, efficient and effective teaching and learning culture for MIT students.
