Courses for UT Graduate Students

We offer English courses for admitted international students to improve their academic listening, reading and writing skills. These courses not only serve to clear the J-Hold, but also to enhance students' English communication through a variety of functional areas.

Eligibility

• Any student who did not pass the J-Hold speaking and/or writing screening is authorized to register for ESL 388S and/or ESL 388W.
  • Other interested international students should email our office at elc@austin.utexas.edu for permission to register.
• Any student who received a conditional pass on the ITA screening is authorized to register for ESL 388T or ESL 389T (see ITA screening results for specific course recommendations).
  • Other international students interested in ITA courses should email our office at txglobal-ita@austin.utexas.edu for permission to register.

Courses for Oral Communication Improvement

ESL 388S: Oral Communication for International Students

• Section 1: Spring 2026 (66165) TTH 11:00am - 12:30pm

This course is required for graduate students who did not pass the oral skills component of the J-hold English assessment and for students with upper-intermediate English oral skills. The course is designed to develop academic oral communication skills. Practice will focus on pronunciation, fluency, grammatical accuracy, vocabulary development, formal presentations, and graduate-level discussions. Instruction will be delivered within the context of academic speaking tasks.

ESL 389S: Advanced Oral Communication for International Students

• Section 1: Spring 2026 (66190) TTH 2:00pm - 3:30pm

This course focuses on accuracy and development of the speaking skills needed in academic contexts.

Courses for Writing Improvement

ESL 388W: Academic Writing for International Students

• Section 1: Spring 2026 (66180) TTH 11:00am - 12:30pm
• Section 2: Spring 2026 (66185) TTH 12:30pm - 2:00pm

This course is required for graduate students who did not pass the written skills component of the J-hold English assessment and for students with upper-intermediate English writing skills. The course is designed to develop academic written communication skills. Practice will focus on clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and essays.

ESL 389W: Advanced Academic Writing for International Students

• Tentatively will be offered Fall 2026

This course is designed to develop academic written communication skills. Practice will focus on writing skills needed for qualifying exams, research, and conference papers.

Courses for International Teaching Assistants (ITA)

ESL 388T: Basic Speaking Skills

• Section 1: Spring 2026 (66175) TTH 9:30am - 11:00am

This course is required for graduate students who received a conditional pass (score 6.0 to 6.49) on the ITA English assessment and have TA/AI appointments with student contact. It meets the requirements for ITA conditional certification for the semester. This course is designed to prepare students for the International Teaching Assistant Oral English Proficiency Assessment. Practice focuses on the enhancing skills in the five areas of the assessment: fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and communicative competence.

ESL 389T: Communication and Teaching

• Section 1: Spring 2026 (66200) TTH 11:00am - 12:30pm
• Section 2: Spring 2026 (66205) MW 3:00pm - 4:30pm

This course is required for graduate students who received a conditional pass (score 6.5 to 6.99) on the ITA English assessment and have TA/AI appointments with student contact. It meets the requirements for ITA certification for the semester. This course is designed to explore and enhance international teaching assistants' skills in English communication through a variety of functional areas. Practice areas include pronunciation, vocabulary, fluency, reductions, presenting and summarizing information, and compensatory strategies. 

Credit

These courses are taken on a Credit/No Credit basis. They count as 3 credit hours for purposes of full-time enrollment but do not count toward students' degree requirements.

Registration

Registration for these courses is done online. Students can register for these courses until the 5th class day. After 5th class day, email our office to be registered. We do not add students to ESL courses after 12th class day. These courses cannot be audited.

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