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 received a conditional pass on the ITA exam is authorized to register for ESL 389T. Any student who did not pass the J-Hold screening is authorized to register for ESL 388S and/or ESL 388W. All other students need to email our office at elc@austin.utexas.edu for permission to register.

ESL 389T: Communication and Teaching

• Section 1: Spring 2025 (63475) TTH 9:30am - 11:00am
• Section 2: Spring 2025 (63470) TTH 11:00am - 12:30pm
• Section 3: Spring 2025 (63480) MW 3:00pm - 4:30pm

This course is required for graduate students who received a conditional pass on the ITA English assessment and have TA/AI appointments with student contact. It meets the requirements for ITA certification. 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. 

ESL 388S: Oral Communication for International Students

• Section 1: Spring 2025 (63445) 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. 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 388W: Academic Writing for International Students

• Section 1: Spring 2025 (63455) TTH 11:00am - 12:30pm
• Section 2: Spring 2025 (63460) TTH 12:30 - 2:00pm

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

ESL 389S: Advanced Oral Communication for International Students

• Section 1: Spring 2025 (63465) TTH 2:00pm - 3:30pm

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

ESL 389W: Advanced Academic Writing for International Students

• Section 1: Spring 2025 (63485) TTH 2:00 - 3:30pm

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

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 12th class day.

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