Students from other countries with little or no English proficiency will have a new tool to learn English at Cerritos this fall.

The Cerritos College International Student Center was approved in April 2001 for an Intensive English Program to begin at the college in the fall of 2001 by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The purpose of the Intensive English Program is to offer students from other countries the opportunity to enroll at Cerritos College with little or no English proficiency.

It also allows them to study language in an intensive program so that they can acquire the level of English needed to continue their studies. They do not need to take the TOEFL exam to be admitted into the program.

A prospective international student planning to enroll in the IEP must obtain an F-1 student visa. Students must meet all the international application requirements and maintain a full-time status every regular semester while studying at Cerritos College.

Students admitted into the IEP will follow the same academic schedule and pay the same costs on a yearly basis as the regular international student program.

The cost of attendance for international students is $157 dollars per unit.

Total immersion in the English language is the method used to help students “learn English fast,” said Danita Kurtz, International Student coordinator.

During the course of a given semester, the student must take 12 units of English language classes. A student with no English language proficiency would begin with ESL 1 for the first nine weeks and move on to ESL 2 for the second nine weeks if ready.

If by the end of the first nine weeks they were not ready to move on they could continue taking ESL1 for the second nine weeks.

The student would also take one or more supplementary classes, such as ESL pronunciation or ESL fundamental reading skills to round out his curriculum and fulfill the 12-unit requirement.

Before being placed in an ESL class, a student would first take a placement test to determine his or her level.

The IEP doesn’t have a set deadline by which the student must finish. Each student goes at his own pace. When a student feels that he is ready to take regular classes, he must take a test to determine readiness.

“The program is as long as a student needs [to know enough English to get into regular classes],” Kurtz said.

“One of the unique things about Cerritos College is that we’re basing the program off of an 18-week semester. You pay per semester, for the 12 units at once,” Kurtz said.

Similar programs at other schools base their program off of shorter semester systems, such as two nine-week semesters, and make the students pay per semester. So if the student takes 12 units per semester, they will end up paying for 24 units total, twice that of Cerritos College’s.

This makes the cost of attendance considerably higher than the IEP program at Cerritos College.

To request an application or for further information, contact the Cerritos College International Student Center at 562-860-2451, ext. 2133. All other interested students who are residents, green card holders, or American citizens whose second language is English may contact the Admissions Office at 562-860-2451, ext. 2121.