NHTI Offers In-Person ESOL Courses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2021

Now Registering Day and Evening Classes

NHTI’s dynamic ESOL program returns to in-person learning on our Concord campus, easily accessible just off Fort Eddy Road. The ESOL program allows multilingual students to improve their English language skills to form a strong foundation for college success and the path to a degree. This fall, our team will provide instruction and support to ESOL students: academic advisor Dawn Higgins, tutor Rosemarie Hughes-Smith, department chair Paula DelBonis-Platt, and instructors Maureen Kelly-Ellermann, Robert Rojas, Margaret Landsman, and Gerald Moylan.

NHTI is a place where all belong. We serve new Americans and language learners, speaking more than 50 native languages and coming from diverse countries of origin. NHTI is now registering students for the following ESOL day and evening in-person courses:

• ESOL 101: Basic Writing, Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30-11:50 a.m.
• ESOL 101: Basic Writing, Mondays, 6-8:40 p.m.
• ESOL 201: Academic Writing, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9-10:20 a.m.
• ESOL 201: Academic Writing, Mondays, 6-8:40 p.m.
• ESOL 204: American Culture II, Mondays and Wednesdays, 9-10:20 a.m.
• ESOL 204: American Culture II on Wednesdays, 6-8:40 p.m.
• ESOL 205: Reading Comprehension, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30-11:50 a.m.
• ESOL 205: Reading Comprehension on Wednesdays, 6-8:40 p.m.

ESOL students receive support both in and out of the classroom. The diverse activities range from on- or off-campus living, athletics, and a wide array of clubs, including the Cultural Exchange Club. In addition to the classroom teachers, the following faculty and staff provide student and curriculum support:

• ESOL Advisor: Dawn Higgins is the academic advisor to ESOL students at NHTI and works directly with English language learners in many ways at NHTI. Instructing and advising second language adults in higher education for 19 years, she is also a certified K-12 ESOL teacher in N.H. and linguistics instructor at NHTI. Dawn earned her undergraduate degree in French and English and her Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of New Hampshire and the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, France.
• ESOL Project Coordinator: Rosie Hughes-Smith holds a Human Services degree from NHTI and knows our multilingual students well. She is the project coordinator/ESOL tutor and has been with NHTI since 2013. She manages the Conversation Partner Program, a program that offers ESOL students the ability to practice their English language skills with native speakers, while at the same allowing native speakers to learn about different cultures of the world. She is also co-advisor of the Cultural Exchange Club, a student-run organization on campus devoted to exploring issues of culture, language, and diversity, hosting numerous on-campus and community events throughout the academic year.
• ESOL Department Chair: Dr. Paula DelBonis-Platt serves as chair of Liberal Arts, General Studies, Social Sciences, and ESOL at NHTI, where she is also a professor of English, Communication, and French. She earned her Ph.D. from the City University of New York, specializing in transnational literature and human rights. Dr. DelBonis-Platt has also taught at the Université de Bourgogne and worked for eight years at Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press. In 2021, she received the Campus Compact of N.H.’s Presidents’ Good Steward Award, and in 2015 she received the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence at NHTI. She co-chairs NHTI’s Assessment of Student Learning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee and serves on NHTI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Dr. DelBonis-Platt can be reached at pdelbonis-platt@ccsnh.edu for more information.

In February 2021, NHTI adopted the following Diversity Statement: “Diversity is a core value at NHTI. Our commitment to diversity enriches everyone by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, develop respect, identify challenges, and to discover, define and deliver solutions. NHTI actively works to eliminate barriers created by systemic discrimination. Diversity may include, but is not limited to: race, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, socioeconomic status, citizenship, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disabilities.”

Come to NHTI where you belong and emerge stronger!

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NHTI – Concord’s Community College
NHTI is a dynamic public institution of higher learning that provides accessible, rigorous education for students, businesses, and the community. We create pathways for lifelong learning, career advancement, and civic engagement, offering 80+ academic programs to 4,600+ students annually. NHTI is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire and since 1969 has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, a nongovernmental, nationally recognized accrediting agency.

Press Contact Amy Proctor | 603-230-4001 | aproctor@ccs.edu