This dissertation had a three-pronged approach by examining (1) the role and sustainability of university-based intensive English programs (IEPs), (2) the value of a master's in Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and (3) relevance of attending an IEP for international/English as a second language (ESL) students. IEPs face…

Adopting a qualitative case study methodology, the present study illuminates how two multilingual students enrolled in a U.S. community college ESL class negotiated the sociocultural norms valued in their multiple communities to make investment in learning English in college. Drawing on Gee's theory of Discourse and identity (1996) and Norton's…

Assessment and placement practices at community colleges that are used to divide students into college ready, ESL and English remedial tracks play a key role in shaping the academic pathways of students (Hughes & Scott-Clayton, 2011). These assessments are based on assumptions of the nature of bilingualism and student needs and thus have…