Courses

Multilingual domestic students are now eligible to enroll in ELSO courses: In the past, ELSO courses were restricted to international students (students in the U.S. on a visa). ELSO is now able to welcome multilingual domestic students into our courses (and all of our programs). Unsure if a course is right for you? You can review sample syllabi in the ELSO program Canvas site ("English Support for Multilingual Graduate and Professional Students") or request a meeting with an ELSO instructor (email us).

• All matriculated Ithaca-campus Cornell multilingual domestic and international graduate and professional students who are able to enroll in courses through Student Center may enroll in ELSO courses. (Cornell students located at Cornell Tech and Weill are not eligible for ELSO courses.)
• Students are not permitted to audit ELSO courses.
• Typically, in face-to-face classes, students must be in attendance during the first or second class meeting to participate in the course. Instructors are being flexible during the COVID-19 pandemic, in keeping with ELSO's and Cornell's commitment to being caring communities.
• If a course is full, you may email ELSO to be put on a waitlist. The instructor will contact waitlisted students if seats open.
• ELSO courses are 7-weeks, S/U, and credit-bearing (1 credit). 
• Though ELSO courses are credit-bearing, individual programs determine whether those credits may apply toward degree requirements or for elective credit. Questions about how these credits are applied should be directed to the director of your graduate program (DGS), graduate field assistant (GFA) or your advisor. 
• ELSO courses have attendance policies. Typically, no more than one absence is permitted for 7-week courses that meet once a week and no more than two absences are permitted for 7-week courses that meet twice a week. If more absences are anticipated, speak to the course instructor before enrolling in the course to see if exceptions may be granted. 

Register for ELSO courses through Student Center. Students may enroll for courses during the pre-enrollment period or during the add period. See the registration calendar here. The add period for spring 2025 begins January 14, 2025 at 9:00 am EST.

If the course doesn’t appear in Student Center, it has reached its cap of twelve students. To be added to the waitlist, email ELSO. 

*The following spring 2025 ELSO course sections are enrolled by permission of the instructor:

• ELSO 6515.001 Preparing to Write Workshop (Melissa Myers): Apply here
• ELSO 6535.001 Research Paper Writing Workshop (Dr. Lindberg): Apply here
• ELSO 6565.001 Thesis and Dissertation Writing Workshop (Dr. Crow): Apply here
• ELSO 6630.001 Preparing for the Academic Job Search (Dr. Crow): Apply here

First set of 7-week courses (7w1): January 21-March 11

Second set of 7-week courses (7w2): March 12-May 6

See past ELSO course schedules here

ELSO speaking courses are designed to create safe spaces to explore questions about the linguistic and cultural aspects of speaking English in U.S. academic settings, learn strategies, and practice oral communication.

ELSO 6210 Improving Pronunciation: When we think about pronunciation, we often think about individual sounds, but other features of speech are often more important for making oneself understood. These features, such as pausing, intonation and stress, make up the melody of English. By the end of this course, students will increase their awareness of and control over the aspects of spoken English that most affect intelligibility, gain confidence for being understood by listeners, and develop strategies for more self-directed learning beyond the course.

ELSO 6220 Taking Part in Discussions: In academia, students participate in discussions to share knowledge, create new knowledge, and challenge ideas. This course gives students strategies and practice working in range of discussion contexts, from one-on-one to planning and leading class discussions. By the end of this course, students will have learned strategies for preparing for, entering in, responding to, and leading different types of discussions, as well as gain more confidence to assert their voices.  

ELSO 6230 Designing and Delivering Effective Presentations: Whether presenting for seminars, journal club meetings, conferences, or in classes, being comfortable presenting is an essential part of graduate studies. This course will provide students with strategies for preparing and delivering presentations that are clear, compelling, persuasive, concise, and visually effective, as well as offer opportunities to practice delivering presentations in front of a supportive audience.

ELSO writing courses are designed to introduce students to a range of writing strategies, make progress on writing projects, and explore generative AI tools for writing and revising. 

ELSO 6500 Strategies for Writing with AI: In this course, students will learn how to use AI writing tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot) effectively, efficiently, and ethically while still learning traditional strategies for developing, revising, and editing texts.  A particular focus will be ensuring students grow as writers and benefit from the process of writing. Students will learn to assess features of texts and develop appropriate strategies to write and improve drafts. Broad topics include maintaining an authentic voice, assuring information is accurate, and working within accepted boundaries. Specific topics include creating and analyzing overall structures, guiding readers, making flow, structuring paragraphs, choosing phrases, and crafting effective sentences.

ELSO 6515 Preparing to Write Workshop: This course is designed for multilingual and international graduate and professional students who are in the early stages of a writing project or who want to learn strategies in preparation for future writing projects. During this course, students will explore general and discipline-specific writing processes, approaches to understanding types of writing in their field, strategies for reading and note-taking, library resources specific to their field, and approaches for generating ideas and prose with more ease. Students will have time during class to apply the strategies to a current or upcoming writing project.

ELSO 6535 Research Paper Writing Workshop: This course is designed to assist multilingual and international graduate and professional students in making progress on drafting a research paper (e.g. article for publications, dissertation chapter, seminar paper, or conference paper). Students will learn strategies for setting and meeting writing goals as well as strategies for developing particular sections of research papers. Class meetings may consist of a lecture/discussion on an aspect of research paper writing, class exercises, quiet writing time, meetings with the instructor, and/or group discussions. It is advised (but not required) that students take ELSO 6515 before enrolling in this course. This course is enrolled by permission of the instructor. The application link may be found above, with the semester schedule. 

ELSO 6565 Thesis and Dissertation Writing Workshop: This course is designed to assist multilingual and international graduate and professional students in making progress on drafting parts of their theses and dissertations. This course provides structured writing time, a supportive writing community, and access to writing resources. Class meetings consist of small group discussions on aspects of thesis/dissertation writing, quiet writing time, and consultations with the instructor. It is advised (but not required) that students take ELSO 6515 and/or ELSO 6535 before taking this course. This course is enrolled by permission of the instructor. This course may be repeated for course credit. The application link may be found above, with the semester schedule. 

ELSO 66xx courses intentionally blend writing and speaking instruction to focus on communication contexts outside of the classroom.

ELSO 6610 Communicating in the Workplace: This course is designed for multilingual and international graduate and professional students who will need to communicate in English in professional contexts. Students will learn about differences between academic and workplace communication, explore communication strategies effective for different workplace situations, consider cultural aspects of workplace communication, and gain experience with oral and written professional communication.  

ELSO 6620 Preparing for the Professional Job Search: This course introduces a series of professional job application steps, including the giving elevator pitches, networking, searching for jobs, interpreting job ads, attending job fairs, making digital profiles, writing resumes and cover letters, interviewing, and becoming familiar with relevant resources. By the end of this course, students will be aware of the different dimensions of applying for professional jobs, including their cultural and linguistic implications.  This course will be useful to students to develop their job application documents and skills. 

ELSO 6630 Preparing for the Academic Job Search: This course is designed to assist advanced multilingual and international doctoral students as they prepare to apply for academic positions. Students will learn strategies for planning an academic job search, developing application materials (i.e. CVs, application letters, teaching statements, and research statements), and preparing for first- and second-stage interviews. This course is most useful to students who are preparing to apply for positions but may also be useful to those just starting to explore the process. This course is enrolled by permission of the instructor.