ESL Department

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As a part of the Language Arts Division, the Cypress College ESL Department offers a sequence of credit courses that prepares multilingual learners of English for success in their college courses across the campus. The core courses are academically rigorous and academically-oriented in order to prepare students for ESL 110 C, our transfer-level composition course equivalent to English C1000, degrees, transfer, certificate programs, and other academic goals.

Our ESL courses help you transfer!

All courses in the ESL sequence have some form of transferability to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems:

ESL 110 C, the highest-level ESL course, is a transfer-level composition course that fulfills Written Communication transfer and degree requirements for the UC, CSU, and Cypress College. It is fully equivalent to ENG C1000. ESL 110 C fulfills CalGETC and the Cypress College Native degree A1 requirements.
ESL 109 C and ESL 108 C fulfill CalGETC and Cypress College Native C2 degree Humanities requirement.
ESL 107 C, ESL 106 C, and ESL 105 C all have CSU elective transferability.
For more information, visit the General Education (GE) page.

New ESL Placement Process

Cypress College uses a placement process known as ESL Guided Placement. Multilingual learners of English are invited to participate in this new process.. For more on this, visit our ESL Guided Placement page.

If you are interested in taking classes at Cypress College but want more information, please check out our FAQ page. You can also email esl@cypresscollege.edu. We look forward to working with you!

If you experience any problems registering for an ESL course, let us know and we will help you through the process! Email esl@cypresscollege.edu.

What do our students think about Cypress ESL?

We think our students are amazing and have accomplished such great things, but you may want to hear what they have to say about Cypress! You can meet some of them by clicking on the ESL Student Testimonials button below.

ESL Student Testimonials

You can also read about students who started in the Cypress College ESL program and have gone on to achieve great things!:

Scholarships & The Language Exchange

The Cypress College ESL Department has two scholarships for ESL students, as well as The Language Exchange, which is a space where language learners from all backgrounds can connect.

The Jewel Keusder ESL Scholarship

The Jewel Keusder Memorial ESL Scholarship was founded in 1994 in tribute to the significant contribution made to the ESL Department by Jewel Keusder, a Reading and ESL instructor at Cypress College from 1976 to 1994. The first scholarship was awarded in the spring of 1995. It is administered by the California Building Industry Foundation, a philanthropic organization of which Mrs. Keusder was a part.

Jewel Keusder, after seeing that the needs of multilingual learners of English were not being met by the curriculum in place at the time, developed the ESL program at the college. Since then, the program has grown in the variety of course offerings as well as the number of multilingual learners of English enrolled in classes that appropriately address their English development needs.

The scholarship is awarded once a year during the spring semester to students in the ESL program who have demonstrated excellence in their completion of advanced ESL courses as well as other courses on campus.

Previous Recipients of the Jewel Keusder ESL Scholarship

2024-2025 – Thi Ngoc Tu Doan and Ereen Abdel Malak
2023-2024 – Yue (Stephen) Zhao, Ola Alqudah
2022-2023 – Thanusri Arandara
2021-2022 – Jinwook Hong and Phuong Nghi Ly
2020-2021 – Leticia Diaz Munoz, Safwan Mansuri, Umanga Agustinu Paris Kankanamal
2019-2020 – Farid Gerges, Minh Pham, Yuehan Sun
2018-2019 – Crystal Carbajal
2017-2018 – Anh Nguyen, Huong Nguyen, Huiyong Wu
2016-2017 – Ngoc Ngo
2015-2016 – Somang “Iosef” Sung
2014-2015 – Mr. Phong Le & Mr. Thuan “Chelsun” Tran
2013-2014 – Ms. Ngoc Do & Ms. Ngoc Nguyen
2012-2013 – Mr. Phuong Austin Nguyen
2011-2012 – Ms. Sunmi Lee
2010-2011 – Ms. Nicole Carlos & Ms. Chia-Lung Wu
2009-2010 – Ms. Huda Labanieh, Ms. Ying-Wei Lin, & Ms. Thuy Anh Nguyen
2008-2009 – Ms. Dung Thai
2007-2008 – Ms. Dana Dees, Ms. Carmen Fodoreanu, & Mr. Joshua Obidah
2006-2007 – Ms. Shu Chen, Ms. Angelica Rojo, & Ms. Da Thoa Truong
2005-2006 – Ms. Bixia Loi & Mr. Naydn Kim
2004-2005 – Mr. Jiang Bian, Ms. Nancy Hoang, & Ms. Lesly Perez
2003-2004 – Ms. Carolina Narajano & Ms. Siranya Stamm
2001-2002 – Ms. Mei Ling Hsu
2000-2001 – Ms. Minoo Amani & Ms. Maria Karol Manaloto
1999-2000 – Ms. Lee Fizer & Ms. Trinh (Annie) Ha
1998-1999 – Ms. Juliana Stingaciu
1997-1998 – Mr. Phong Nguyen & Ms. Emilia Prado
1996-1997 – Ms. Najwa Abouziki & Ms. Gloria Camacho
1995-1996 – Ms. Namyoung Park
1994-1995 – Ms. Sandra Baghdanous & Ms. Thuy Ton

Qualifications

To qualify for the scholarship, a student must meet the following criteria:

The student must be currently enrolled in ESL 109 or ESL 110.
The student must have successfully completed at least one ESL core course at Cypress College.
The student must continue his/her education at Cypress College or at another U.S. college/university.

The procedures for application are as follows:

Complete an application (available on the Foundation page).
Complete an academic essay on the assigned topic.
Ask two faculty members to complete the recommendation forms. One should be a current ESL instructor and the other a Cypress College instructor in a different department.

The ESL Department Buen Cypress Scholarship

The ESL Department Scholarship was founded in spring 2015 by ESL faculty wanting to recognize the hard work and persistence of students in the ESL program and to ensure the continued education of ESL students at Cypress College.

Previous Recipients:

2024-2025 – KKoch Nim(Helena) Jang and Nhi Y (Jasmine) Tran
2023-2024 – Ereen Abdel Malak, Huu Chi Dat Nguyen, Olha Srebniak, Jeongbin Park, Yuxi Liu
2022-2023 – Dae Suk (Stella) Oh and Seonung (Josh) Jung
2021-2022 – Husna Azizi and Hoang Nguyen
2020-2021 – Thuy Thuy Anh Nguyen, Dung Le
2019-2020 – Kexin Gao, Eman Omar, Yuki Ono, Leticia Diaz Muñoz, Tuyen Cao, Semhar Weldegaber
2018-2019 – Nha Tran
2016-2017 – Jing Lee

Read about past recipients of ESL scholarships:

Anh Nguyen (2020) Presidential Scholar of Distinction L/LRC
Ngoc Ngo (CYProud 2018)
Phong Le (CYProud 2017)

Qualifications:

To qualify for the scholarship, a student must meet the following criteria:

The student must be currently enrolled in ESL 106, 107, or 108.
The student must have successfully completed at least one ESL core course at Cypress College.
The student must continue his/her education at Cypress College or at another U.S. college/university.

The procedures for application are as follows:

Complete an application (available on the Foundation page).
Complete an academic essay on the assigned topic.
Ask two faculty members to complete the recommendation forms. One should be a current ESL instructor and the other a Cypress College instructor in a different department.

The Language Exchange

The Language Exchange is a welcoming, friendly hub created by the Cypress College ESL department in collaboration with the Foreign Languages department. This is a place where language learners from all backgrounds can connect, practice English and other languages, and feel a strong sense of community and belonging on campus.

About the Space

The Language Exchange grew from a simple idea: students thrive when they have a place to belong.

Our ESL and Foreign Languages Departments worked together to design a space where you can:

Share cultures and stories
Practice and improve your language skills
Navigate college life with support
Celebrate milestones on your path to certificates, degrees, and transfer

Moreover, one of our central goals is to encourage students from non-credit programs to transition into credit courses by providing guidance, resources, and academic support.

Whether you are starting your educational journey in non-credit ESL or are already enrolled in credit classes, we are here to help you succeed and move forward with confidence.

Why Visit?

Instead of providing only “services” to students, we emphasize creating meaningful experiences:

Real Conversations: Build fluency through conversation circles, word-of-the-day, and small group chats.
Connections that Last: Make friends from across cultures and build your Cypress community.
Academic and Career Support: Get tips on resumes, job interviews, and digital literacy through the workshops held in our space.
Celebrate Cultures: Join potlucks, cultural holidays, and global snack days.
A Cozy Place to Study: The Language Exchange is a comfortable spot on campus where you can relax, focus on your homework, and study.

Events and Activities

Every semester, the space comes alive with opportunities to learn, practice, and celebrate together:

Language Practice Hour: Guided conversations to build confidence.
Workshops for Academic Support: Sessions designed for ESL students, including resume building, direct support for ESL classes, and other educational support
Club Meetings: ESL, Japanese, Spanish, International, and other clubs.
Community Events: Potlucks, meet-and-greets, conversation games, and cultural celebrations.

Student Testimonials

“I really enjoy the cozy environment as it helped me make a lot of friends” – Brian, Japanese Culture Club Student

“The atmosphere here is refreshing and peaceful. Everyone here respects each other’s boundaries and is willing to help one another. I truly feel I can learn more about my peer’s cultures” – Frank, Japanese Culture Club Student

“Language Exchange Space provides an engaging, fun interaction where we learn new languages and make friends. Also, Ola is so helpful with any questions pertaining to ESL,” Hannah Ngendo, ESL 110 Student

Location

Humanities, Building 1, Room 110

Contact Information

Phone: (714) 484-6110
Email: LEC@cypresscollege.edu

ESL FAQs

Understanding ESL Certificates