Fourteen new courses have been approved and will be implemented in the fall semester, The English Language Academy announced Feb. 10.

The ELA program is a co-operative effort between the department of foreign languages, Continuing Education and the Center for International Education.

It will bring all credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing ESL instruction to the campus and will operate year-round.

Non-native English speaking students enroll in “Integrated Language Skills” classes according to their level of English proficiency, said Beth Ernst, foreign languages lecturer.

The program was created to provide a more intense, content-based English as a Second Language curriculum for non-native English speaking students, Ernst said.

This semester the ELA program began its shift from skill-based grammar, reading and writing classes to content based classes. The new classes integrate a theme or topic with all language skills, such as conversational English and vocabulary enhancement, said Kate Reynolds, director of the TESL and Credit ESL programs.

The Intensive English Program will offer courses in the fall, such as theater and exploring regional history and culture.

Much of the funding for the new ELA courses comes from private grants and international student tuition. The ELA is not sure, though, how the state’s budget cuts could affect the program for the next academic year.

“There’s no guarantee,” Reynolds said. “To some degree, our courses will be affected.”

Budget cuts are not the only thing affecting the ELA program funding. Since Sept. 11, 2001, many students wanting to study in the United States have been denied visas. As a result, ESL programs have been suffering.

International students pay the same amount of tuition as out-of-state students, and with fewer international students being able to come to school at UW-Eau Claire, the ELA program loses funding, Reynolds said.

“ESL classes are a lot of fun,” said freshman international student Yim Jin Woo. “It is also a good place to meet students from all over the world.”