English as a Second Language | Degrees & Certificates | Raritan Valley Community College, NJ

Learn English for College and for Life

Our ESL program provides practical, real-world language skills for academic, professional, and everyday communication. You will build confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing English through interactive instruction and cultural immersion while gaining workplace-ready communication skills, improved comprehension, and cross-cultural awareness.

Hands-on practice, supportive faculty, and authentic learning experiences will prepare you for success in college courses, careers, and community life with clarity, confidence, and independence.

Department overview

Becoming fully bilingual and biliterate will create opportunity and make your dreams come true.

This program helps speakers of other languages learn English efficiently and with accuracy. Finishing this program will allow you to study here at RVCC or, if you already have a college degree, continue your education in English. We teach both practical grammar and speaking as well as high-level academic reasoning that will enable you to succeed in the workplace and also in college, graduate school or anywhere else you choose to put your focus.

Degree Programs

Certificate of Completion - English as a Second Language

Empowering learners

with language skills for academic, professional, and everyday success.

Cheryl Bell

Professor

Professor Cheryl Bell has taught English to Speakers of Other Languages for 30 years, including over 20 years at Raritan Valley Community College, where she specializes in innovative, student-centered approaches to language acquisition. A National Writing Project Teacher Consultant and conference presenter at TESOL International and regional venues, she is passionate about empowering multilingual students to succeed academically and professionally.

Degrees:

M.A.,TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and Bilingual Education, University of Findlay
B.S., King’s College

Andrea Vaccaro

Professor

Professor Andrea Vaccaro has been teaching advanced ESL composition for over 20 years. She has written two editions of a textbook titled Masterful Essays in Academic English: A Language Learner’s Handbook and has another book that will be published in the summer of 2027 titled The Cyborg and the Luddite: A Memoir.

Degrees:

M.A. in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), University of San Francisco
B.A., Women’s Studies, Rutgers University

Lindsey Hageman

Instructor, ESL Program Coordinator

Lindsey is the ESL Program Coordinator and a tenure-track ESL instructor at Raritan Valley Community College. She has 8 years of teaching experience across multiple language levels. Her interests include inclusive pedagogy, career competencies, process-writing, and literature in the language classroom.

Degrees:

MS TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany
BA, English Literature, McGill University

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Personalized advising in ESL

Contact an ESL Advisor where we can answer your questions about our program and your unique educational and career path, clarify your placement test results, and work with you to make an academic schedule.

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