ESL faculty work as a team to help students who are nonnative speakers of English acquire proficiency in the use of American English required for matriculation in the institution’s degree-granting programs. Through internal and external initiatives, the ESL program provides students with the cultural orientation they will need to function satisfactorily, both academically and socially, in the United States. In addition, the program promotes cross-cultural understanding through student interaction. ESL faculty treat each student as an individual, and take pride in the fact that students from the program have gone on to receive local and international recognition for academic excellence.

GSC has been offering ESL instruction on a year-round basis since 1993. The program functions in accordance with the GSC’s core value of “providing a range of opportunities to meet the cultural, educational, and entertainment needs of our diverse community.” The program reflects the institution’s mission of placing an “emphasis on diversity and international issues [and preparing] students to function in a global society.” GSC’s ESL program enrolls students from some 35 countries who represent a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds.