By Katie E. Van Wyk

Have you ever wanted to simply “try out” a college or university in the United States? With tuition costs often in the thousands, making the leap to study in the United States can often be a scary one. What if there were a way to enroll for just a few weeks? Well, now there is!

Tacoma Community College is offering students the chance to join a three-week online course this April called “A Trip to Tacoma.” The class is geared towards English language learners who want to experience what it’s like to enroll in an online class at a U.S. college or university. 

Plus, students can expect to improve their English language skills in just three short weeks!

So, what is this course about? There are many fun and interesting things about the city in which our college is located. Many people have heard of Seattle, the tech hub to our north, but very few have heard of the beautiful City of Destiny: Tacoma! We’ll take a virtual trip to Tacoma to learn about the sites, sounds, and people of Tacoma, Washington State. 

And, what will students learn? The course focuses on improving four English language skills:

• Reading: Weekly reading assignments with vocabulary review

• Writing: Improve your grammar and understand paragraph/essay structure

• Speaking: Vocabulary and pronunciation assignments submitted with video

• Listening: Twice per week meetings with the instructor and classmates to listen and respond in the English language

This course was offered for the first time in the fall of 2020, and Bolivian student Elmer shared the following about his experience, “I learned to analyze [English] words for greater grammatical understanding, go deeper into the language in addition to knowing new places, cultures, and people.”

Just like any U.S. college classroom, the professor of this class is a highly competent and educated instructor. Professor Emilie Coates-White been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) since 1993 and is the faculty director of Tacoma Community College's English for Academic Purposes program.

As a native of the Northwest USA, she’s excited to take this journey to Tacoma with prospective students and teach them about the place that she calls home.

Tacoma Community College Course Details:

• Dates: April 5-23, 2021 

• Course Time: LIVE Meetings every Monday & Thursday at 16:00 PST (0:00 UTC).

• Course Fee: $50 USD

• Course fee includes:

  • Highly skilled English for Academic Purposes faculty from Tacoma Community College

  • Three weeks of course instruction (~15-hour time commitment in total)

  • 2-3 hours of LIVE class time per week

  • 2-3 hours of coursework to be completed on one’s own time per week

  • English skill development in reading, writing, speaking and listening

  • FREE application fee ($50 value) for admission to Tacoma Community College to study full-time in the coming academic year

  • Certificate of program completion

• Eligibility: Students must be age 16 or older to participate

• Applications due no later than: March 26, 2021

• Apply Here: https://tccinternational.wufoo.com/forms/a-trip-to-tacoma/

• Questions? Contact Katie E. Van Wyk (assistant director of Global Outreach, Marketing, and Admissions at Tacoma Community College) at kvanwyk@tacomacc.edu or via WhatsApp +1 253 209 1123