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Writing Center / ESL

Writing help and ESL support for all UNCSA students, staff, and faculty.

ESL - 4th Grade to 7th Grade

Welcome to the UNCSA ESL Services. Our mission is to support the University’s international students. We provide a variety of English as a Second Language (ESL) resources for admitted undergraduate and graduate students who want or need support. In addition to language instruction, we also offer help and support for any international students experiencing culture shock or struggling to adjust to life on campus, in North Carolina, and/or in the US. There are currently no ESL courses offered. For a one-on-one (online or in-person) meeting with us, make appointments via the link below:

 ►    Make An Appointment Here!  

How to Reach Us

For further information about the ESL support available to students at UNCSA, reach us through email and/or in person and also see the ESL Resources below. Our office is located in the Teaching and Learning Center (above the library cafe) in room 2309. Co-Director Hadis Ghaedi (ghaedih@uncsa.edu) will be available on campus and can meet with you in person or via Zoom. Nora Streed (streedr@uncsa.edu) will continue to be available via Zoom only. We look forward to meeting you and answering any questions you may have.

ESL Resources

Inclusive Language Resources

The PDF documents below contain some quick reference guides regarding inclusive language. Feel free to print and distribute them if you find them helpful. If you want to discuss inclusive language in your writing or other situations, please feel free to make an appointment to talk to Hadis Ghaedi or Nora Streed. We're not here to police your writing for political correctness, but rather to help you use language to get your message across in the most accessible, inclusive, and respectful way possible.

Recommended Reading and Reference Books

Helpful Links

  • George Orwell's classic 1946 essay Politics and the English Language offers some simple strategies for making your own writing stronger, clearer, and more useful to your readers. 
  • Grammar Rock videos are fabulous learning tools for basic grammar information. No, really. You might not be able to get the songs out of your head, but that's kind of the idea.
  • Merriam-Webster's online dictionary is easy to use and contains many helpful articles & videos about word use issues as well as a fun "Word of the Day" app and of course a fully functional online dictionary and thesaurus.
  • The Story of English. This PBS documentary from 1986 is available here on a YouTube playlist broken up into many 10-minute segments. The companion book is listed below. It's a very good overview of the history of the English language and its proliferation throughout the world. Helps sort out some of the confusion about why English is the way it is.
  • Free Language Learning Apps!  All UNCSA students, staff, and faculty have access via NCLive to TRANSPARENT Language Learning Apps. Go at your own pace and learn one (or more!) of over 100 languages in the app, from Afrikaans to Dakota to Latvian to Quechua to Welsh and Zulu! Also includes English learning apps for non-native English speakers.