For DGSs and Program Administrators


Connecting Laney Graduate Students with English Language Support

  • For more information about support provided by the ESLP, please read the information below.

Introduction to the English Language Support Program

The mission of the English Language Support Program (ELSP) is to support and enrich the experience of international students who use English as an additional language. In line with Laney Graduate School’s mission to support the success of all students through the fostering of diversity, equity, and inclusion, we aim to offer high-quality language instruction that advances the communicative skills of multilingual graduate students.

We have worked with diverse scholars since 1990, helping them succeed in their fields, communicate across disciplines, and connect to their local and global communities. 

For some LGS students, ELSP coursework is a required, integral part of the curriculum. Other graduate students and Emory postdoctoral fellows elect to participate in ELSP courses and workshops to advance their English language capabilities.

Types of Language Support

The ELSP recognizes that students enter Emory’s Laney Graduate School (LGS) with multifaceted language backgrounds. We serve students with a wide range of proficiencies through courses, workshops, and individual language consultations. We look forward to working with you and your students as they gain the advanced language and sociocultural skills needed for U.S. graduate level study, Emory teaching roles, and the speaking and writing demands of the professional world inside and outside the university community.

Speaking support focuses on improving both fluency and accuracy and centers around the completion of academic tasks, such as giving various types of presentations (for specialist and non-specialist audiences) as well as participating in discussions across a wide range of topics. Participants have multiple opportunities to practice communicating information from their own fields of study. Some example offerings include:

  • Communication skills for intermediate speakers (Course)
  • Communication skills for advanced speakers (Course)
  • Seminar in professional communication (Course)
  • Talking about your research (Workshop)
  • Developing professional body language & voice for online communication (Workshop)

Writing support is designed for participants who exhibit some of the qualities of clear and purposeful academic writing and yet may need direct instruction on key concepts, such as audience, purpose, academic style, rhetorical moves, and cohesion, along with consistent writing practice and feedback from a language specialist to communicate their ideas more clearly.

  • Fundamentals of graduate writing (Course)
  • Research article writing (Course)
  • Online tools to improve your academic style & word choice (Workshop)
  • Writing an abstract (Workshop)

Other English language support

Contact us

  • The ELSP looks forward to working with you and your students toward language advancement.
  • To refer a student for language support, complete this student referral form or contact Heather Boldt, ELSP director, at hboldt@emory.edu