Vast amounts of daily news content are widely available and easily accessible, and they can be converted into materials for intermediate and advanced ESL classes. This article will describe the why and how for integrating news media sources into a multiskills ESL classroom. Through the news, students are immediately engaged with the material because they are viewing articles and news stories that are happening in the world. Additionally, the authentic nature of the material presents a broad spectrum of vocabulary and sentence structures. While students are not expected to understand every word or phrase, the exposure to authentic text in an ESL class is tremendously beneficial. This article will take a 1st-person perspective on the implementation of the news-based course, as well as ideas on how to use the news as a supplemental resource in other ESL classes, such as speaking, composition, or grammar/vocabulary classes.

This article will consider using TOEFL scores for purposes of placement and advising for international graduate students at a northern California research university. As the number of international students is on the rise and the funds for the graduate ESL program are diminishing, the way in which the university is handling the influx of international students is undergoing substantial changes. One aspect of the system that is gaining attention is the graduate-level ESL placement exam. To find out if using TOEFL scores for placement is a viable option, I have looked at the Pearson r coefficient for TOEFL scores and university placement exam scores from years 2007-2011. Results from this study show a moderate correlation between the TOEFL and placement exam and suggest that students at this university with TOEFL scores 110 and above should be exempt from any ESL requirement while students with TOEFL scores below 90 need to take ESL courses.