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The English Language Institute, in coordination with University Tutorial Services, has ESOL-trained tutors to assist all multilingual ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ students with their English-language skills.

The ELI Tutors are available by appointment: 

Tutoring is held by appointment:

• All scheduled tutoring appointments take place in CIW library, Old Champlain 314, or via Zoom. Check your appointment confirmation email for more details.

Is ELI Tutoring for Me? 

ELI Tutoring is for all multilingual ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ students, undergraduates and graduates.  This may include:

• International students, students with permanent residence, refugees, and DACA students who do not speak English as their first language , or whose parents do not. 
• American citizens who may be citizens, naturalized citizens, or have gained citizenship through their parents' naturalization and do not speak English as their first language or their parents do not.

• Rules & Policies          (Read carefully before making an appointment)

  Cancellation:

  • Per UTS rules, you must cancel your appointment 12 hours in advance to be in good standing.
  • Appointments cancelled with less than 12 hours notice will be counted as No Show appointments.
  • We suggest 24 hours notice for all cancellations.

  No Show:

  • 4 missed appointments (no show or cancellation with less than 12 hours notice) will result in loss of ELI tutoring privileges for the remaining semester.
  • UTS may also suspend tutoring for other subjects.

  Use:

  • Students are allowed 2 hours a week per class of tutoring. For example, 2 hours for EML 205 and 2 hours for EML 210 for a total of 4 hours.
  • Students seeking self-study skills are allowed 2 hours of tutoring a week. This means if you do not have coursework you want assistance with, but you want to work on your language yourself, you have 2 hours of tutoring time to work on language skills.
  • Students are allowed a total of 4 hours of tutoring per week.
  • Students enrolled in 2 ELI courses who wish to add an additional hour for self-study skills  (for a total of 5 hours) may do so with permission from the ELI Tutor Coordinator, Trena Haffenden. Email Thaffend@binghamton.edu for permission. 
  • Students may not make back-to-back or same-day appointments. Each hour must be on a separate day.
• Apply to Become an ELI Tutor

  ELI Tutors must complete EML 492 Tutoring ELLs, or have previous experience. To learn more about becoming an ELI Tutor, and to apply for admission to EML 492, email Trena Haffenden, the ELI Tutor Coordinator at thaffend@binghamton.edu

What Can the ELI Tutors Do For You?

The ELI tutors are trained to assist you with language and cultural issues that affect you as a students here at ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ.

Some examples of things we help with are:

Understanding homework assignments: The class material may not be a problem, but knowing what the professor expects you to do can be. We can help you meet your professor's goals for assignments before you meet with the Critical Thinking Lab!

Understanding culturally bound materials: Maybe you are having difficulty with a reading because you are new to US culture. Perhaps a video presentation doesn't make sense because you're missing important information related to US history. We can give you the clues that will help you understand.

Writing assignments: Not only can we help you organize your ideas and format, but we can help find persistent grammar errors and practice sentence structure and punctuation issues with you before you visit the Writing Center!

Study skills: Your study habits may need some adjusting. Perhaps you need to schedule yourself more time for assignments. Maybe you're using the wrong reading approach. We can help you identify issues, and build new habits before you visit the Success Coaches!

Providing resources: We know where to find practice materials and information to help you with your language skills.

Developing listening skills: Are you having trouble in lecture because your professor has an accent, speaks quickly, or you are overwhelmed by the amount of information? We can help you practice skills that will develop your listening and note-taking skills.

Practicing presentations: We can look over your presentations, listen to you practice, and give you tips to improve your presentations before you visit the Speaking Center!

Pronunciation and conversation skills: You may just want someone to work on your pronunciation with you, or help you prepare for an interview. We can work with you and/or give you resources so you can work on your own.

Though an ELI tutor is not an expert in every field, we do understand the struggles of language learning and the difficulty of adapting to the US educational system. All ELI tutors at BU are empathetic, compassionate, and enthusiastic about helping you succeed. If we don't know the answer to your question, we will find it.

Questions?

Contact us!

Trena Haffenden
ELI Tutor Coordinator
thaffend@binghamton.edu
Old Champlain 319