International Students and ESL Students: 

Is There a Difference?

More and more students from international backgrounds will be attending Midlands Technical College in the years to come. We as advisors will be facing many new challenges in helping these students determine the best course of study.

You may encounter two different groups of students originally from other countries:

International students: These are students who come to the US with F-1 Student visas specifically to study at MTC, and who will return to their home countries.

Immigrants and citizens: This group includes students who have moved to the US and intend to live and work here. They may be permanent residents, naturalized US citizens, refugees, or families of these groups. This group also includes US citizens from non-English-speaking areas such as Puerto Rico.

Then what are ESL students?  Of course, students from both groups may or may not be native speakers of English. A student from Kenya may have spoken English all her life, and a student who grew up in San Francisco may speak Chinese as his first language. Studnts who need more work in English as their Second Language are ESL students. A student from another country might be both an international student and an ESL student; a citizen of the US might be an ESL student only. 

The two linked pages will help you with these students. The first sheet, "International Students," should be used only with the students who are from other countries and have F-1 visas. The second, "English as a Second Language," can be used with students from either group who can benefit from instruction in English as a Second Language.