Placement Procedures for the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Courses (ESL 504, 506, & 508)

Enrollment in the ITA courses is open to international graduate students only. Visiting Scholars and Post-Docs may not enroll in the ITA courses.

The EPT is not required for any course in the ITA sequence.

For ESL 504 and 506, the screening test for ITAs (the English Proficiency Interview, EPI) is not required for enrollment. However, information from the EPI score report can be useful in determining the course best suited to a particular student’s needs. See guidelines below.  For ESL 508, the EPI is required prior to enrollment and the course is restricted to students who received a score of 4CP or higher.

Guidelines for selecting the appropriate ITA course

• ESL 504: EPI score of 4 or lower with comments related to accurate pronunciation of sounds, words, or rhythm.  Or previous completion of ESL 506.
• ESL 506: EPI score of 4 or lower with comments related to fluency, rhythm, content development or organization.  Or previous completion of ESL 504.
• ESL 508: EPI score of 4CP or higher.

For further information, please contact the ITA course coordinator, Suzanne Franks (scfranks@illinois.edu).