2026 ESL for Professionals Certificate

The ESL for Business Professionals is a 12-week professional certificate program comprised of three courses that provide English instruction to English as a second language (ESL) beginners who own or are doing business with English speakers. This program provides instruction for conversational English in the workplace at an affordable price.

Students will learn how to speak with clients/customers, business vocabulary, phone and email etiquette, how to build relationships with customers and colleagues and how to present in front of a group.

This course is 100% asynchronous online and includes:

• Free and downloadable resources
• Teacher engagement
• Discussion boards
• Interactive assignments and practice activities
• Practicing presentations
• Drafting emails
• Mock phone conversations
• Conducting job interviews
• Running a meeting

All business professionals including but not limited to business owners, executives, engineers, managers, and doctors, lawyers, contractors and more who wishes to improve their English language skills, desire to excel at work or achieve success in their business.

This non-credit curriculum is designed to provide the knowledge, skills, and tools that can be applied immediately to your profession.

In this first course, you will learn how to start conversations. The goal is to learn words in English and develop confidence when carrying on a simple conversation. This class is focused on phonetics to help you get accustomed to English sounds and pronunciations. The course will meet 2x a week where students will practice their language development.

Dates offered:

• Spring Session 2: March11-May 5, 2026

Frequency: 2x a week on Tuesdays & Fridays from 6 - 8 PM

Cost: $150.00

Course 2 (ESL901): Meeting People: Who Are They

Learn about your industry and the importance and norms that you deal with daily. How would you conduct a meeting in English? How do you outline the vital elements for that meeting? In this course, you are extending the basics of conversation, but from this point, understand how to present a project in English and respond to questions and answers. The course will meet 2x a week where students will practice their language development in English.

Dates offered:

• Summer Session I May 5-July 7, 2026

Frequency: 2x a week on Tuesdays & Fridays from 6 - 8 PM

Cost: $150.00

In this course, you will connect with people in your industry and expand your network. You will present your work, research, or something about yourself that would be interesting for people to know. The course will meet 2x a week where students will practice their language development in English.

Dates offered:

• Summer Session II July 8- August 28, 2026

Frequency: 2x a week on Tuesdays & Fridays from 6 - 8 PM

Cost: $150.00

Dr. Vaughn Suazo is a first-generation immigrant who grew up between US and Honduras. As a child growing up in the United States, she often saw injustice in everyday life and questioned the inequalities. During her early years in education, she discovered that her peers often received tutoring or help from their families and that attributed to their success in school. She realized that there was inequality of opportunities for children in families where there are fewer resources available; less for those living in poverty. She gained interest in figuring out ways to help parents and children make better connections to succeed academically.

One of her skills growing up was documenting the experience of individuals through multimedia projects. She studied video production and documentary training while in middle school. Through a fellowship program with the Reebok Foundation and a campaign in Human Rights, at the age of 13, she traveled to Russia to receive an International Film and Video award for her film Stop the Violence and Teen Pregnancy. She continued to produce videos as a teen and in 1992 went to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and produced the first-ever campus news show, “Umass Update,” which still airs today. After leaving UMass, she went on to WHDH-Ch7’s Urban Update in Boston and produced a two-part mini-documentary titled Black Hispanics living in Massachusetts. She used this platform to explain the struggles of being born to immigrant families and living in the United States. In addition to this work, she collaborated on a national campaign with the National Latina Health Network by coordinating and producing a prevention and education project to raise awareness about women and HIV/AIDS/STD prevention (performance of a play, peer-leadership work, production of educational vignettes).

Sendy has used media as a platform to bring education to people who often do not have access to formal educational resources. She uses innovative practices to spark learning. She continued to dedicate her life to bringing education to others who share similar experiences in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.