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=**BMCC ESL**= =**Department of Developmental Skills, BMCC, CUNY**=
 * 199 Chambers Street, Room N420, 10007**

The Department of Developmental Skills offers courses in Critical Thinking, English as a Second Language (ESL), Linguistics (LIN), and Academic and Critical Reading (ACR). The courses help students in developing competencies and skills essential to continued academic progress.

In order to determine whether a student has a need for these courses, placement examinations in reading (ACT Tests) and writing (CATW) are administered by CUNY. Students who score below certain scores are assigned to appropriate ESL and/or ACR courses. An ESL course is required for all students whose placement examination in writing receives a non-passing score and whose major problems with writing stem from a foreign language background.

The ACT measure Reading Skills and the CATW measures Writing Skills. The CUNY/ACT and CATW tests are used for initial placement and for exit from the top-level developmental/remedial courses in Academic and Critical Reading, English and English as a Second Language.

The prerequisite for Composition I (ENG 101) is passing both the ACT Reading and CATW Writing tests.