World Languages and English Language Learning
The World Languages Department at Harold Washington College offers classes in Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and specialized courses for heritage Spanish Learners. There are courses for novice speakers to heritage and native speakers. If you need HUM or transfer credit to a university, many upper level courses 104 and above are IAI and satisfy HUM graduation requirements at CCC. Interested? Look at our language programs below. The world is waiting for you.
Are you looking to improve your Academic English skills? Our English Language Learning (ELL/ESL) courses are for you! At Harold Washington College, a community of English Learners take college courses toward their degree while improving their English Language skills. This is what makes CCC a very special experience for English Learners. Our students are citizens, new immigrants, and international students. Whether you are interested in improving your English skills for a CCC program, a two-year transfer degree, career development, or personal reasons, our English Language Learning faculty are here for you!
ELL and World Languages Schedule
- ESL Questions? Ask Department Chair Jacqueline Cunningham jcunningham@ccc.edu
- Language Questions? Ask Andrew Aquino Cutcher acutcher@ccc.edu or Gabriela Cambiasso gcambiasso@ccc.edu
Study Abroad Information
We encourage you to pursue one of the many scholarships that offer you the opportunity to study in another country. Please review some of the available scholarships here.
Then Ask Andrew Aquino-Cutcher acutcher@ccc.edu for the Study Abroad Packet or pick up a packet in room 611
Faculty and Staff
Gabriela Cambiasso MA Spanish MA Linguistics
Gabriela Cambiasso has been a full-time faculty at Harold Washington College teaching Spanish language basic courses face-to-face and online, and English (ESL) reading, writing and grammar to English language learners for more than 15 years. She came to the US as an international student to get an MA in Hispanic Studies and afterwards an MA in Applied Linguistics- TESOL at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Later, she got many teaching positions at different colleges and universities in the Chicagoland area. Growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Spanish was her first language, and she started to learn English when she was in kindergarten. Since then, she has been passionate about learning languages and exploring different cultures. She is always excited to meet people from all over the world and learn about their experiences. In addition to teaching, she loves to travel with her family and friends, watch Latin American and European movies, and ride her bike around Chicago.
Assistant Professor Jacqueline M. Cunningham MEd MA Linguistics (She/Her/Hers)
Jacqueline M. Cunningham started teaching English Learners as a volunteer at an elementary school during her Study Abroad Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III. Later, she spent six months in Adelaide, Australia teaching workplace ESL to Australian immigrants. Her 30 years of service to languages include working with students of diverse language backgrounds on both communicative and academic English issues, as well as active participation in US advocacy efforts for English Learners, new arrivals, and undocumented students. Professor Cunningham has a passion for linguistics, cross cultural experiences, and experiential learning. Her latest efforts include bringing Study Abroad opportunities to the City Colleges of Chicago students.;
Assistant Professor Andrew Aquino Cutcher Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies: Langues et civilisations étrangères-University of Paris VII
Andrew Aquino-Cutcher began teaching English Learners as a volunteer in 1987 at the Lycée Rodin, a public secondary school in Paris, France. His twenty plus years of professional service in France and Brazil include working as a communications consultant, translator and trainer in leading multinationals before opening his own language consultancy. During this time, he also worked in Higher Education as a tutor, author, national researcher and examiner, Associate Professor and Department Coordinator in Foreign Languages at several public and private Universities and Engineering Schools. As a staunch advocate of World Languages and Global Education, his current endeavors include developing opportunities for underrepresented students at City Colleges of Chicago to participate in Study Abroad programs.
Michal Eskayo MA Linguistics Michal Eskayo’s first EFL class was to a young boy in Bordeaux, France in exchange for room and board and long before she knew it would become her lifelong passion and career for almost thirty years. After receiving her MA from UIC, she taught ESL at St. Augustine College to mostly Latinx students for thirteen years. She is an avid traveler and language learner. She speaks Spanish, Hebrew and some French, and her latest linguistic endeavor is Mandarin, which she began around seven years ago in Guilin, southern China. Teaching is her passion, and she strives to give her students a relaxing, fun and challenging experience. In addition to teaching, she is the Tenure Assistance Program leader for Harold Washington College.
Professor Emeritus Margarita Chávez MA Linguistics Professor Margarita Chávez is a first-generation college attendee and graduate who was born and raised in Chicago. She fell into the teaching profession by dint of working in the World Language Dept. at Harold Washington College as department secretary. The Language Lab Director and professors in the Dept. encouraged her to obtain her Master’s Degree so that in due time she would be considered for a teaching position. It happened as predicted and she remains forever thankful to those who believed in her. As faculty member of Harold Washington, she sees her role as inspiring her students to stay and succeed in college. She believes that an education provides better opportunities that allow us to live a more fulfilling and purposeful life. Her life is an example of that.