Intensive English Programs

Elementary A is for people who have studied English before but who need to develop their ability to understand and use the English they learned in school. Students in this level practice all areas of English communication: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, writing and discussion in an increasingly integrated format.

Elementary B takes the student beyond the foundations of speaking and understanding to work on more advanced structures, such as adverb clauses of time and compound sentences. Students practice these structures and learn to recognize and use them in reading and writing as well as speaking. Discussion of reading and writing projects are encouraged as practices are integrated more and more.

Intermediate A, B & C give students practice in more advanced English in an integrated manner: speaking, listening, reading, discussion, and writing are taught and practiced as related skills. Students work with more complex structures, learn to write compositions using such rhetorical organizational forms as comparison and contrast, cause and effect, and classification, etc. They also learn discussion skills, such as asking for opinions of other students, interrupting, asking for clarification, giving opinions and clarifying ideas.

After completing the Basic Program, students are encouraged to study in our Advanced Communications courses where they develop fluency and confidence in the use of English while practicing with real materials and situations: watching and discussing television or video programs, visiting and observing actual courtroom trials, attending television talk shows, visiting organizations and businesses, and interviewing American people in fields of interest to each student.

Individuals who are interested in attending a college or university also study in the College Preparation courses. In College Preparation I, a ten-week course, students listen to videotaped lectures and practice note-taking and listening comprehension. They learn how to read college level textbooks and how to take examinations on the information studied in textbooks and lectures. They also learn how to write college level compositions and essay examinations to prepare them for taking a College Writing 101 class. In addition, they do practice exercises and vocabulary development to prepare for the TOEFL.  College Preparation II, given for five or ten weeks, follows College Preparation I. It prepares students for university and graduate studies and emphasizes how to write a research paper. Students also continue to listen to lectures and practice note-taking, read college level texts and increase their TOEFL scores.