Intensive English Program

This full-time academic program for all English language learners is ideal for learning English through immersion. The Intensive English Program uses proven methods designed to accelerate second language learning by following the highly effective and innovative Focal Skills Approach to language acquisition. Emphasis is placed on language skills and cultural understanding necessary to enroll in college courses or to excel in the workplace. This program can also provide support for language learners enrolled in credit classes. There are 4 levels: 1) Listening, 2) Reading, 3) Writing, and 4) Pre-Collegiate. The Pre-Collegiate level is the final course in the program and offers academic / advanced English instruction, as well as a post-secondary pathway program of study to prepare international students for college-level coursework. In addition to the normal semester classes, a variety of elective courses are offered to enhance and enrich English language learning. 

All new students are required to complete an initial placement test for listening, reading, and writing skills. Students may take the placement test and enroll in August or October (fall semester) or January and March (spring semester). After an initial assessment, students are assigned to one of the four levels. 

Every eight weeks, students are re-assessed and have the opportunity to move to the next module or remain in the same module for additional training. Level 1: Listening and Level 2: Reading are both 8+ weeks. Level 3: Writing and Level 4: Pre-Collegiate are both a mandatory 16 week (1 full semester) course. During the fall and spring semesters, classes meet for 20 hours a week, Monday through Thursday from 9:00am to 11:30am and 12:00pm to 2:30pm. Summer intensive workshops are offered in June and July and meet Monday through Thursday from 9:00am to 1:00pm. 

The Intensive English Program (IEP) meets the requirements of a full course of study for F-1 international students and is appropriate for students on other types of visas. Students on non-immigrant visas other than F-1 have the option of attending part-time (10 hours per week) or full-time (if permitted under the student’s non-immigrant visa). With the successful completion of the Pre-Collegiate level, a certificate of completion and a three-credit hour in-district tuition waiver is awarded.

CSF 001 Listening Module

Pre-requisite: Incoming assessment score.

Goal: This module will introduce new vocabulary and direct students to apply previous knowledge to new areas through basic listening and speaking.

Learning Outcomes

Students will monitor their progress on listening and speaking abilities and will be able to:

1. Pre-listening: Acquire new and review previously learned vocabulary, idioms and grammar points.
2. Listening:
   1. Follow oral directions
   2. Identify main ideas of a listening segment
   3. Recall important details
   4. Recognize new target vocabulary and idioms
   5. Take notes from spoken context
   6. Arrange sequential information in chronological order
   7. Recognize stress and intonation patterns in utterances and their effect on meaning
3. Speaking:
   1. Use situational and idiomatically appropriate small talk
   2. Participate effectively in small group discussions
   3. Report information presented in a spoken context
   4. Construct questions and answers about content of a listening segment using grammar and idioms from the segment
   5. Use situationally appropriate language
   6. Use past/present/future tense in simple statements

CSF 002 Reading Module

Pre-requisite: Incoming assessment score or successful completion of CSF-001.

Goal: Apply the competency and fluency gained in basic reading to achieve academic and test-taking success. 

Learning Outcomes

Students will monitor their progress on reading ability and will be able to:

1. Acquire ten or more individual new vocabulary words each week and use them contextually in sentences and every-day conversation
2. Utilize appropriate reading strategies to comprehend unfamiliar texts/materials covering familiar fields of knowledge; which include
   1. Predicting, making notes as they read (annotating), identifying purpose of texts, utilizing visual and auditory learning, identify vocabulary through text, relating to previous experiences
   2. Define the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context
   3. Identify main ideas and key points to unfamiliar reading passages and use syntactic clues and other contextual clues to interpret complex sentences and unfamiliar words
   4. Restate main ideas
3. Evaluate texts for facts or opinions
4. Interpret the author’s point of view by analyzing clues, making inferences, and interpreting implied meaning or intent
5. Use contextual evidence to analyze themes and plots, describe settings and examine characters
6. Identify and examine literary devices such as metaphor and simile

CSF 003 Writing Module

Pre-requisite: Incoming assessment score or successful completion of CSF-002.

Goal: Students will develop their abilities as critical readers and writers.  The characteristics and demands of academic writing and research will be introduced, including the concepts of citation and plagiarism. Students will continue with opportunities to develop reading and speaking skills, and the class will increase awareness about the English language and American academic culture.

Learning Outcomes

Students will monitor their progress on writing ability and will be able to:

1. Develop writing through the steps of planning, drafting and editing
2. Develop skill to generate ideas, discover connections among ideas, and engage in progressive testing and reformulation of these ideas
3. Develop strategies to gain control of problems with grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and demonstrate sophisticated use of Standard English
4. Produce well-organized writing which reflects the correct use of main idea, supporting details, and conclusion in paragraphs or short compositions of at least 175-250 words in a class period.
5. Develop skill and confidence with public speaking, both formally and informally
6. Develop awareness and usage of American academic writing and research practices, including:
   1. The library and its resources (print, electronic, and services)
   2. Developing good research questions
   3. Finding and evaluating sources
   4. Proper means to integrate and cite sources
7. Define plagiarism and discuss the culturally-bound conventions of the English language and the American culture of academia

CSF 004 Pre-Collegiate Pathway Program

Pre-requisite: Incoming assessment score or successful completion of CSF-003.

Goal: Within this capstone level of IEP, students will become fluent and spontaneous readers, writers, and speakers, prepared for social and college-level academic interactions with minimal extra language support or guidance.

Students will monitor their progress on college-level academic literacy skills and will be able to:

1. Develop and apply metacognitive strategies to literacy tasks:
   1. Apply strategies to improve language mastery and comprehension of academic texts:
      1. Employ background knowledge, schema, etc.
      2. Predict meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary with contextual clues or word analysis
      3. Make inferences, draw conclusions and predict outcomes
      4. Use reference materials and research methods
   2. Reflect on and evaluate strategies used in reading, writing, thinking, speaking, and listening
2. Critically analyze complex texts:
   1. Identify major and minor points that writers are communicating to the readers;
   2. Examine the impact of vocabulary, word choice and sentence patterns to communicate readers’ and writers’ stances;
   3. Analyze the development of ideas and events throughout a text; and
   4. Compare themes across multiple texts.
3. Develop and support written and oral arguments in response to complex texts:
   1. Apply understanding of structure from diverse formats and media to their own writing and speaking
   2. Use structural patterns to organize major and minor points and demonstrate coherence and unity for written and oral pieces;
   3. Demonstrate appropriate tone, word choice, sentence complexity, grammar/mechanics/punctuation, and MLA/APA citation formats (with most practice in MLA, but exposure to others); and,
   4. Conduct peer and self-editing to produce works with minimal errors.
4. Demonstrate appropriate academic behavior with confidence, formally and informally, in both written and oral forms:
   1. Develop and articulate unique opinions, ideas and thoughts in response to readings, writings and class discussions.
   2. Contribute to a collaborative, interactive and respectful classroom, with methods such as agree/disagree, negotiation, compromise, consensus, conversation, teamwork and debate.
   3. Recognize and discuss relevant cultural differences.
   4. Discuss and practice academic standards and expectations in the American college classroom.
   5. Discuss the concept of Plagiarism and means to recognize and avoid it.