Classes in the Intensive English as a
Second Language Program
During orientation, each new student to
the Intensive E.S.L. Program...
- takes an English proficiency test.
- writes a brief composition, a personal
goals statement.
- participates in a short oral interview
with a faculty member.
We review the results of these tests,
student's personal goal statements, and information about
the student's previous work in English. Each student works
with an ESL faculty member
to design an appropriate course of study.
All courses are offered at several English
proficiency levels to meet the needs of our students.
Each term: Oral
Grammar, University Reading,
Academic Writing, Pronunciation,
Academic Skills
Occasionally: Debate,
Discussion, Community
Investigations, Folktale Theater,
Introduction to American Culture,
TOEFL Preparation, Accent
Modification, Hot News Topics,
and Reading-Writing Workshop
Each Term — Course Descriptions:
Oral
Grammar |
The students in this course have
studied grammar before. They know many rules and can
choose many correct answers. In this class students
will review that material, learn some new structures,
and then use all their hard-won grammar correctly in
conversation, speeches, and discussions. You'll use
note cards, posters, PowerPoint, and video media to
present information, experiences, and concepts to classmates
grammatically, fluently, and clearly. Special project:
each student has the opportunity to create a personal
website. |
University
Reading |
Reading strategies, reading
stamina, and reading pleasure are three keys to success
in U.S. college and university classes. Students will
develop all three skills in this class as they work
with college textbook material (in such academic fields
as sociology, business, history, gender, technology,
science, art, and more), popular media (magazines, newspapers,
on-line sources), literature, and non-prose forms (for
example, instructions, application forms, schedules,
handbooks). They will summarize a piece of research,
make and support hypotheses, use research tools to solve
a problem or answer a question, enjoy a free hour with
a book, and make new friends in the reading community. |
Academic Writing |
The first thing that students
learn to write in any language is their own name. With
this first step, they become writers. As academic writers
in the U.S., they will keep a daily journal (an important
discipline for real writers). They will practice the
multi-step writing process which is current in the U.S.
It includes brainstorming, drafting, researching, sharing
work in the learning community of the classroom and
the Writing Center, and revising. They will develop
a repertoire of academic writing styles, including:
narrative, comparison-contrast, cause-effect, argument,
analysis, and process. They will also practice the academic
cultural conventions of properly formatting a paper
and documenting sources. |
Pronunciation |
The class encourages students
to reach for the goal of being easily understood by
Iowans and other native speakers. When new students
arrive, our specialist will give them a private pronunciation
evaluation and help them identify personal pronunciation
goals. After that, students follow a carefully structured
series of exercises to recognize and produce English
sounds, practice self-monitoring techniques, build awareness
of stress, rhythm and intonation, and use facial expression
and gestures to aid communication. |
Academic Skills |
In this class students put together
the language skills they've practiced during the rest
of the day to learn about new subjects through English.
As new students getting used to the student life and
academic culture at Coe College, they learn who and
how to ask for help with career planning, a bad cold,
or a noisy floor mate. They practice note-taking, test-taking,
speech-making, and debate. The instructor and students
select the academic content areas together. Recently,
students in Academic Skills class have learned about
African folk tales, drug addiction, women in the math
and science professions, friendship styles, art and
art history, and other topics, depending on the students'
interests. |
Occasional Classes — Course
Descriptions: These
classes are offered occasionally, depending on student need
and availability of instructors.
Community Investigations
Discover circles of community in the classroom, on the
Coe campus, and in the city of Cedar Rapids through
interview, conversation, and local travel.
|
Discussion
Share your hopes and goals, teach someone else something
you know but they don't, express your opinion, and practice
active listening in small groups or pairs. |
Debate
Clarify your thoughts, organize a logical oral argument,
practice listening well, and become an expert at thinking
on your feet.
|
Folktale Theater
Discuss folktale structure and motifs, create stories,
prepare script and storyboard, perform, and film a folktale. |
Introduction to American
Culture
Learn about U.S. education, geography, politics, holidays,
and slang.
|
"Hot Topics"
Students in this multi-skills class explore current
news events. |
| TOEFL Preparation
course uses sample TOEFL questions, test-taking strategies,
and "time pressure" to familiarize students
with the test. |
Accent Modification
Students use audio-video exercises, self-monitoring
and self-correction techniques to produce American intonation
and voice tone. |
Reading-Writing
Workshop:
Reading-Writing Workshop is a college credit class
for advanced students only.
The class will focus on developing language ability, academic
skills, and cultural awareness of issues and dimensions
of diversity: race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality,
religion, age, ability, and more.
Skill focus:
As an academic writer in the U.S., you will keep
a daily journal (an important discipline for real writers).
You will practice the multi-step writing process which is
popular in the U.S. It includes brainstorming, drafting,
researching, sharing your work in the learning community
of the classroom and the Writing Center, and revising. You
will develop a repertoire of academic writing styles, including:
narrative, comparison-contrast, cause-effect, argument,
analysis, and process. You will also practice the academic
cultural conventions of properly formatting a paper and
documenting sources. Large projects include preparing a
writing portfolio and editing and publishing a class magazine
with members of other writing classes. You will use an essay
anthology designed for U.S. students.
Applications:
Some of the topics that students wrote about last year include:
feminism, being a member of a minority group, an election
issue, educational myths, cultural barriers to preventing/controlling
HIV/AIDS, the cultural and political history of a town in
the Middle East.
|
