Course Descriptions
Courses are listed with course codes grouped by course type headings with its lecture
hours and lab instructional hours (if applicable). Each clock hour of instruction
or lab stated has a 10-minute recess; each instructional hour is 50 minutes long.
For each course, after its description, there are prerequisites which students must
complete with a passing grade (C or above). The last day of a term is reserved for
courses with online finals.
Listening/Speaking series (Lecture: 40 hours)
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Students will begin developing communicative competence in English by studying and
practicing specific structures, vocabulary, and communicative functions such as
introductions, likes and dislikes, describing people, talking about events and locations,
and exchanging information. To reach these goals, students do listening drills and
oral practice with classmates and their instructor. Focused vocabulary development
and pronunciation work supplement these core conversation functions. Prerequisite:
None
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Students continue developing communicative competence in English by studying and
practicing specific structures, vocabulary, and communicative functions such as
likes and dislikes, discussing plans, describing abilities and skills, and describing
technology. To achieve this, students do role playing, group and pair work, and
listening comprehension drills. Focused vocabulary development and pronunciation
work supplement these core conversation functions. Prerequisite: L/S 102 or R/W
202
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Students further develop communicative competence in English by studying and practicing
specific structures, vocabulary, and communicative functions such as describing
personalities, discussing jobs, making requests, narrating a story, and talking
about learning methods. To accomplish this, students do pair and group work, go
through listening comprehension exercises, and speak in response to reading material.
Focused vocabulary development and pronunciation work supplement these core conversation
functions. Prerequisite: L/S 202 or R/W 302
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Students begin to focus on English competence for academic success. Through recordings
on diverse themes and topics that stimulate critical thinking, including advertising,
athletics, storytelling, culture, commerce, and humor, students build their listening
skills for formal and informal discourse. They develop their speaking skills by
exploring, analyzing, and explaining matters within these themes and topics. Vocabulary
includes idioms and collocations, and pronunciation work supplements class discussion.
Prerequisite: L/S 302 or R/W 402
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Students continue developing their English competence for academic success. Through
more challenging recordings on diverse themes and topics that stimulate critical
thinking, including the media, personal obstacles, natural disasters, interviewing,
and education, students expand their listening skills for formal and informal discourse.
They also build their speaking skills by exploring, analyzing, explaining, and advocating
matters in these themes and topics. Vocabulary includes idioms and collocations,
and pronunciation work supplements class discussion. Prerequisite: L/S 402 or R/W
502
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Students further develop their English competence for academic success. Through
even more challenging recordings on diverse themes and topics that stimulate critical
thinking such as addiction, cross-cultural insights, religion, business, and the
arts, students hone their listening skills for formal and informal discourse. They
also polish their speaking skills by exploring, analyzing, explaining, and advocating
matters in these themes and topics. Vocabulary includes idioms and collocations,
and pronunciation work supplements class discussion. Prerequisite: L/S 502 or R/W
602
Reading/Writing series (Lecture: 40 hours)
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This level is an introduction to academic English. The short, simple reading passages
cover a variety of engaging themes and topics. Students will follow the convenient
structure of academic style in order to read quickly and effectively. They will
find the general topic, main point, supporting reasons, and examples. They will
also practice making inferences and drawing conclusions. They will go on to respond
by writing their own thoughts in short sentences and paragraphs, working toward
writing fluently. These skills, learned at this level, will make English much less
mysterious. Prerequisite: None
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In this level, students will take more steps in academic English through assignments
in a variety of themes and topics, including Internet social networking, art, small
businesses, and city planning for traffic. In each unit, students will read two
passages from different points of view on a topic and compare them. Students will
then be guided step by step to use certain points in writing style and grammar to
write their own thoughts on the same topic. Styles include sentences, simple paragraphs,
personal letters, space and time order, comparison, and expressing an opinion. Grammar
points include common verb tense forms, pronouns, and questions. Prerequisite: R/W
102 or L/S 202
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Students will develop their academic communication in English through assignments
in a variety of engaging themes and topics - including finding the ideal job, making
money, netiquette, organic fruit and vegetables, and winter blues. In each unit,
students will read two passages from different points of view on a topic and then
compare them. Students will then be guided step by step to use certain points in
grammar and style to write their own thoughts on the topic. Styles include transition
words, punctuation, and direct speech. Grammar topics include comparative adjectives,
verbs plus gerunds and infinitives, and count and non-count nouns. Prerequisite:
R/W 202 or L/S 302
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Students will develop further competence in academic English through assignments
in a variety of themes and topics - including advertising, medical fraud, gender
behavior, humor, and crime and punishment. In each unit, students will read two
passages from different points of view on a topic and then compare them. After studying
some points in writing style and grammar, students will be guided step by step to
use them to write their own thoughts on the topic. Styles include summary writing,
comparing and contrasting, and parallel structure. Grammar topics include choosing
between similar verb tenses, using superlatives, and forming noun clauses. Prerequisite:
R/W 302 or L/S 402
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Students will develop analytical skills while continuing to build language competence
through the study of intellectually challenging reading and writing exercises structured
around stimulating themes such as the media, medicine, philanthropy, education and
food. Additionally, students will produce writing through the process of generating
ideas, organizing and drafting content, revising, and editing for grammar and mechanics.
Prerequisite: R/W 402 or L/S 502
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Students will develop analytical skills while continuing to build language competence
through the study of intellectually challenging reading and writing exercises structured
around stimulating themes such as addiction, utopian movements, trends, business,
and the arts. Additionally, students will produce writing through the process of
generating ideas, organizing and drafting content, revising, and editing for grammar
and mechanics. Prerequisite: R/W 502 or L/S 602
Grammar (Lecture: 20 hours)
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These courses are an introduction to basic English grammar. The goal is for students
to build a smooth, clear, easy-to-use, and easy-to-remember foundation for their
spoken and written English. Specifically, in spoken and written exercises, students
use everyday language and situations to practice and establish good usage in full
sentences with subject-verb agreement (singular and plural), basic verbs and verb
tenses (including irregular verbs) in the present and past time, countable and non-countable
nouns, "a/an" and "the," and pronouns. Prerequisite: None
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In this level, students continue to build their everyday English foundation while
increasing their skill and confidence in speaking and simple writing. The following
topics are covered: verbs in the past and future time; modal verbs for ability,
advice, necessity, requests, and suggestions; adding descriptions to nouns, including
how much and how many; possessive terms; "if" sentences; and sentences that make
comparisons. Prerequisite: L/S 102, R/W 102, or GR 102
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Students step into English usage for more complicated and varied situations. To
do this, they speak and write more-complex sentences. Specifically, students practice
more verb tenses (including more irregular verbs) in present, past, and future time;
types of questions; noun and pronoun usage in different parts of the sentence (including
subject-verb agreement, how much, and how many); "if" sentences; and modal verbs
for ability, possibility, permission, requests, advice, necessity, prohibition,
logical conclusions, commands, and preferences. Prerequisite: L/S 202, R/W 202,
or GR 202
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Students continue to use English for more complicated and varied situations. In
this level, students connect more ideas into sentences, refine the sentences that
make comparisons, practice countable and non-countable nouns and infinitives to
tell more about a verb's action or situation, make passive verbs and know when to
use them, and build sentences with more than one subject-verb set to distinguish
between more-important information and less-important details (main clauses, adjective
clauses and noun clauses). Prerequisite: L/S 302, R/W 302, or GR 302
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Students come to a more-complete skill and acquaintance with the necessary English
forms and usages for complicated and unpredictable situations. In detail, students
increase their choices in verb tenses, including passive verbs and when to use them;
subject-verb agreement; nouns (countable and non-countable, "a/an" and "the," and
quantities); and modal verbs. Prerequisite: L/S 402, R/W 402, or GR 402
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Students come to a near-complete skill and acquaintance with the necessary English
forms and usages for complicated and unpredictable situations. By doing exercises,
students expand their use of complex sentences including dependent clauses for different
levels of importance and details (adjective clauses, noun clauses, and adverb clauses);
gerunds and infinitives after verbs; parallel structures inside sentences; connections
from one complete sentence to the next for cause and effect, contrast, and condition;
and connections within a sentence for conditions and wishes. Prerequisite: L/S 502,
R/W 502, or GR 502
Pronunciation (Lecture: 20 hours)
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Students are introduced to American English sounds, the area where non-native speakers
often lack and need to overcome to pass as a native speaker. All sounds are introduced
and their pronunciation keys. There will be a lot of drills to practice and exercises
introduced to perfect the sounds learned. Idioms are taught through a variety of
exercises so that the students can use and pronounce them correctly. Prerequisite:
None
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Students will review and continue to practice all individual sounds. Additionally,
stress and intonation are taught so that the students can speak like a native speaker.
Prerequisite: L/S 202, R/W 202, or EPr 102
Idioms (Lecture: 20 hours)
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Idioms that are prevalent in everyday language, as well as more complex, though
equally common, phrasal verbs are introduced. Idioms and phrasal verbs are learned
in context and students are taught idioms through a variety of exercises and activities.
Correct pronunciation with proper stress and intonation, as well as individual sounds,
are taught so that the idioms learned can be spoken like a native speaker. Prerequisite:
L/S 202, R/W 202, or EPr 302
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Students will recognize and correctly use advanced level idioms that are prevalent
in everyday language, as well as more complex, though equally common, phrasal verbs.
Idioms and phrasal verbs are learned in context, and their origins will be studied.
Stress and intonation, as well as individual sounds, are taught to speak like a
native for the idioms and phrasal verbs introduced. Prerequisite: L/S 402, R/W 402,
or EId 302
TOEFL Intro (Lecture 40 hours)
- The
courses are an overview of the high intermediate-level speaking, listening, reading
and writing skills and an introduction to succeed on the iBT TOEFL. Test-taking
strategies are introduced, but the focus is to develop continuously the four skills
of English proficiency required to succeed in future academic endeavors. Prerequisite:
R/W 402 or L/S 402
- The
courses are an overview of advanced-level speaking, listening, reading and writing
skills and an introduction to succeed on the iBT TOEFL. Test-taking strategies are
introduced more in depth, but the focus is to develop continuously the four skills
of English proficiency required to succeed in future academic endeavors. Prerequisite:
R/W 502 L/S 502 or TF 502
TOEFL Prep (Lecture and Lab: 64 and 16 hours)
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The courses are a comprehensive overview of advanced-level speaking, listening,
reading and writing skills needed to succeed on the iBT TOEFL exam. Through an intense
review of test-taking strategies and skills, the student will develop a high level
of general language ability in both receptive (listening and reading) and productive
(speaking and writing) skill areas to achieve a satisfying TOEFL score. This course
is accompanied with the computer lab where you are required to take three complete
simulated iBT TOEFL exams and a final, which is to assess the student only from
the materials covered in class. The simulated exams taken will be reviewed in class
so that the student knows the areas needed to improve. Prerequisite: R/W 602, L/S
602, or TF 602