PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

We recognize that our students come from diverse cultures and academic backgrounds and that every student has different strengths and weaknesses, focuses and needs. Our curriculum therefore is structured into distinct course types followed by test preparation courses:

• Listening and Speaking courses where students learn communicative functions that develop and sharpen their listening and speaking skills;
• Reading and Writing courses where students develop and sharpen their knowledge of English in reading comprehension and writing skills;
• Grammar courses where students reinforce their knowledge of English by focusing on the structure of English;
• Elective courses where the focus is in pronunciation and American idioms;
• Test Preparation courses where students may choose to study TOEFL, GMAT or GRE exams.

POLY offers two ESL programs that are designed to meet the needs and educational goals of our students. Each program consists of six levels: level one is for beginners and false beginners; level two is for advanced beginners; levels three and four are intermediate levels, low and high respectively; and levels five and six are for advanced students. All levels are designed for an eight-week study. Each level is divided into two sessions. Each session lasts four weeks with a session start date and a session end date. Students are tested and placed in the courses appropriate to their language capability.

Our test preparation classes are intended for those students who have completed our ESL program and require a TOEFL, GMAT or GRE score to attend the college, university, or graduate school of their choice. The GMAT and GRE have been designed specifically for the English language learner with emphasis placed on the verbal section. The TOEFL course is also intended for those students who wish to review higher level listening comprehension, grammar, reading and writing before leaving our program.