For Intensive English Students

Who is this Program for?

  • students from all over the world who are at least 18 years old
  • students who want to improve their English as quickly as possible
  • students who want an intensive program – at least 18 hours of instruction per week
  • students who want to improve their reading, writing, speaking and listening

When are Courses Offered?

  • three times per year – fall, spring, and summer
  • Fall: September to December – 14 weeks
  • Spring: January to May – 14 weeks
  • Summer: June to August – 7 weeks
  • See the current class schedule

What is the placement test for the Intensive English Program?

  • The placement test has two parts: a writing test and the iTEP exam
  • The writing test is a 45-minute essay on a general topic. It is very similar to task 2 on the IELTS writing exam and the Independent task on iBT TOEFL.
  • The iTEP exam is a test of listening, grammar, and reading. You can find out more about the test here: itepexam website (NOTE: you will only take the grammar, listening, and reading portions of the test).

What Classes Can I Take?

  • two levels of instruction – intermediate, advanced
  • integrated English (all skills) – 4 times per week, 3.5 hours per session
  • one extra class – 2 times per week, 2 hours per session
  • optional extra classes – up to 8 more hours of instruction per week
  • schedules can be designed to leave Friday, Saturday, and Sunday free

What Extra Classes Can I Take?

  • Preparation for Academic Study
  • Presentations
  • Vocabulary
  • Exam Preparation

What Does the Program Cost?

Visit the Dates and Costs page for detailed cost information, including tuition and fees, together with help in estimating living expenses.

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How Can I Apply?

What Will I Learn?

There are two intensive levels for each semester: 012 and 013. You also take one extra course (an elective). The tables below show what you will learn in each level and in the electives.

UMEI 012 – Intermediate

By the end of the course, students will:
Reading
  • Read an intermediate level text of at least 800 words with 75% or better comprehension.
Writing
  • Write a unified and coherent three-paragraph essay.
Listening
  • Understand the main idea and some details of a 5 to 8 minute listening selection on a social, simple academic or professional topic
Speaking
  • Participate in group discussions on social, simple academic or professional topics

UMEI 013 – Advanced

By the end of the course, students will:
Reading
  • Read a low advanced level text of at least 1500 words with 75% or better comprehension.
Writing
  • Write a unified and coherent five-paragraph essay.
Listening
  • Understand the main idea and most of the details of a 15-20 minute listening selection on an academic or professional topic.
Speaking
  • Effectively participate in group discussions on a range of academic, non-academic and professional topics

Electives

The table below shows what you may study in the extra classes that are offered.

Preparation for Academic Study
  • demonstrate ability to appropriately and actively participate in the American academic setting.
  • demonstrate a basic understanding of faculty life, the tenure system, and faculty communications.
  • demonstrate familiarity with American student attitudes and the role of opinion in the American classroom.
  • demonstrate improvement in their academic note-taking, reading and writing skills.
Exam Preparation
  • demonstrate familiarity with the format of the IELTS and TOEFL exams.
  • employ the strategies needed to achieve higher scores in their weaker skills areas.
Presentations
  • effective create and use visual aids.
  • effectively organize presentations.
  • effectively use strategies for connecting with an audience.
  • effectively use strategies for reducing presentation anxiety.
Focus on Conversation
  • demonstrate familiarity with conversations between native American speakers.
  • demonstrate command of conversational tools and strategies.
  • demonstrate command of the lexis and grammar needed to engage in conversations with native American speakers.
  • pronounce English clearly enough so that it is intelligible to native English speakers.
Vocabulary
  • master strategies for learning new words.
  • demonstrate ability to guess the meaning of words from various types of context.
  • become proficient at using online resources that are useful for learning about words.
  • acquire the habits necessary for consistent, ongoing vocabulary expansion into long-term memory.
  • use grammatical knowledge to enlarge vocabulary faster, more accurately, and more effectively.

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