This course introduces students to authentic speech from professional presentations and formal debates. Students will learn the pragmatic strategies to communicate effectively in class discussions while differentiation between neutral formal and informal registers. Furthermore, students will learn to approach their study of English vocabulary through a multitude of strategies that include: manipulating morphemes to form various forms of vocabulary words, studying grammatical and syntactic structures which are used to form sentences with the target vocabulary words, and finally using the Corpus of Contemporary American English to use target vocabulary words in natural spoken and written text. Lastly, students will build presentation skills by delivering both impromptu and formal researched presentations in collaboration with their peers.

At the completion of this course, students will be able to identify the steps of the writing process and specific skills used to produce academic essays, which include supporting information in the form of quotations, summary, response, and paraphrase. Students will also become acquainted with integrating this information to construct a college level paper. Students will become familiar with the rules of in-text citation and correct citation of sources, and basic APA format requirements. As part of this course, students will develop awareness about academic journal articles, locating them in the library, and becoming familiar with the separate sections of these kinds of articles. They will continue to expand their academic vocabulary as well as to improve their revision and editing skills. This course's primary focus is to produce as academic essay using the rhetorical pattern of argumentation, including planning, researching, writing and revising.

This course is a part of a skills based Intensive English program designed to help students prepare for academic success when they enter the university system. The primary focus of this course is the use of conditionals and adjective clauses. The use of modal verbs and the passive is reviewed.

This course actively involves students, through a combination of group work and individual assignments, in their continued development of the reading and vocabulary skills needed to succeed at an American university. The reading material includes a variety of academic and journalistic materials, utilizing a variety of strategies for further comprehension. The texts include academic, fiction and non-fiction.