Course Descriptions

The program consists of 20 hours per week of classroom instruction in the basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. Video and audio equipment help students improve pronunciation and listening comprehension. An IEP computer lab is available on campus for student use.

There are three full-time levels in the IEP: Basic (Level 1), Intermediate (Level 11) and Advanced (Level 111). Students take a placement test to determine their level. Students who complete Levels II and III and subsequently enroll at EMU for an undergraduate degree may receive 15 semester hours of credit.

IEP 101/102/103 Basic Listening and Speaking

(8 hours/week --400 minutes total) In this class functions such as greeting, introductions, invitations, and telephone use are covered. The emphasis is on basic conversational skills--asking for and giving personal information and information for daily living. Students develop listening and speaking skills through a variety of classroom activities such as drama, jazz chants, songs, and brief oral presentations. Audio and video tapes are used to enhance instruction.

IEP 111/112/113 Basic Core

(Grammar, Writing, and Reading) (12 hours/week--600 minutes total) This class focuses on developing basic skills in grammar, writing, and reading. Students learn to use simple verb tenses, to recognize basic parts of speech, and to write simple and some compound sentences. Students write narratives, descriptions, and process analyses with a focus on using pre-writing techniques, constructing topic and supporting sentences, and following a simple editing code. They also practice reading skills, such as pre-reading, skimming, scanning, and deriving meaning from various kinds of texts, including pleasure reading books from the IEP library, textbooks, literature, and current newspapers and magazines.

IEP 201/2/3 Intermediate Speaking and Listening

(4 hours/week--200 minutes total) In this course students develop skills in identifying the main ideas of conversations, lectures, and other spoken texts and learn to recognize and understand stressed and reduced sounds in words and sentences. Learners also practice figuring out the meanings of new words from the context, making inferences from what they hear, and basic note-taking. They also develop skills for participating successfully in social conversations and academic discussions, as well as improve their pronunciation.

IEP 211/2/3 Intermediate Reading Workshop

(4 hours/ week--200 minutes total) Intensive and extensive reading of English in a workshop format. Through intensive reading, students increase their reading speed and improve comprehension of material in short passages and texts by practicing a variety of strategies. Extensive reading emphasizes reading for enjoyment through novels and biographies. Students periodically report and record their progress in extensive reading and reading speed.

IEP 221/2/3 Intermediate Writing and Grammar

(8 hours/week--400 minutes total) This course helps students to develop their academic writing and grammar skills. They learn to use grammar structures correctly in meaningful spoken and written communication. They develop writing skills in organizing ideas; creating topic sentences; organizing paragraphs; using examples and details to support main ideas; making ideas fit together and flow smoothly using transition words; and editing, revising, and proof reading essays. Often common rhetorical forms are practiced, such as narration, process description, classification, cause-effect, and comparison-contrast. Besides working on formal writing, students learn to write fluently by keeping a journal.

IEP 231/2 Intermediate Content: Communication in American Culture

(4 hours/ week--200 minutes total) The study of cross-cultural communication for English as a second language in the context of the United States. While raising awareness of how communication takes place in students' own cultures, the course provides information and practice for a wide variety of culturally determined aspects of oral communication appropriate for US culture. The course uses dialogues, role playing, small and large group discussion, contact assignments (in the campus or broader community), student reports, and written work to develop cross-cultural sensitivities and skills. Aspects of American culture about which students are curious may be explored through research & reading/viewing of contemporary media, guest speakers, videos, field trips, and service learning experiences.

IEP 241 English Bible

(2 hours/week--100 minutes) This elective course uses content drawn from the gospels (in the New Testament of the Christian Bible) in order to practice reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills. Well-known stories from the life and work of Jesus are read from a contemporary translation of the Bible. Students practice retelling the stories and summarizing them in writing. Relevant audio and video recordings of the gospel stories are also used. Stories are discussed in relation to contemporary issues or personal concerns. The university chapel program and members of the campus community are important resources for the course.

IEP 253 English Online

(5 hours/week--250 minutes--four-week course) The course develops grammar, reading, vocabulary, and listening skills through using language learning resources on the internet. Students explore web sites, set individual goals for practice and learning, and choose methods of demonstrating successful learning to the instructor. Through email correspondence, students report on activities and goals to the instructor, receive feedback, and develop writing skills in the process.

IEP 263 Idioms and Anecdotes

(4 hours/week--200 minutes---a six- to ten-week course ) Students practice oral expression and reading skills and develop vocabulary in a fun, relaxed atmosphere through reading short, humorous stories and studying idioms commonly used in American English. Students develop an understanding of American humor. Anecdotes in simple English are used to help students strengthen listening skills and boost their reading speed while maintaining good comprehension. Drama, story-telling, and strip stories, are common forms of language practice employed in the course.

IEP 301/2/3 Advanced Listening and Speaking

(4 hours/week--200 minutes total) Listening and speaking skills in English for academic purposes are developed through a wide variety of activities. Textbooks are accompanied by audiotapes for listening practice. Students practice note taking skills while listening to academic lectures from a wide variety of disciplines. They practice a variety of quiz and test types using the lecture material. Tapes are available in the Learning Resource Center of the library for students to use outside of class. Large and small group discussions, role-plays, student presentations, videotapes, guest speakers, visits to university classes, and attendance at chapel or evening lectures to hear visiting speakers are used in order to improve students' academic oral skills.

IEP 311/2/3 Advanced Reading

(4 hours/week--200 minutes total) The course promotes extensive reading outside of class and uses some of the class time to monitor students' outside reading, providing creative ways for them to share their reading with others. The teacher guides students in using search tools for finding suitable reading materials in the library and on the internet. The course also reinforces and practices reading comprehension and vocabulary skills that students have begun learning at the intermediate level. Instruction encourages conscious self-selection of vocabulary according to individual needs. Intensive reading of authentic materials done in class reinforces students' understanding of more complex English grammatical structures and vocabulary. Students continue making gains in reading speed.

IEP 321/2/3 Advanced Writing and Grammar

(8 hours/week--400 minutes total) Integrating the teaching of writing and grammar, this course helps students perfect their skills in writing well developed, coherent paragraphs and short essays with special attention to editing of grammar. Following a process model of writing, students generally complete 3 or 4 polished paragraphs and 3 polished essays during a semester on topics related to their reading of culturally diverse short texts written by international authors. An important aim is to develop proficiency in the academic skill of writing about and with other texts. Grammar instruction focuses on complex sentence structures and the relationship among sentences in extended text. Rather than systematic study and review of grammar, the teacher's diagnosis of students' needs through their written and spoken discourse will determine the amount of time devoted to grammar practice of particular items. As there is evidence of solid essay writing ability, some limited attention may be given to library research skills, article summaries, and use of a system of documentation (MLA).

IEP 331/2/3 Advanced Content: Experiential Learning

(4 hours/week--200 minutes) This course is designed to foster learning through direct observation and experience in American culture. Significant learning happens through direct involvement with people and with "live" issues in the social environment of the host culture. The course involves readings, observations, and the use of film, television, the internet, and other popular media. Students work independently and collaboratively under the supervision of an instructor. Some of their projects will involve some form of voluntary service. Students keep journals, write reports and essays, and give oral presentations about their learning experiences. This class meets by arrangement with the instructor and students set their own goals for completing projects. Though there are very few class meetings, students are expected to give 400 minutes total of active involvement with the course each week, equivalent to 200 minutes in class and 200 minutes of homework.

IEP 341/2/3 Intermediate or Advanced Content: Current Issues

(4 hours/week--200 minutes) The class strengthens students English language skills while considering in some depth several major issues affecting modern societies around the globe. According to students' interest, issues like these may be studied: globalization of the world economy, international relations among particular countries, nuclear weapons, world population, marriage and divorce, doctor-assisted suicide, the death penalty, diet drugs, gun control, computer crime, free speech and the internet, cloning, etc. Students use newspaper and magazine articles and radio and TV news reports to gather information about these issues. They develop reading skills such as finding the main idea, evaluating evidence, and discerning the writer's/speaker's point of view. They also give oral presentations and write summaries and essays.