The Intro to TOEFL elective is designed to help students in IEP Levels 3 and 4 develop the necessary skills required for the TOEFL test: speaking, listening, writing, and reading. The elective is intensive in nature and requires a lot of work on the students’ part. Students not only develop their language skills, but also have to focus on developing language taking strategies and critical thinking skills that will help them prove to evaluators that they have the required skills needed to study in a North American university. This class uses a curriculum based on the latest version of the TOEFL test. 

Elective Objectives:

By the end of the elective, we hope that you will be able to: 

• Develop strategies that will help you to activate existing language knowledge and connect it with new information. 
• Develop strategies to help you identify problems related to structure. 
• Develop reading strategies such as skimming and scanning. 
• Develop listening strategies such as listening for key words, making inferences, and identifying main ideas. 
• Develop critical thinking skills.
• Become more comfortable with assessing your own progress. 
• Develop test taking strategies that will: a. help you to pace yourself while completing different tasks in a test b. develop your decoding skills in understanding what tests are asking 
• Develop strategies that will help you to make connections between what you have learned in class and your experiences in the English-speaking academic world. 

The TOEFL Preparation elective is designed to help advanced students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 develop the necessary skills required for the TOEFL test: speaking, listening, writing, and reading.  The elective is intensive in nature and requires a lot of work on the students’ part.  Students not only develop their language skills, but also have to focus on developing language taking strategies and critical thinking skills that will help them prove to evaluators that they have the required skills needed to study in a North American university.  This class uses a curriculum based on the latest version of the TOEFL test.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, we hope that you will be able to: 

• Develop strategies that will help you to activate existing language knowledge and connect it with new information. 
• Develop strategies to help you identify problems related to structure. 
• Develop reading strategies such as skimming and scanning. 
• Develop listening strategies such as listening for key words, making inferences, and identifying main ideas. 
• Develop critical thinking skills.
• Become more comfortable with assessing your own progress. 
• Develop test taking strategies that will: a. help you to pace yourself while completing different tasks in a test b. develop your decoding skills in understanding what tests are asking 
• Develop strategies that will help you to make connections between what you have learned in class and your experiences in the English-speaking academic world. 

This elective will help Intermediate and High-Intermediate level students in IEP Levels 3 and 4 develop their listening, reading, writing and speaking skills in preparation for the IELTS Test. In this elective, students will learn test taking strategies to help them reach their IELTS test score goal. Students will prepare specifically for the listening and speaking modules, as well as the Academic Reading and Writing components. Mini tests will be administered throughout the course to track the students’ progress.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Improve their listening, speaking, academic reading and writing skills.
• Develop test-taking strategies specifically for the IELTS test.
• Improve their IELTS test scores in all four skills. 

This elective will help advanced level students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 develop their listening, reading, writing and speaking skills in preparation for the IELTS Test. In this elective, students will learn test taking strategies to help them reach their IELTS test score goal. Students will prepare specifically for the listening and speaking modules, as well as the Academic Reading and Writing components. Mini tests will be administered throughout the course to track the students’ progress.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Improve their listening, speaking, academic reading and writing skills.
• Develop test-taking strategies specifically for the IELTS test.
• Improve their IELTS test scores in all four skills. 

This elective is designed to help advanced level students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 develop introductory language and test taking skills. The elective is intensive in nature and requires a lot of work on the students’ part. Students not only develop their language skills but also focus on developing test taking strategies and critical thinking skills that will help them prove to evaluators that they have the required skills needed to work in an English speaking company.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will:

• Develop strategies that will help you to activate existing language knowledge and connect it with new information.
• Develop strategies to help you identify problems related to structure.
• Develop reading strategies such as skimming and scanning.
• Develop listening strategies such as listening for key words, making inferences and identifying main ideas.
• Develop critical thinking skills.
• Become more comfortable with assessing your own progress.
• Develop test taking strategies that will:

 

• Help you to pace yourself while completing different tasks in a test
• Develop your decoding skills in understanding what tests are asking

 

This elective is designed to help beginner level students in IEP Level 1 develop and enhance beginner grammar skills while listening, speaking, reading and writing English.  Special focus is on the development of language skills needed to communicate and understand basic needs in an English-speaking environment.  Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to interact with other native speakers outside the classroom.

Elective Objectives

• By the end of the elective, students will:
• Use grammar in context.
• Focus on communication practice in addition to written skills.
• Develop understanding of English structure.
• Develop reading skills that prepare students for an advanced level of study.
• Improve and refine existing knowledge of structures.
• Translate grammar skills into writing competencies.

This elective is designed to help beginner level students in IEP Level 2 develop and enhance beginner grammar skills while listening, speaking, reading and writing English.  Special focus is on the development of language skills needed to communicate and understand basic needs in an English-speaking environment.  Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to interact with other native speakers outside the classroom.

Elective Objectives

• By the end of the elective, students will:
• Use grammar in context.
• Focus on communication practice in addition to written skills.
• Develop understanding of English structure.
• Develop reading skills that prepare students for an advanced level of study.
• Improve and refine existing knowledge of structures.
• Translate grammar skills into writing competencies.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Levels 3 develop and enhance intermediate grammar skills while listening, speaking, reading and writing English.  Special focus is on the development of language skills needed to communicate and understand basic needs in an English-speaking environment.  Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to interact with other native speakers outside the classroom.

Elective Objectives

• By the end of the elective, students will:
• Use grammar in context.
• Focus on communication practice in addition to written skills.
• Develop understanding of English structure.
• Develop reading skills that prepare students for an advanced level of study.
• Improve and refine existing knowledge of structures.
• Translate grammar skills into writing competencies.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Levels 3 develop and enhance intermediate grammar skills while listening, speaking, reading and writing English.  Special focus is on the development of language skills needed to communicate and understand basic needs in an English-speaking environment.  Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to interact with other native speakers outside the classroom.

Elective Objectives

• By the end of the elective, students will:
• Use grammar in context.
• Focus on communication practice in addition to written skills.
• Develop understanding of English structure.
• Develop reading skills that prepare students for an advanced level of study.
• Improve and refine existing knowledge of structures.
• Translate grammar skills into writing competencies.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IE Levels 5 and 6 develop and enhance high-intermediate grammar skills while listening, speaking, reading and writing English.  Special focus is on the development of language skills needed to communicate and understand basic needs in an English-speaking environment.  Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to interact with other native speakers outside the classroom.

Elective Objectives

• By the end of the elective, students will:
• Use grammar in context.
• Focus on communication practice in addition to written skills.
• Develop understanding of English structure.
• Develop reading skills that prepare students for an advanced level of study.
• Improve and refine existing knowledge of structures.
• Translate grammar skills into writing competencies.

This elective is for beginning level students in IEP Levels 1 and 2 who want to improve their pronunciation and speaking skills.  Classes will focus on vowels, consonants, stress, rhythm, and intonation. Students will learn about reductions and joining in natural speech. The course will help students develop confidence and be better understood when speaking English.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Clearly distinguish between long and short vowel sounds in their speech.
• Pronounce many difficult consonants and combinations.
• Improve their intonation, use correct stress and rhythm in sentences and in many common vocabulary words.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Levels 3 and 4 improve their pronunciation and speaking skills.  Classes will focus on vowels, consonants, stress, rhythm, and intonation. Students will learn about reductions and joining in natural speech. The elective will help students develop confidence and be better understood when speaking English.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Clearly distinguish between long and short vowel sounds in their speech.
• Pronounce many difficult consonants and combinations.
• Improve their intonation, use correct stress and rhythm in sentences and in many common vocabulary words.

This elective is designed for advanced level students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 who want to improve their pronunciation and speaking skills.  Classes will focus on vowels, consonants, stress, rhythm, and intonation. Students will learn about reductions and joining in natural speech. The course will help students develop confidence and be better understood when speaking English.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Clearly distinguish between long and short vowel sounds in their speech.
• Pronounce many difficult consonants and combinations.
• Improve their intonation, use correct stress and rhythm in sentences and in many common vocabulary words.

This elective is designed to help high beginner students in IEP Level 2 improve their confidence in their listening skills. Special focus is on the development of listening and note-taking skills and strategies needed to successfully listen to and understand college lectures. Speaking practice is an additional component of this class, as well as exposure to academic vocabulary meaning and usage.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Develop their listening skills, specifically on academic topics.
• Develop their note-taking skills.
• Gain confidence in their overall listening and speaking abilities.
• Increase their academic vocabulary.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Level 3 improve their confidence in their listening skills. Special focus is on the development of listening and note-taking skills and strategies needed to successfully listen to and understand college lectures. Speaking practice is an additional component of this class, as well as exposure to academic vocabulary meaning and usage.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Develop their listening skills, specifically on academic topics.
• Develop their note-taking skills.
• Gain confidence in their overall listening and speaking abilities.
• Increase their academic vocabulary.

This elective is designed to help high intermediate students in IEP Level 4 improve their confidence in their listening skills. Special focus is on the development of listening and note-taking skills and strategies needed to successfully listen to and understand college lectures. Speaking practice is an additional component of this class, as well as exposure to academic vocabulary meaning and usage.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Develop their listening skills, specifically on academic topics.
• Develop their note-taking skills.
• Gain confidence in their overall listening and speaking abilities.
• Increase their academic vocabulary.

This elective is designed to help advanced students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 improve their confidence in their listening skills. Special focus is on the development of listening and note-taking skills and strategies needed to successfully listen to and understand college lectures. Speaking practice is an additional component of this class, as well as exposure to academic vocabulary meaning and usage.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Develop their listening skills, specifically on academic topics.
• Develop their note-taking skills.
• Gain confidence in their overall listening and speaking abilities.
• Increase their academic vocabulary.

This is a beginner level writing elective designed to help students in IEP Levels 1 and 2 write sentences and paragraphs. Through lots of writing practice, students will feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to express themselves through writing in English.

Elective Objectives

• By the end of the elective, students will be able to:
• Write sentences and paragraphs that are logical, organized and clear.
• Express your ideas and yourself in writing
• Use your writing skills for personal and academic purposes
• Edit your own writing and be able to give feedback to other people’s writing
• Enjoy the writing experience

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Levels 3 and 4 improve confidence, accuracy and clarity in their writing. Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to produce organized, clear and logical writing samples for personal, academic and work purposes. 

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will be able to:

• Write expository compositions (compositions that explain things) that are logical, organized and clear.
• Express your ideas and yourself in writing
• Use your writing skills for school, business, on the Internet, or simply to communicate with other English speakers
• Edit your own writing and be able to give feedback to other people’s writing
• Enjoy the writing experience

This is an advanced level writing elective designed to prepare students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 for writing essays, book reviews, reports and summaries required in College and University courses. You will learn how to write an academic essay with a thesis statement and supporting ideas. You will get a lot of practice in writing academic reports that are organized, clear, and logical with an introduction, supporting paragraphs and conclusion. Even though this is a writing elective, you will have a lot of opportunities to talk, read and discuss interesting themes. If you want to use English for academic purposes, you will need to have good writing skills. This elective will help you refine your writing skills and increase your enjoyment of writing. 

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, we hope that you will be able to:

• Write academic essays, reports and summaries that are organized, logical, and clear.
• Express your ideas and yourself in writing.
• Use your writing skills for school, business, on the internet, or simply to communicate with other English speakers.
• Edit your own writing and be able to give feedback to other people’s writing.
• Enjoy the writing experience.

This literacy elective is designed to help beginner level students in IEP Levels 1 and 2 develop basic English literacy skills. 

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will be able to:

• Recognize and say the letters of the alphabet.
• Read numbers, tell time and count money.
• Identify and label members of the family and parts of the body.
• Recognize singular and plural forms of nouns and verbs.
• Increase overall confidence and level of English.

This elective is designed to help high beginner students in IEP Level 2 improve confidence, accuracy and clarity in their academic writing. Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to produce organized, clear and logical writing samples for academic purposes.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will be able to:

• Write sentences and paragraphs that are logical, organized and clear.
• Express your ideas and yourself in writing
• Use your writing skills for academic purposes
• Edit your own writing and be able to give feedback to others. 
• Enjoy the writing experience

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Levels 3 and 4 improve confidence, accuracy and clarity in their academic writing. Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to produce organized, clear and logical writing samples for academic purposes.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will be able to:

• Write paragraphs that are logical, organized and clear.
• Express your ideas and yourself in writing
• Use your writing skills for academic purposes
• Edit your own writing and be able to give feedback to other people’s writing
• Enjoy the writing experience

This is an advanced level Academic Writing elective designed to prepare students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 for writing essays, book reviews, reports and summaries required in College and University courses. You will learn how to write an academic essay with a thesis statement and supporting ideas. You will get a lot of practice in writing academic reports that are organized, clear, and logical with an introduction, supporting paragraphs and conclusion. Even though this is a writing elective, you will have a lot of opportunities to talk, read and discuss interesting themes. If you want to use English for academic purposes, you will need to have good writing skills. This elective will help you refine your writing skills and increase your enjoyment of writing.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, we hope that you will be able to:

• Write academic essays, reports and summaries. 
• Express your ideas and yourself in writing.
• Use your writing skills for different purposes. 
• Edit your own writing and be able to give feedback to others.
• Enjoy the writing experience.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Level 3 who are interested in preparing for academic study and/or test preparation.  Special focus is on the development of skills needed to be successful in an academic setting. The class touches on all four language skills, creating an integrated approach to academic study.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will:

• Develop four general language skills (reading, writing, listening,speaking).
• Develop test taking strategies.
• Develop academic skills (organizing information, critical thinking). 
• Broaden their academic vocabulary.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Level 4 who are interested in preparing for academic study and/or test preparation.  Special focus is on the development of skills needed to be successful in an academic setting. The class touches on all four language skills, creating an integrated approach to academic study.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will:

• Develop the four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking).
• Develop test taking strategies.
• Develop academic skills (organizing information, critical thinking, etc.)
• Broaden their academic vocabulary.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Level 5 who are interested in preparing for academic study and/or test preparation.  Special focus is on the development of skills needed to be successful in an academic setting. The class touches on all four language skills, creating an integrated approach to academic study.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will:

• Develop the four (language skills reading, writing, listening and speaking).
• Develop test taking strategies.
• Develop academic skills (organizing information, critical thinking, etc.)
• Broaden their academic vocabulary.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Level 6 who are interested in preparing for academic study and/or test preparation.  Special focus is on the development of skills needed to be successful in an academic setting. The class touches on all four language skills, creating an integrated approach to academic study.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will:

• Develop the four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking).
• Develop test taking strategies.
• Develop academic skills, (organizing information, critical thinking, etc.) 
• Broaden their academic vocabulary.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in Levels 3 and 4 increase their English vocabulary.  Vocabulary is introduced through word families in a variety of subject areas. Target words are recycled throughout the class, and exercises focus on word meaning, word families and collocation.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Understand and correctly use mid-frequency vocabulary.
• Infer the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary through context and improved reading comprehension strategies.
• Feel more confident in the range and depth of their vocabulary, and their ability to use it to communicate effectively.

This elective is designed to help advanced students in Levels 5 and 6 increase their English vocabulary.  Vocabulary is introduced through word families in a variety of subject areas. Target words are recycled throughout the class, and exercises focus on word meaning, word families and collocation.

Elective Objectives

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Understand and correctly use vocabulary on the Academic Word List.
• Infer the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary through context and improved reading comprehension strategies.
• Feel more confident in the range and depth of their vocabulary, and their ability to use it to communicate effectively.

This elective is designed to help intermediate students in IEP Levels 3 and 4 improve confidence, accuracy and clarity in their speaking. Special focus is on the development of discussion strategies needed to communicate clearly and effectively. Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need to interact with native speakers in a variety of situations. Students will also give speeches, participate in debates and design and lead discussions, which may be recorded for feedback and correction purposes.

Elective Objectives: 

Upon successful completion of the elective, students will be able to:

• Develop a variety of discussion strategies
• Develop vocabulary and expressions
• Express ideas and opinions more clearly and accurately
• Correct common errors in their speaking

This Business English elective is designed to prepare advanced students in IEP Levels 5 and 6 to use English in their present or future work situation. Special focus is given to the development of key vocabulary, social language and practical functions within a business context.  Students will be given plenty of opportunities to practice realistic tasks in class, and will be given the tools and skills they will need in common professional situations.

Elective Objectives

By the end of the elective, students will be able to:

• Give a well organized, formal presentation
• Understand and respond appropriately to professional telephone calls, emails and letters
• Use appropriate language in social situations
• Create a cover letter and resume suitable for local job/volunteer placement
• Interview for local job/volunteer placement