Curriculum

CORE CURRICULUM

New students are placed into a level based on their placement test score, their timed essay and other diagnostic assessments. The actual levels available depend on the number of students enrolled and the assessment results. Returning students are placed according to teacher recommendations.

Because the purpose of IEOP is to prepare students for academic success in a university, IEOP classes are designed to give students a review of the basics of English and to improve their skills. The skills covered are reading, writing, listening and note-taking as well as oral communication. The following information gives an overview of each of the classes and skills.

Reading and Writing
In this course, students work to become proficient in reading and writing. This course will help students read with greater comprehension and speed through practice with reading strategies. Students at the lower levels focus on basic reading strategies using both academic and non-academic materials. Students at the upper levels use strategies to recognize patterns of discourse and figurative language.

A study of dictionary skills is worked on at all levels, beginning with basic knowledge and use of monolingual dictionaries at the lowest level to a more sophisticated use of dictionaries, including the use of denotation and connotation at the upper levels.

The writing portion of the course works on all aspects of the writing process: pre-writing and brainstorming, writing first and second drafts and editing. Different classes focus on different rhetorical styles [types of writing]. In Basic Writing, for example, students begin with simple paragraphs and short essays of description and narration. In other classes, students focus on other types of writing such as essays of classification, comparison/contrast, analysis and argument. In some cases a limited research paper may be required. Your instructor's syllabus will inform you of the specific types of writing [rhetorical style] you will be working on.

Students enrolled in this course must also take the guided learning course (see below for description).

Listening and Speaking
This course provides students with skills for speaking and listening in the university and in the community. The course includes idiomatic usage, pronunciation and note-taking. Lower levels emphasize basic spoken English and conversation, while upper levels emphasize academic listening and note-taking and presentation skills. The Listening and Speaking class also functions as a forum for the sharing of cultural experiences and opinions and for learning about American opinions and practices.

Grammar
The grammar course teaches and reviews the structures of English so that students can use the language for oral and written communication. The lower levels emphasize grammar for spoken English. The upper levels emphasize grammar for academic purposes, including analyzing grammar in outside readings. The actual grammar structures that are studied in each level are based on the grammar curriculum guide. The syllabus that each of your instructors gives you is based on that curriculum guide.

Guided Learning
In this course students have the opportunity to work on their individual problem areas and to practice aspects of language that they would like to work more on.

Students who are taking the Reading and Writing course must also enroll in this course.

Special Topics Module--Pronunciation
The purpose of Pronunciation class is for students to improve their pronunciation of English so that they can communicate easily with other English speakers. In this class students work on the vowel and consonant sounds of English, on word and sentence stress and on intonation patterns in English.

Freqently Asked Questions