Course Descriptions

   

Here are some examples of courses that have been offered at the different levels of the IEI program.

Advanced and Upper Intermediate Courses | Intermediate Courses | Lower Intermediate Courses | Basic Courses
IEI students in class

Examples of Advanced and Upper Intermediate Courses.

Academic Reading and Writing
Students read and analyze academic texts and complete academic writing tasks such as summaries, critiques and source-based papers. Students should be prepared to write more than one draft of a paper in order to improve writing skills. Students also discuss and listen to information on a variety of academic subjects in English in order to prepare to read and write about them.  
Everyday Reading and Writing
This course covers two main areas: the practical and the personal. The practical focus is on reading and writing letters and e-mail dealing with requests and responses, applications, invitations, and complaints. The personal focus is on reading a book or book chapters (biography or novel) and magazine articles on human interest topics, with vocabulary, discussion and short personal writing assignments on the same topics as the readings.
Academic Listening and Speaking
Students listen to academic lectures, learn note-taking skills and practice speaking skills important to succeeding in the American university environment. Speaking projects include leading a group discussion and formal group and individual presentations. Students learn about academic subjects in English in order to practice listening and in order to prepare for discussion and presentation.  
Everyday Listening and Speaking
This course focuses on listening and informal speaking skills. Students learn strategies to improve their listening ability. Students develop fluency in informal conversation by working on skills such as expressing an opinion, agreeing and disagreeing appropriately, story telling, and keeping a conversation going. Students listen to segments from TV, radio and movies and engage in discussion, group projects and informal presentations.
Business Communication
In this course, students work in teams to examine various business situations, based on readings from the news and Internet. Students make oral presentations (proposals, press briefings, and negotiation) or create written documents (memoranda, and short reports). Emphasis is on communicating in an appropriate style for business. IEI Business Communication classes are English classes with a business focus; we do not teach business theory.  
Advanced Oral Communication
This course focuses on developing students' skills in understanding and using conversational English in many daily life situations. Students practice language for real-world tasks such as telephoning, making apologies, and making requests. Special attention is given to language use variations according to level of formality, situation, and participants. In class, students do a variety of pair, small group and whole class activities to improve spoken fluency and accuracy. They participate in planned and unplanned conversations in class, and perform real-world tasks outside of class. Assignments include role-plays of daily life situations and group projects.
Current Events
The current events class gives students an opportunity to improve their listening ability, increase their vocabulary, and intelligently discuss the events that are in the news. Since most news sources focus on U.S. news or present the news with an American perspective, students will get a better understanding of certain aspects of American history and culture. At the same time they will encouraged to look at the same issues from different perspectives from around the world. Because of the nature of the news, many of the issues under discussion are generally political in nature. In-class activities will include the use of current news videos, radio news, newspaper and magazine articles, group discussions, and group presentations.
Images of America in Film and Fiction
This class focuses on English language presented through a combination of written short stories and films. Each story or film selected represents the different regions of the United States – the Northeast, the South, the Midwest, and the West Coast. The class explores some of the unique characteristics of each region, the people who live there, and how they got to be that way. Students practice a variety of skills, including listening, writing and speaking, in both formal and informal settings.  
English Grammar Review
This class is for important for students who want to improve their ability to analyze English grammar and use it meaningfully and accurately. There is much more to English grammar than completing grammar exercises! In this course, students analyze real-life written and spoken English in order to understand the meaning of English grammar more deeply. Short writing assignments are an important part of the class, so that students can demonstrate that they can understand and also apply meaning distinctions through grammar.
Advanced Pronunciation
Students learn rules for better English pronunciation and get plenty of opportunities to practice. The course covers English melody, rhythm, word stress and phrase stress. In addition, students identify the vowel and consonant sounds that cause them the most difficulty in being understood, and students practice and improve production of these sounds under the guidance of the instructor.
Creative Writing
In this class students strengthen their reading and writing skills through analyzing creative writing texts and through creative writing exercises. Students build awareness of style, tone, and voice in written works in a number of literary genres (fiction, poetry, memoir), and learn to put these elements into practice in their own writing.
Integrating Language Skills and the TOEFL iBT
In this course, students put together language skills in order to practice the Internet-based TOEFL test, which combines listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. For example, students read a passage, listen to a related spoken passage and then practice answering questions in writing or in speaking. Test-taking strategies will also be discussed in the course, and students will have opportunity to take and receive feedback on iBT practice tests. In addition to preparing students for the TOEFL, this course is good additional practice for students who want to improve their English for academic purposes.
 
 
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Examples of Intermediate Classes

Listening and Oral Communication
This course focuses on developing students' skills and strategies in understanding and using English in many daily life and some academic situations. Students practice appropriate language to perform fairly complex real-world tasks such as obtaining information over the phone, finding an apartment, and making travel plans, as well as academic tasks such as making a formal presentation. Particular attention is given to developing language problem-solving skills and strategies such as communicating a housing or travel problem, and planning a healthy diet.
English Grammar
The general focus of this class is on clarifying and broadening the students' understanding of the major grammatical systems of English by comparing what is in their textbook, what they find in other sources, and what they already know. Class time is spent discovering and/or reviewing grammatical points, examining written and oral texts of English – from the textbook, newspapers, magazines, the internet, radio/television, etc. – to understand what choices are available in building English sentences, and the effect different choices may have on meaning in different contexts. The writing of class members is also examined. 
Reading
This class works to develop basic reading skills for overall comprehension. Students focus on vocabulary, the structure of the texts they are reading, relationships between ideas, and different purposes for reading. Students practice vocabulary and answer basic and more complex comprehension questions in writing assignments. Students are also given opportunities to discuss what they have read in class.  
 
Business English
In this course, students learn about and discuss business concepts in order to develop their English listening and speaking abilities. Topics may include buying power, marketing, market saturation, and American corporate culture. Oral presentations are required. Also, students regularly complete reading and writing assignments individually and with partners. Many of the assignments are based on local businesses. Occasional out-of-class trips help students learn about businesses in the Champaign-Urbana community.
Composition 
This course focuses on developing basic paragraph writing skills through discussion of and writing about everyday experiences. The students learn the basics of such writing processes as generating and organizing ideas, the actual writing of paragraphs, and editing/re-writing their work. Both general English language skills as well as specific writing skills will be covered in this class.
Introduction to the TOEFL iBT
This course combines listening, speaking, reading and writing exercises and assignments that will help learners to begin to prepare for the TOEFL iBT. Basic communication and vocabulary building skills will be developed through in-class exercises, homework exercises, quizzes, and pair and small group activities. S tudents will learn about the iBT test format, test sections, and the different types of test tasks. This course is a first step in identifying the skills needed for the iBT; however, it usually takes more than one semester for intermediate-level students to attain an English proficiency needed for success in an academic setting or in the TOEFL iBT.
Pronunciation in Conversation
This course provides more opportunities for students to practice speaking and listening by focusing on sounds, syllables, words, phrases, intonation, rhythm, stress, and "natural" speech. Students will use a recently published pronunciation textbook to learn about the main characteristics of American English pronunciation. In-class work includes: pair practice, small group discussions, dialogs, and role-plays. Out-of-class assignments include: using Internet pronunciation resources, making voice recordings with digital audio software, and some reading and writing. Video clips, songs, and games are also used to help students practice speaking more clearly and smoothly.
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Examples of Lower Intermediate Classes

Listening and Oral Communication
This course focuses on developing students' skills and strategies in understanding and using conversational English in many daily life situations. Listening and oral production tasks facilitate students' understanding and language performance of real-world tasks of moderate level of complexity. Such tasks include placing a simple order at a restaurant, making a doctor's appointment, and interacting with salespeople. At this level, students also review basic listening strategies such as listening for the gist/details.
Reading
In this class, students work on developing vocabulary families (travel, geography, health, business, etc.) and read different types of texts. Students practice vocabulary and answer basic comprehension questions by writing about the reading texts. Students are given opportunities to discuss what they have read in class.
English Grammar
The general focus of this class is on providing an overview of the basic systems of noun and verb phrases. Class time is spent examining written and oral texts of English -- from the textbook, and selections from newspapers, magazines, the internet, radio, television, etc. -- to understand these grammatical systems. The writing of class members is also examined.  
Basic Writing Skills
In this course, students practice writing and self-expression. Students work on making sentences and paragraphs in a clear way. In order to help build writing skills and confidence in English, students write on a variety of topics and then revise their writing. Student are expected to improve in three ways: 1) Students will be able to write longer paragraphs; 2) Students will be able to write with greater fluency and clarity to express ideas; and 3) Students will be able to write with greater accuracy by correcting their errors.
 
Pronunciation in Conversation
This course uses conversation practice to improve English pronunciation and fluency. Students learn how to improve their understanding and production of consonant and vowel sounds, as well as rhythm, stress, and intonation. The teacher presents and explains many sound-, word-, and phrase-level topics, and then the students have in-class conversations with the teacher and with each other. In addition, the teacher focuses on helping students with their specific pronunciation problems.
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Basic Classes

Listening and Oral Communication
In this course, students develop skills in understanding and using conversational English in basic, daily life situations. Intensive in-class listening and oral practice facilitate students' language performance of basic real-world tasks, such as asking for directions on campus, making basic polite requests, and asking for assistance. Students learn about and practice listening strategies such as listening for the gist/details, signaling comprehension or lack of it both verbally and non-verbally.  
Reading
In this class, students learn vocabulary families (educational vocabulary, weather, clothing, diet, family, etc.,) while reading simple texts. Students do several readings on a topic in order to increase their learning of basic vocabulary and sentence structures. Students respond to readings both in writing and in class discussions.
English Grammar
This class gives students and introduction to basic English noun and verb phrases by comparing what is in the textbook, what the class finds in other sources, and what they may already know. Class time is spent examining written and oral texts of English – primarily from the textbook, but occasionally from other sources, especially from spoken English. The writing of class members is also examined.   
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