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Pre-Academic 4

This mandatory four-week intensive course is primarily designed to equip ESL students with the needed tools to be ready for the English for Academic Purposes program. As such, the topics and assignments are more academic focused than previous classes and the assignments and evaluations more stringent. This course focuses primarily on reading and writing skills with 2 major assessments: a midterm and final exam. Students will need to grasp the concepts of writing thesis statements, proper citations, and paragraph formation before successfully passing.

Students are encouraged to study course vocabulary and materials outside of the class in order to accelerate their learning progress.

Highlights

• This course will help you prepare for life in Canada.
• Focus on developing academic skills, improving accuracy and fluency with special focus on writing skills.
• Great option for students who prefer a more structured learning environment.
• This class focuses on academic topics including thesis statements and proper citation.
• You will learn how to summarize and paraphrase your ideas accurately.
• You will be able to write basic essays by the end of the class.

Timetable

Class Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Be able to skim and scan articles in order to find relevant information
• Identify the meaning of vocabulary from context
• Distinguish fact from opinion
• Paraphrase given texts with a high level of accuracy
• Summarize a given text
• Produce a coherent paragraph made up of a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion
• Use correct sentence structure, appropriate vocabulary, and appropriate transitions in writing
• Produce a five- paragraph persuasive / argumentative essay made up of an introduction, body, and a conclusion
• Produce fluent, comprehensible, accurate spoken English in presentations

Delivery Methods

• Group discussions
• Examination of academic articles
• Homework assignments
• Multimedia presentations
• Exams and quizzes
• Individual Presentations

Evaluation

• Listening and Speaking 10%
• Reading 10%
• Writing 20%
• Presentations 10%
• Homework and Assignments 10%
• Exams 30%
• Participation: 10%

To progress to the next level, a score of 70% is required.

Attendance Policy

Attendance is an integral part of this class. Students who miss more than 3 days per session will find it very difficult to advance to the next level.

Materials

• Skillful: Reading and Writing (Level 3)
• Supplementary practice materials provided from teacher’s guide / digibook
• Supplementary visual materials may be used depending on the session / teacher