English as a Second Language (ESL-NI)

Practice using English through communicative activities and collaborative tasks. Course participants practice brief, everyday conversational exchanges, such as asking and responding to basic questions, and sharing information and opinions about likes, dislikes, and interests. You will also work with classmates to complete tasks that require you to use your developing English. The content of the course will be shaped by the needs and interests of the course participants.

Taking a trip soon? English is the most common language spoken around the globe, so prepare for your travel experience by improving your English skills. Learn how to book travel, ask for directions, order food, arrange entertainment, and even make small talk with people you meet along the way. Develop the English language skills you need to travel like a pro.

Designed for people who are uncomfortable speaking English in both professional and more casual settings, this course helps participants speak more fluently and accurately. You can expect to develop your listening comprehension and improve your self-confidence. Activities include discussions, presentations, and role-plays. Work on volume, pacing of speech, correct grammar and word choices, as well as posture and body language, all while receiving intensive individualized attention.

Go beyond grammar rules, drills, and vocabulary lists. Learn about functional grammar to gain a deeper understanding of and control over the structure of English. Understand the shades of meaning of words and phrases and how and when to use them appropriately while speaking and writing in English.

Learn how to write and speak effectively in a variety of business settings. Participants read about business and management issues; write and edit emails, letters, reports, and evaluations; and analyze the cultural misunderstandings that can occur in an international and multicultural business settings. Through role plays, participants gain the practice necessary to engage in business interactions with confidence. You can expect to improve your ability to use English to socialize, present, communicate in writing, and participate in meetings in today's global business world.

Gain a working knowledge of the sounds and rhythms of North American English. Through intensive practice of consonants, vowels, intonation, stress, and rhythm, course participants develop techniques for speaking clearly in a variety of settings. Instructors use recordings, pronunciation exercises, dialogues, discussions, and other interactive activities. Each participant will receive individualized feedback. Identify your pronunciation trouble spots and devise strategies for achieving more accurate and fluent speech.

Improve your ability to engage actively in discussions on current global topics. Course participants read and listen to news reports on current issues and then respond to the topics in a variety of ways, including class discussion, written responses, and presentations. Expand your vocabulary, refine your critical reading and listening skills, and improve your speaking ability as you participate in vocabulary building exercises, learn to present your position on a topic to a small group as well as to a larger audience, and practice defending a particular position. By the end of this course, you will be able to converse more confidently on events taking place around the world.

Enhance your ability to understand, build, and deliver arguments and opinions. In this course, you will study different types of strategic arguments and logical fallacies to expose the difference between strong and weak reasoning. You will also learn what can be regarded as evidence and how to test it for validity. By learning the terms and language of argumentation through classic cases and debates, you will expand your critical thinking and analytical skills. These skills will be practiced and tested through structured debates, giving you the opportunity to present, challenge and defend your own ideas. This course also offers you the opportunity to improve your interpersonal communication, public speaking, and problem solving skills.

This course prepares fluent speakers to function more comfortably in situations in which educated English is expected. Participants learn how to polish their delivery skills and diction and improve their use of English structures, while addressing intonation, volume, and body language. Explore confidence-building techniques as you plan formal and informal presentations, take part in discussions, and expand your knowledge of vocabulary and idioms, all while receiving intensive individualized error correction.

Expand your vocabulary and learn how to use a broader range of phrases and structures to make your writing and speech more polished and sophisticated. Workshop participants analyze complex structures and novel word choices to unlock meaning in difficult texts and practice expanding their own linguistic repertoire in writing and speech.