Guest speakers and directed activities with U.S. students provide additional listening practice. Students also work on developing observation skills in order to improve their ability to read cultural cues in conversations and academic settings. Social skills and the specific language necessary for daily interactions are emphasized as learners study increasingly complex situations. This course emphasizes listening and speaking skills. This course focuses on academic writing and the elements of the writing process, including prewriting, revision and editing.
Students develop or reinforce computer word processing skills.
They also do timed writings in class to prepare for essay exams and standardized tests. Students work on a variety of reading skills such as scanning, surveying, identifying the author's point of view, finding the main points of a chapter, and inferring vocabulary meaning from context. Students apply these skills in order to report to the class on the history of cultures. Students develop oral presentation and organization techniques which are applied in informative and persuasive speeches.