Intensive Program Course Descriptions

The 300-Level Reading and Writing course helps you achieve the goal of writing about everyday aspects of your environment, such as people, places, or your studies by using short, basic descriptions of events, past activities, and personal experiences. You will increase your understanding of short, simple texts that include a lot of everyday language and predictable information through readings that are appropriate for your current level of learning. Additionally, there will be opportunities for you to expand your vocabulary through exposure to and practice with reading methods that will help you learn the meaning of words without always using a dictionary. Along the way, you will learn about and practice with the grammatical structures that will help you to attain your language-learning goal.

The 300-Level Listening and Speaking course will help improve your listening and speaking skills in many different ways and help you to build strong language skills. It will improve your speaking fluency and listening comprehension, but grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation will also be covered in class. You will listen to slow and clear speech and ask and answer questions on familiar topics such as everyday social, community, and academic situations. You will learn new vocabulary to speak about these topics. You will practice English sounds and stress in words and sentences. You will speak using the present, simple past, and future tenses.

The 400-Level Reading and Writing course will help you improve your writing skills, reading comprehension skills, vocabulary development, and grammatical accuracy in common everyday language situations. Through reading and synthesizing factual texts and straightforward narratives, you will increase your reading speed, expand your vocabulary, and develop your critical thinking skills in English. You will also learn to use your vocabulary and improve your grammatical accuracy through challenging writing assignments on familiar subjects. Using these skills to develop a variety of strong paragraphs and essays will prepare you for the next level in your English language studies.

The 400-Level Listening and Speaking course will help you improve your speaking skills, listening comprehension skills, vocabulary development, and grammatical accuracy in common everyday language situations. Through listening and synthesizing recordings on familiar topics and participating in formal discussions, you will increase your listening comprehension, expand your vocabulary, and develop your critical thinking skills in English. You will also learn to use your vocabulary and improve your grammatical accuracy through challenging speaking assignments. Using these skills to clearly express opinions and information in a variety of presentations will prepare you for the next level in your English language studies.

The 500-Level Reading and Writing course will help you improve your reading comprehension, writing skills, vocabulary development, and grammatical accuracy in everyday language situations. You will increase your reading speed and expand your vocabulary, as well as develop critical thinking skills in English through multiple reading assignments each week. In addition, you will learn to use vocabulary appropriately while improving grammatical accuracy through a variety of writing assignments. These writing assignments will prepare you for the next level in your English language studies.

The 500-Level Listening and Speaking course will help you to develop the speaking and listening skills needed to be an independent user of English. In this course, you will work on using grammar and vocabulary accurately in speaking. You will also develop skills related to conversational English to enable you to speak clearly and be understood with greater frequency, in addition to developing skills for presentations. You will focus on the specific listening skills required to understand main ideas and details. In addition, you will improve your critical thinking skills, growing your ability to analyze and synthesize in English.

The 600-Level core course is an integrated skills course in which you will increase your independence as a user of English. Equal coverage will be given to the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, with an additional focus on grammar and vocabulary. You will be challenged to develop your skills in reading, understanding, summarizing, and responding to a variety of informational, narrative, and persuasive texts; organizing and synthesizing information; and writing effective texts with a variety of purposes and audiences. You will focus on the skills necessary to understand a variety of aural texts, take complete and accurate notes, report information, and participate in discussions and presentations. You will encounter and develop strategies to deal appropriately with unknown vocabulary; you will also use new topic-specific vocabulary and key grammatical items to add variety and precision to your speaking and writing.

The 700-Level core course is an integrated skills course in which you will focus on language found in a variety of contexts (topics include several of the following: technology, design, media, and social science research). You will read and listen to texts at slightly above your level and demonstrate understanding of and ability to interpret the texts and use of strategies to enhance comprehension. You will expand your vocabulary and apply various techniques for dealing with unfamiliar items, as well as for using specific language in speaking and writing. You will write well-organized reports and essays (rhetorical styles covered include cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution, persuasion, etc.) using correctly cited evidence and source material. You will participate actively in discussions and give individual presentations. You will improve your critical thinking skills by listening to and reading texts that challenge your ability to infer meaning, attitude, and purpose.

Intermediate Grammar is an elective course that is designed to help you focus on developing your grammar at the high-intermediate level. In this course, you will increase your understanding of different grammatical structures by examining the form, meaning, and use of those structures in a variety of spoken and written texts. These grammatical structures will be chosen based on the results of a first day diagnostic activity in order to address your and your classmates’ specific needs. Throughout the course, you will participate in a variety of communicative activities with your classmates in order to practice using these structures meaningfully and appropriately in a variety of contexts. Through such communicative activities and written practice, you will make gains in the accuracy and precision of your speaking and writing. By reviewing grammatical structures at and slightly above your level, you will also be able to reflect on your own grammatical knowledge. Grammar points covered in this course include tense, aspect, passives, infinitives, gerunds, and connectors, among others.

This course increases your knowledge of English words and idioms. Vocabulary is classified and learned according to notions (i.e., color; size), topics (i.e., family; weather), functions (i.e., inviting; asking for directions), and use (i.e., public speaking; showing respect). You have opportunities to practice new vocabulary in ways that require you to speak, read, and write, and you learn new ways to discover and remember words and expressions that you will find particularly useful in your daily life. In addition, this course helps you improve upon your dictionary skills. (The A and B versions of the course use different chapters and materials, so you may take this course more than once; you do not need to take “A” before “B”.)

The primary goal of this course is to increase both recognition and use of a wide variety of words and expressions by examining prominent categories of vocabulary and representative examples from them. A secondary goal is to introduce you to strategies that will enable you to continue developing and increasing your vocabulary throughout your lifetime. You will build a foundation of useful vocabulary on a variety of topics that you encounter in the course textbook, as well as from authentic, real-world sources, and will have opportunities to practice using new vocabulary in your speaking and writing. (The A and B versions of the course use different chapters and materials, so you may take this course more than once; you do not need to take “A” before “B”.)

The overall aim of this course is to improve your comfort and fluency in reading and speaking. In this course you will read one novel and a variety of selected readings. Coursework will help you read more quickly and understand the writer's ideas more easily. You will compare your understanding of the readings and explore questions as they develop. In class each day, you will discuss what you read in large and small group discussions. In addition, through your exploration of readings, you are encouraged to share personal opinions in class discussions and in homework assignments. You will choose a novel to read and complete a project about your novel. By the end of the course you should be more effective at reading, finding out what others think, and expressing your ideas.

This course will help you improve your ability to read for main ideas, for details, and to infer meaning from a range of academic texts (humanities, science, and business). While reading selections from textbooks and news articles, you will work on developing a broader academic vocabulary, noting skills, and summarizing and paraphrasing skills. Throughout the session, you will be reviewing the organization, content, vocabulary, and difficult grammatical forms characteristic of academic texts. This knowledge and practice will make you a more independent and effective reader of academic texts, and you will be able to better express your comprehension of the texts.

This course is designed to help you write more precisely and accurately at the sentence and paragraph level. You will practice self-editing techniques to recognize and correct common sentence-level errors. In essays written in response to readings, pictures, events in your daily life, and questions from classmates, you will try out new strategies for getting ideas, organizing information, revising, and editing your work. You will work toward improving clarity locally, by refining word choice through the use of a dictionary, thesaurus, and peer feedback, as well as globally, by addressing questions of logical development and organization in your paragraphs. This A course alternates with Writing Accurately and Clearly B (WAC B), and is offered in the spring 1, summer 1, and fall 1 sessions. The B course is offered in the spring 2, summer 2, and fall 2 sessions.

This course prepares high-intermediate students for academic writing in American universities. Students will conduct research and evaluate sources on a variety of academic topics. They will follow the writing process of gathering information, focusing and organizing, writing, editing, and revising. Grammar points are integrated into the writing assignments. Students develop the ability to compose (i.e., comprehend, select, plan, and draft) and produce lengthier texts on diverse general education topics by applying appropriate writing strategies.

CP A is the first part of a two-session elective course designed to help you understand the patterns of English pronunciation so that you may communicate more effectively. This course will increase your understanding of native speakers’ speech, and it will guide you in producing more clear and accurate English pronunciation. Throughout the course, different pronunciation features such as rhythm, stress, intonation, vowels, and consonants will be introduced and practiced. Class activities will help you learn to hear, understand and produce these features of pronunciation. Class time will also be spent listening to and recording speech samples in the language lab. Both focused drills and more open-ended communicative exercises will help you become conscious of your own pronunciation and help you speak clearly. You will also become familiar with strategies to practice on your own so that you can continue to improve even after the course ends. The A course alternates with Clear Pronunciation B, and is offered in the spring 1, summer 1, and fall 1 sessions. The B course is offered in the spring 2, summer 2, and fall 2 sessions.

This course uses an English-through-Drama approach to develop speaking and listening skills with a particular emphasis on the use of English for different functions (interrupting, complementing, apologizing, requesting and refusing, making suggestions and giving advice, apologizing.) Using drama school techniques (such as text analysis, improvisation, scene writing, and voice and speech exercises) the course will challenge students to build fluency and accuracy in English. The course will culminate in a final performance in which students will perform rehearsed scenes to an invited audience.

This course is designed to improve the student’s (a) listening comprehension skills necessary to understanding the most common organizational patterns of academic lectures, (b) writing skills needed to take effective, useful notes while listening to a lecture, and (c) speaking skills required to both present and respond to a lecture. In class and for homework, students will listen to recorded lectures on topics including sociology, psychology, business, science/engineering, and the arts, in specific academic disciplines, as well as those of general interest. Students develop techniques to ensure that their notes reflect the essential content and organization of the lecture and practice lecture.

The purpose of this course is to refine and streamline your reading skills so that you are a more effective and efficient reader. You will read a mainstream business book as well as a complement of current business periodicals and book extracts. Moreover, you will develop your analytical and critical thinking skills so that you can synthesize and evaluate what you read. With specific reading and unknown vocabulary strategies, you will improve your reading speed and increase your ability to comprehend what you read, understand the writer’s position, grasp the implications of the issues, and summarize them. This course will also increase your knowledge about specific companies and general business topics.

This course is designed to help students improve their speaking and listening skills through the study of leadership styles and team building. Through the analysis of successful leaders and their leadership styles as well as the exploration of students’ own leadership styles, students will learn strategies for effective leadership and communication. Students will focus on how teams develop, learn, and achieve success together and the ways in which leaders emerge. Students will present themselves as leaders and team players by incorporating effective verbal and non-verbal communication strategies in class activities and assessments. Lastly, as part of being an effective leader and team player, one aspect that you will develop in this course is providing effective feedback to different stakeholders.

This course prepares intermediate to advanced students for the writing tasks that they will encounter in business, commerce, or administration. Instruction provides guidance in writing successful emails, email attachments, letters, memos, and recommendations. Students will develop the ability to gather information, organize their ideas, and compose while working on format, content, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. Students will revise and edit their work. Levels of formality, politeness and appropriate style will be considered throughout the course.

This is a content-based speaking course for independent users of English with learning tasks designed around a realistic simulation, the international relocation of an American company’s production facility. Students will chair and participate in meetings and negotiations relating to this relocation, using language accurately, appropriately, and effectively. In addition, students do research for and give two presentations, following established presentation protocols. Participants will also practice business-related social interactions. Last, students expand their business language vocabulary, including targeted gambits and idioms, which they will use in the course assignments.

The purpose of this course is to strengthen your listening skills within the context of specific business topics. You will listen to authentic news segments, speeches, documentaries, and advertisements and improve your ability to comprehend those types of spoken events. In turn, you will also further develop your analytical and critical thinking skills so that you can synthesize and evaluate what you hear. You will also regularly focus on reporting and discussing skills. Taking this course will increase your ability to effectively comprehend authentic business passages in the spoken form. It will also increase your knowledge about business topics. The course will focus on the following topics: green businesses, operations management, and emerging technologies.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Reading and Writing for the IELTS. This particular elective is designed to help you learn about the listening and speaking sections of the IELTS test and also identify strategies to help you successfully complete those sections. Throughout the course, you will study sample questions from both these sections, examine the rubric used to assess the speaking section, analyze sample IELTS interview responses, and identify and practice test-taking strategies. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these strategies in IELTS-like assessments throughout the course.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Listening and Speaking for the IELTS. This particular elective is designed to help you learn about the reading and writing sections of the IELTS test and also identify strategies to help you successfully complete those sections. Throughout the course, you will study sample questions from both these sections, examine the rubrics used to assess the writing section, analyze sample IELTS writing responses, and identify and practice test-taking strategies. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these strategies in IELTS-like assessments throughout the course.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Reading and Writing Skills for the TOEFL iBT, designed to help you develop the skills needed on the listening and speaking sections of the TOEFL iBT. Throughout the course, you will examine sample questions from both these sections, practice responding to them and develop the specific skills needed to complete those sections successfully. Emphasis is placed on the integration of these skills through listening to lectures and campus conversations, note-taking, identifying main ideas in listening, and organizing main and supporting ideas in speaking. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these skills in authentic practice mini-tests and in a TOEFL-like practice test toward the end of the course.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Listening and Speaking Skills for the TOEFL iBT, designed to help you develop the skills needed on the Reading and Writing sections of the TOEFL iBT. Throughout the course, you will examine sample questions from both these sections, practice responding to them and develop the specific skills needed to complete those sections successfully. Emphasis is placed on the integration of these skills through identifying main ideas in reading and in listening passages and organizing main and supporting ideas in writing. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these skills in authentic practice mini-tests and in a TOEFL-like practice test toward the end of the course.

This course is for students who are applying to US universities and/or are enrolled in a course in Penn's Liberal and Professional Studies program. Students will use all language skills to engage in activities that explore US higher education culture and communication norms, analyze habits and strategies of successful students, and improve personal study strategies and communication skills. By using English when exploring these areas, students will not only improve their Academic English language skills, they will also gain insight into skills and information necessary for US academic success.

This course is intended for graduate and undergraduate applicants who are actively working on application essays or personal statements for US university admission. The course includes weekly conference time with the instructor and ample class time to work on drafts. Students will participate in writing workshops with peer reviews and sample essays. The course will introduce expert advice, editing checklists, and strategies for effective writing. By the end of the course, students will make significant progress toward final essay drafts for submission to US universities.

This course is intended for graduate applicants to US universities. The course guides students toward an effective statement for their particular graduate program. The course begins by examining the personal statement within the larger application to reveal how it impacts admissions decisions. Students will work to identify academic and personal goals, relevant experiences, and personal background details that will highlight their unique strengths, interests, and match for their desired program. The course will introduce expert advice, sample essays, editing checklists, and strategies for effective writing. Students will participate in interactive writing workshops and receive detailed feedback from the instructor.

This course is intended for undergraduate applicants to US universities. The course offers students the opportunity to engage in a meaningful process to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to write an effective and memorable personal statement. The course begins by examining the essay within the larger application to reveal how it impacts admissions decisions. With an understanding of the admissions audience and expectations, students will work to identify engaging topics, analyze common application prompts, and craft an essay that avoids common mistakes and highlights students' unique strengths and personalities. The course will introduce expert advice, sample essays, editing checklists, and strategies for creative and effective writing. Students will participate in interactive writing workshops and receive detailed feedback from the instructor.

If you are planning to apply to a US university, you may need to take the SAT, ACT, GRE or GMAT. Preparation classes for these courses are available to University Connection (UniConn) Plus students. See the University Connection Programs Manager or a UniConn advisor for information about how to enroll in UniConn Plus.

This course focuses on increasing both recognition and use of common academic vocabulary, using the words and word families of the Academic Word List (AWL) as a starting point. The course will provide you with opportunities to encounter the selected vocabulary multiple times and in various contexts, and you will learn about the words’ grammatical characteristics, frequency, register, and collocations. You will also become more proficient in word analysis and the use of a monolingual, collegiate dictionary. (The A and B versions of the course use different chapters and materials, so you may take this course more than once; you do not need to take “A” before “B.”)

This course is part of a two-session elective course designed to help you activate and refine your grammar at the advanced level. This course is a continuation of Intermediate Grammar (IG) and will give you the opportunity to further expand your understanding of a variety of grammatical structures that will be chosen based on the results of a first day diagnostic activity. Throughout the course, you will participate in various communicative activities with your classmates to examine the form, meaning, and use of those structures in different spoken and written texts. Through such communicative activities and written practice, you will continue to improve the accuracy and precision of your speaking and writing. By reviewing grammatical structures at and slightly above your level, you will reflect on and enhance your ability to use grammatical structures accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately. Some of the grammar points covered in this course include aspect, relative clauses, conjunctions, connectors, modal perfective verbs, among others. This course alternates with Advanced Grammar B (AG B), and is offered in the spring 1, summer 1, and fall 1 sessions. The B course is offered in the spring 2, summer 2, and fall 2 sessions.

This course increases your knowledge of English words and idioms. Vocabulary is classified and learned according to notions (i.e., color; size), topics (i.e., family; weather), functions (i.e., inviting; asking for directions), and use (i.e., public speaking; showing respect). You have opportunities to practice new vocabulary in ways that require you to speak, read, and write, and you learn new ways to discover and remember words and expressions that you will find particularly useful in your daily life. In addition, this course helps you improve upon your dictionary skills. (The A and B versions of the course use different chapters and materials, so you may take this course more than once; you do not need to take “A” before “B”.)

The primary goal of this course is to increase both recognition and use of a wide variety of words and expressions by examining prominent categories of vocabulary and representative examples from them. A secondary goal is to introduce you to strategies that will enable you to continue developing and increasing your vocabulary throughout your lifetime. You will build a foundation of useful vocabulary on a variety of topics that you encounter in the course textbook, as well as from authentic, real-world sources, and will have opportunities to practice using new vocabulary in your speaking and writing. (The A and B versions of the course use different chapters and materials, so you may take this course more than once; you do not need to take “A” before “B”.)

This course is designed to improve your reading skills and ability to participate in class discussions, as well as your appreciation of different styles of writing in English. You read one novel, a variety of American short stories, and several poems. Student choice is central to this course: you select your own novel, design your own projects, and choose roles to play in literary discussion circles. You are encouraged to debate your personal interpretations as well as examine cross-cultural differences in all the class members' interpretations.

In this course, you will develop your ability to comprehend and interpret authentic college-level texts. In particular, you will read lengthy and complex texts from two academic disciplines—sociology and biology—while working to develop both fundamental reading skills and critical thinking skills. You will also focus on refining your study skills (particularly annotating, note-taking, and using graphic organizers), and summarizing and paraphrasing skills in addition to synthesizing information from various selections. This knowledge and practice will make you a more independent and effective reader of academic texts, and you will be able to better express your comprehension of the texts. (The A and B versions of the course use different chapters and materials, so you may take this course more than once; you do not need to take “A” before “B”.)

Students in English-medium universities must be able to demonstrate critical thinking through writing. Typical assignments require students to analyze information and argument from a variety of sources and select and shape the relevant information into clearly written and well-organized papers. This course gives you practical training in writing structured and clear analytical essays. Emphasis is on (1) developing your ability to critically evaluate academic sources; (2) selecting credible sources to support claims; and (3) writing full-length essays in narrative, analytical and argumentative modes. The topics you read and write about are contemporary and debatable issues chosen to motivate your analytical thinking.

Professors and students both agree that the ability to read with understanding is the most important skill for students at American universities. This course helps you improve your reading comprehension, study skills, critical thinking, library search skills, and your ability to use texts to complete typical university-level assignments. You will read selections from textbooks and journal articles in various academic disciplines and discuss the organization, content, vocabulary, and grammatical forms characteristic of academic writing. You will also create a “reading portfolio” with other students, in which you choose your own texts and analyze them from different perspectives. In short, this course aims to make you a more efficient reader who is better able to understand the content and arguments of academic texts.

This course is part of a two-session elective course designed to help you through the process of writing papers based on research you do on a topic of your choice. Even if you have written papers before in your home country, you may find the conventions of organization and style in an American university new and difficult. You are introduced to the university library’s electronic search facilities to collect and evaluate sources. You take notes, learn how to quote, paraphrase, and synthesize information. You become familiar with and demonstrate mastery of one particular standardized format for writing citations of your sources and undertake a series of writing tasks leading up to a final paper with proper references and citations. This course alternates with and is a prerequisite to Research Paper Writing B. Research Paper Writing A is offered in the spring 1, summer 1, and fall 1 sessions.

This course is the second part of a two-session elective course designed to help you through the process of writing papers based on research you do on a topic of your choice. The course will cover the following: an overview of the considerations involved in successful academic writing, an examination of common patterns in expository prose (general to specific and problem to solution), a guide to the interpretation and discussion of data, an explanation of the skills involved in writing summaries and critiques, and an analysis of the construction of a research paper. This course alternates with Research Paper Writing A (RPW A), which is a prerequisite to this course. It is assumed that students taking this course will have a body of work, either generated in RPW A or from their own research, which they will be refining. Research Paper Writing B (RPW B) is offered in the spring 2, summer 2, and fall 2 sessions.

This course prepares you for the demands of college-level academic speaking and listening tasks. The activities and lectures focus on tasks and language that you will encounter in university courses. Academic vocabulary related to the activities and lectures will be presented, and you will learn pre-listening and note-taking strategies to prepare for academic lectures and classroom communication. You will become more proficient with academic speaking and listening skills through the following activities: participating in classroom discussions, preparing and presenting complex information using logical connectors and visual aids, taking accurate notes, and demonstrating critical thinking skills. (The A and B versions of the course cover different subject sections in the textbook and practice different skills, so you may take this course more than once; you do not need to take “A” before “B.”)

This course stresses spoken accuracy in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Through a variety of recordings provided by National Public Radio, you will critically analyze current issues in the United States while focusing on specific pronunciation, grammar and lexical points. You will improve the accuracy of your speech through a variety of tasks that encourage real conversational interactions in which you will achieve a particular goal by describing, narrating, explaining, supporting an opinion, hypothesizing, or expressing needs, hopes, and wishes. This course alternates with Speaking Clearly about the Issues B (SCI B), and is offered in the spring 1, summer 1, and fall 1 sessions. The B course is offered in the spring 2, summer 2, and fall 2 sessions.

The purpose of this course is to refine and streamline your reading skills so that you are a more effective and efficient reader. You will read a mainstream business book as well as a complement of current business periodicals and book extracts. Moreover, you will develop your analytical and critical thinking skills so that you can synthesize and evaluate what you read. With specific reading and unknown vocabulary strategies, you will improve your reading speed and increase your ability to comprehend what you read, understand the writer’s position, grasp the implications of the issues, and summarize them. This course will also increase your knowledge about specific companies and general business topics.

This course is designed to help students understand, create, and pitch compelling business models. Students will work together to analyze existing products and businesses and then create a business model for a new product. They will also learn about effective presentation and pitching skills for the business world.

This course is designed to help students improve their speaking and listening skills through the study of leadership styles and team building. Through the analysis of successful leaders and their leadership styles as well as the exploration of students’ own leadership styles, students will learn strategies for effective leadership and communication. Students will focus on how teams develop, learn, and achieve success together and the ways in which leaders emerge. Students will present themselves as leaders and team players by incorporating effective verbal and non-verbal communication strategies in class activities and assessments. Lastly, as part of being an effective leader and team player, one aspect that you will develop in this course is providing effective feedback to different stakeholders.

This course will help students develop their ability to speak in public for a variety of purposes and contexts. Students will gain experience with informative, persuasive, and narrative speaking, starting with analysis of expert examples that demonstrate how powerful presenters organize and deliver their messages. The structure of the course allows time for students to practice, receive feedback, and implement feedback, thus improving how they use their voices and visual materials to impact their audience. The skills learned in this course can be immediately applied in professional settings where speakers need to report on facts and pitch ideas. Students will also find these skills to be vital in academic and even social settings.

This course prepares intermediate to advanced students for the writing tasks that they will encounter in business, commerce, or administration. Instruction provides guidance in writing successful emails, email attachments, letters, memos, and recommendations. Students will develop the ability to gather information, organize their ideas, and compose while working on format, content, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. Students will revise and edit their work. Levels of formality, politeness and appropriate style will be considered throughout the course.

This is a content-based speaking course for independent users of English with learning tasks designed around a realistic simulation, the international relocation of an American company’s production facility. Students will chair and participate in meetings and negotiations relating to this relocation, using language accurately, appropriately, and effectively. In addition, students do research for and give two presentations, following established presentation protocols. Participants will also practice business-related social interactions. Last, students expand their business language vocabulary, including targeted gambits and idioms, which they will use in the course assignments.

The purpose of this course is to strengthen your listening skills within the context of specific business topics. You will listen to authentic news segments, speeches, documentaries, and advertisements and improve your ability to comprehend those types of spoken events. In turn, you will also further develop your analytical and critical thinking skills so that you can synthesize and evaluate what you hear. You will also regularly focus on reporting and discussing skills. Taking this course will increase your ability to effectively comprehend authentic business passages in the spoken form. It will also increase your knowledge about business topics. The course will focus on the following topics: green businesses, operations management, and emerging technologies.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Reading and Writing for the IELTS. This particular elective is designed to help you learn about the listening and speaking sections of the IELTS test and also identify strategies to help you successfully complete those sections. Throughout the course, you will study sample questions from both these sections, examine the rubric used to assess the speaking section, analyze sample IELTS interview responses, and identify and practice test-taking strategies. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these strategies in IELTS-like assessments throughout the course.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Listening and Speaking for the IELTS. This particular elective is designed to help you learn about the reading and writing sections of the IELTS test and also identify strategies to help you successfully complete those sections. Throughout the course, you will study sample questions from both these sections, examine the rubrics used to assess the writing section, analyze sample IELTS writing responses, and identify and practice test-taking strategies. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these strategies in IELTS-like assessments throughout the course.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Reading and Writing Skills for the TOEFL iBT, designed to help you develop the skills needed on the listening and speaking sections of the TOEFL iBT. Throughout the course, you will examine sample questions from both these sections, practice responding to them and develop the specific skills needed to complete those sections successfully. Emphasis is placed on the integration of these skills through listening to lectures and campus conversations, note-taking, identifying main ideas in listening, and organizing main and supporting ideas in speaking. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these skills in authentic practice mini-tests and in a TOEFL-like practice test toward the end of the course.

This course is one of two complementary electives, the other being Listening and Speaking Skills for the TOEFL iBT, designed to help you develop the skills needed on the Reading and Writing sections of the TOEFL iBT. Throughout the course, you will examine sample questions from both these sections, practice responding to them and develop the specific skills needed to complete those sections successfully. Emphasis is placed on the integration of these skills through identifying main ideas in reading and in listening passages and organizing main and supporting ideas in writing. You will also have multiple opportunities to practice these skills in authentic practice mini-tests and in a TOEFL-like practice test toward the end of the course.

This course is for students who are applying to US universities and/or are enrolled in a course in Penn's Liberal and Professional Studies program. Students will use all language skills to engage in activities that explore US higher education culture and communication norms, analyze habits and strategies of successful students, and improve personal study strategies and communication skills. Students will not only improve their Academic English language skills, they will also gain insight into skills and information necessary for US academic success.

This course is intended for graduate and undergraduate applicants who are actively working on application essays or personal statements for US university admission. The course includes weekly conference time with the instructor and ample class time to work on drafts. Students will participate in writing workshops with peer reviews and sample essays. The course will introduce expert advice, editing checklists, and strategies for effective writing. By the end of the course, students will make significant progress toward final essay drafts for submission to US universities.

This course is intended for graduate applicants to US universities. The course guides students toward an effective statement for their particular graduate program. The course begins by examining the personal statement within the larger application to reveal how it impacts admissions decisions. Students will work to identify academic and personal goals, relevant experiences, and personal background details that will highlight their unique strengths, interests, and match for their desired program. The course will introduce expert advice, sample essays, editing checklists, and strategies for effective writing. Students will participate in interactive writing workshops and receive detailed feedback from the instructor.

This course is intended for undergraduate applicants to US universities. The course offers students the opportunity to engage in a meaningful process to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to write an effective and memorable personal statement. The course begins by examining the essay within the larger application to reveal how it impacts admissions decisions. With an understanding of the admissions audience and expectations, students will work to identify engaging topics, analyze common application prompts, and craft an essay that avoids common mistakes and highlights students' unique strengths and personalities. The course will introduce expert advice, sample essays, editing checklists, and strategies for creative and effective writing. Students will participate in interactive writing workshops and receive detailed feedback from the instructor.

If you are planning to apply to a US university, you may need to take the SAT, ACT, GRE or GMAT. Preparation classes for these courses are available to University Connection (UniConn) Plus students. See the University Connection Programs Manager or a UniConn advisor for information about how to enroll in UniConn Plus.

This course will help you to communicate like a professional engineer in any field. You will build the vocabulary and grammar needed to accurately describe the inner workings of the technologies that we depend on every day, such as cars, touchscreens, bridges, lasers, alarm systems, and more. The course will simulate different methods of communication for the workplace, such as meetings, presentations, technical articles, and reports. Like all engineers, you will maintain a focus on analyzing problems and discussing solutions. The B course alternates with English for Engineering A (ENGENG A), and is offered in the spring 2, summer 2, and fall 2 sessions. (Any kind of prior experience in engineering is helpful but not necessary.)

Engineering and Science students in English-medium universities must be able to master not only the scientific content of their courses but also the language that allows them to function appropriately both inside and outside the classroom. Typical speech areas include the lecture hall, the seminar room, the study group, and the laboratory and each area requires the student to perform different language skills and registers. The course focuses on academic reading, listening, vocabulary, interaction, and writing skills and it is divided into several topics: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and/or biology. Within each theme-based unit, you will participate in discussions, labs, exercises, and presentations that focus on specific aspects of your academic language (e.g., reading and listening skills, vocabulary, interaction strategies, and writing abilities).

The aim of this course is to increase your ability to comprehend and evaluate the news in American English. You analyze stories in all forms of the media through which the news is reported, including: television, radio, newspapers, and news-related periodicals. You increase your vocabulary and improve your reading and listening comprehension skills in general, and more specifically, in relation to current events and topics that are of particular interest to you. The course requires extensive reading, as well as viewing television news and documentaries, and listening to news broadcasts.

Science is a diverse and continually evolving field. Peer through a critical lens at compelling research in issues ranging from marine biology to climate change. In this class you will read articles that have been selected as "The Best American Science and Nature Writing." Through active reading, small group discussions, formal presentation and critical writing, you will describe, personalize, analyze, and apply the ideas of many of today's science writers. You will develop not only your critical thinking skills, but your ability to read, analyze, and respond to complex texts using clear, sound argumentation. The course goals focus on academic reading and writing; however, coursework requires use of all skills.