Levels and Placement (learn more)

• Seven levels of proficiency, Lower Elementary to Upper Advanced
• All new students take a placement test on the Monday before classes start to determine their initial level placement
• The program can take from two months to 16 months depending on initial placement
• Promotion to the next level is based on final grades and teacher recommendation

Courses (learn more)

• Core courses include grammar, reading, writing, and speaking and listening
• Students may also register for optional Electives courses, which include TOEFL Preparation, GMAT/GRE Preparation, Word Power, Movie Making, Podcasting, and Survival English.

Sample Schedule (learn more)

Most levels meet from 9 AM – 2 PM or from 11 AM - 4 PM

A computer lab is open to students several hours per day

Electives classes generally meet in the afternoons

Certificates and Evaluation (learn more)

• Students receive midterm and final grade reports each session
• Students can earn three types of certificates: Level Completion, Course Completion, and Course Attendance
• Official transcripts for all coursework can also be obtained
• Students receive certificates for successful level and core course completion and certificates of attendance for Elective courses
• Students can earn CEUs for all courses at the Language Institute

At the Language Institute, we realize our students are not all the same.  To place students in the right level, we assess students' English proficiency in five areas:

• Listening,
• Reading,
• Vocabulary,
• Grammar, and
• Writing.

When we know students' overall level of proficiency, we place them with other students with similar ability in English.

Seven Levels of Proficiency

Begining	100	Lower elementary
	200	Upper elementary
Intermediate	300	Lower intermediate
	400	Intermediate
	500	Upper intermediate
Advanced	600	Lower advanced
	700	Upper advanced

Students may not select their own level of study and must follow the placement committee’s decision. However, to ensure correct placement class performance will be observed for the first three or four days with placement adjustments made during the second week of the session.

Students are promoted to the next level based on their final grades and teacher recommendations.  

Beginning Levels
Beginning students have limited proficiency in English. They can function somewhat in everyday conversation, write basic sentences and paragraphs, and read short passages with controlled vocabulary.

Students are placed at this level, take one-hour classes in grammar, writing, reading, and speaking/listening, and should expect to spend an additional two to three hours outside of class working on homework assignments.

Intermediate Levels
Intermediate students can communicate in English in most social situations, but their fluency and accuracy may still be weak in one or more areas.

Students are placed at the intermediate level, receive fairly intensive practice with English as it is used for academic purposes and everyday communication. They will attend daily one-hour classes in grammar, speaking/listening, reading/discussion, and writing and should expect to spend three to four hours daily on homework assignments.

Advanced Levels
Advanced students are approaching readiness or are ready to begin academic study but still have some weaknesses in some of their English skills.

Students are at this level, will take one-hour classes daily in grammar, writing, listening/discussion and speaking/listening, read academic texts, listen to authentic lecture and other authentic materials, learn ways to connect ideas and use more sophisticated structures in both writing and speaking, and write essay exams and short extensive research papers.

Upper-advanced level students, will take one two-hour grammar writing class daily and one-hour classes in both oral skills and listening. At both advanced levels, students can expect to spend at least four hours on outside homework assignments and preparation for class. 

Core Courses

Grammar
Grammar classes help students learn structures that will help them communicate more accurately in English. Emphasis is not on learning rules of English grammar. Instead, them learn how to use English grammar structures accurately in meaningful communication in both speaking and writing.

Reading and Discussion
In reading and discussion classes, students learn strategies and practice reading for detail, main idea, and inference. They also work on the skills of speed reading, skimming, scanning, paraphrasing, and summarizing and synthesizing information. Students can practice new vocabulary and participate in discussions about class texts. Texts include short, simple newspaper articles to scholarly journal articles and literature.

Writing
At the lower levels, focus ison writing sentences and paragraphs related to students' experiences.  In the intermediate levels, students work on different rhetorical styles, writing unified coherent paragraphs and essays that demonstrate a variety of cohesive devises, some mastery of punctuation rules and diction, and use of adequate support.

At the advanced levels, focus is on writing more academic topics. Students learn to research and use the techniques of paraphrasing and summarizing of information effectively in their writing. They are also introduced to a number of different citation forms.

Speaking/Listening
In speaking/listening classes, students practice understanding spoken English in social, academic, and testing situations through guided exercises, listening exercises, note-taking practice, and vocabulary building. Listening material includes short controlled passages at the beginning levels to authentic lectures and video segments at the more advanced levels.

In speaking, students receive instruction and feedback on pronunciation issues including sound production, intonation, thought groups, and word and sentence stress. Fluency is emphasized. Students learn to participate more confidently in conversations and group discussions and to give both formal and informal presentations.  

Elective Courses

In addition to core classes, students can register for Elective classes in standardized test preparation including TOEFL Preparation and GRE/GMAT Writing Preparation, and Vocabulary Building, as well as non-test Electives such as Making a Movie, Rhythm in English, Podcasting for Pronunciation, and Survival English.

Learn more about upcoming electives click here.

Sample Schedules

What does a typical week look like for our students? Here are a few sample schedules for our full-time intensive English students.

Schedules vary from session to session. Specific schedules are available on the second day of each session after all new students have been tested and placed.

Full-time students take four hours of class daily, Monday through Friday.

Beginning to Lower Intermediate Levels

Time	Monday-Friday
11 a.m.-Noon	Grammar
Noon-1 p.m.	Writing
1-2 p.m.	Lunch
2-3 p.m.	Reading
3-4 p.m.	Speaking/Listening
4p.m.	Open Lab Time

Intermediate to Lower Advanced Levels

Time	Monday-Friday
8 a.m.	Open Lab Time
9 a.m.	Grammar
10 a.m.	Writing
11 a.m.	Lunch
Noon	Reading
1 p.m.	Speaking/Listening
2 p.m.	Electives (Tuesday-Thursday)
3 p.m.	Open Lab Time

Upper Advanced Level

Time	Monday-Friday
8 a.m.	Open Lab Time
9 a.m.	Speaking
10 a.m.	Listening
11 a.m.	Lunch
Noon	Writing
1 p.m.	Grammar
2 p.m.	Electives (Monday-Wednesday-Friday)
3 p.m.	Open Lab Time