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Beginning
Students Intermediate
Students Advanced
Students
High
Advanced Students Beyond
the Classroom
F-1 Visa Requirements for English Studies
F-1 visa students are required to take at least 12 credit hours or 18 hours of class hours (non-credit) to maintain their F-1 status in the U.S. Non-credit students in the IEP are required to attend and make progress in at least 18 class hours each week.
For Students at the Beginning Levels of English
(TOEFL Score less than 400[iBT]/100 [CBT])
Students who test at the basic levels of English must take at least basic English eslewhere. We encourage them to attend the English Language Center at Crowder College, about 20 miles from MSSU. Crowder offers an English program that will prepare studnts for unerversity work, but specialize at low skills levels. For additional information, visit the Crowder College website or contact the MSSU program for more information.
For Students at Intermediate Levels of English
(TOEFL Score between [iBT]/100 [CBT] and [iBT]/173 [CBT])
These classes are also offered as non-credit courses for three class hours each week
ESL 071/ Grammar I focuses on common grammar structures in English.. Students find this course most helpful when taken with at least one other IEP speaking or writing course. The IEP wants students to understand the relationship of structure to meaning and use of the structures.
ESL 072/ Intermediate Speaking and Listening teaches English for common settings: conversations, requests for information and help, performances and media, sharing abstract ideas and strategies for clarifying meaning.
ESL 073/ Intermediate Reading and Vocabulary familiarizes students with American culture and builds a vocabulary of commonly used words and expressions. It assists students with building reading speed and developing reading strategies for comprehension.
ESL 074/ Intermediate ESL Composition teaches good writing skills at the paragraph level and simple writing tasks such as information sharing and extended description.
Intermediate courses meet 3 hours a week for 16 weeks and are offered each fall semester and in the spring when there is enough need. Intermediate students are expected to participate in the Readers' Club, the Pronunciation Clinic and spend one hour each week with an IEP language tutor and conversation partner.
ESL 077 Intermediate Skills in English [Evenings] teaches reading, speaking, writing and grammar at the same time and is available for working families with limited time. This course meets two times each week, with homework and out of class assignments required.
For Students at Advanced Levels of English
(TOEFL Score between [iBT]/173 [CBT] and [iBT]/200 [CBT] )
These classes are also offered as non-credit courses for three class hours each week
ESL 081/ Grammar II focuses on advanced grammar structures in English used especially in formal and academic speaking and writing. The course is offered during the spring term as one of the four program courses. Special focus includes the perfect tenses, passive voice, clause and phrase structures and discussion of the relationship of tense to time and non-real references.
ESL 082/ Academic Speaking and Listening specializes on classroom settings: participating in and leading discussions, presenting reports, forming good questions for information, note-taking skills with examinations in mind. Students learn more advanced and academic vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Student leadership of general discussions and presentations of ideas are frequent.
ESL 083/ Reading in Academic Contexts familiarizes students with the particular problems of reading academic texts and the amount of reading required in university courses. Students learn to build reading speed and develop reading strategies for difficult texts and unfamiliar and technical vocabulary. Students also learn when to employ particular strategies appropriate for a given reading purpose.
ESL 084/ ESL Academic Composition helps students write well in extended discourse, such as answering essay questions and writing essays for courses. This class includes grammar so that students have practice using advanced structures of English and structures common to academic discourse. The course includes an introduction to writing in the several styles, although not all styles are taught each time the course is offered. .
ESL 085/ ESL Skills for the University is a content based, finishing course for Advanced Learners. It is a normal university course including all the skills a student needs to be successful in an American university. The course is offered in the fall term and meets in a regular university classroom. Two days each week are spent on the topic (currently: "Learning to Live in foreign cultures"), with students reading, presenting, discussing and preparing reports on the topic.
Advanced courses meet 3 hours a week for 16 weeks and are offered each spring, and in fall when there is need. Advanced students are expected to participate in the Readers' Club, the Pronunciation Clinic and to spend one hour each week with an IEP language tutor. They also make classroom visits to regular courses.
ESL 087 Advanced Skills in English [Evenings] teaches reading, speaking, writing and grammar and is available for working families with limited time. This course meets two times times each week, with homework and out of class assignments required.
ESL 128 Reading for Pronunciation and Vocabulary Building is a skill building course for accent reduction and professional/technical vocabulary building. Students and the instructor read together inside and outside of class and use the class times to review vocabulary and practice specific difficulties in spoken American English. Much time is spent on issues of stress, speaking rhythm, word clumping and tonal changes.
All courses are offered three ways: as not-for-credit courses in a fee-based program; as 070 (Not for degree credit) courses for students expecting to continue at MSSU; and as 100 (Transfer) credit courses for students transferring English studies back to an international home university.
Beyond the Classroom
With about 12 hours/week of classroom based activities, the IEP also provides significant out of class work directed at enhancing English Skills through usage. Non credit students must be enrolled in three of these classes or activities.
ESL 076 Technology for the I.E.P. is taught each semester for students needing instruction in the use of computers. Since computers are very much a part of university education, students are introduced to keyboarding and document formatting, email, web browsing and searching, and the university computing system.
ESL 078 Pronunciation Clinic is held one day each week for all students taking 7 or more IEP credits. Activities focus on skill-building for comprehension, especially working on pronunciation problems that create difficulty in understanding for the speaker or the listener.
ESL 079 The Readers' Workshop is held weekly and students taking more than 7 IEP credits must participate. The Club encourages reading for fun and good conversation on more advanced topics. Even intermediate students who struggle with reading the texts finds helpful experience in English at the club meetings.
IEP Electronic Tutoring is available for all students and study packets are available to work on-line in areas of grammar, vocabulary building, reading and writing. Non-credit students are expected to spend three hours each week on these activities.
Conversation Partners, who are native English speakers, are assigned to each IEP student. Students and their partners meet at least once each week to share ideas, events, concerns and desires. IEP students report on their experiences with conversation partners.
Activities, Clubs, Associations and Host Families invite IEP students to join them for a semesters' activities, including meetings, meals, service project, tourism and socials. These "real life" settings encourage both use of English and provide international students with a "home away from home" while in the United States. More important, they are also a window on American culture that is unavailable in almost any other way.
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