The three-hour ESL morning program emphasizes listening and speaking (above reading and writing). It will start with basic "survival" skills to enable the student to communicate needs, to make requests, to carry on conversations, and generally to gain confidence and experience in the handling of the English language.

Typical of these "coping" or "survival" skills are the following:

• Indicating understanding / not understanding plus the necessary non-verbal cues (e.g. head nodding / eye contact)
• Making requests / questions / enquiries
• Apologizing
• Asking directions: following directions / maps
• Using buses, phones, money and banks: shopping routines
• Telling about family and relatives
• Describing basic physical characteristics

Second to the basic "survival" skills are those activities in which speaking and listening skills are sustained to greater length. Typical here are:

• Explaining things - cultural activities, geography of the country, the way sports are played, cooking recipes etc.
• Describing an event or telling a story
• Acting out situations and preparing short dialogues
• Exchanging information

No particular text will be required of students, but they will be expected to keep a file of the material issued in class (and if necessary during a particular extra-curricular activity). The teacher's approach is eclectic - drawing the best material from the hundreds of ESL texts available on the market.

WRITING AND READING

Writing will concentrate on those areas most personal to the student (eg. Letter-writing or keeping a diary of events). The reading of time-tables, indexes, library cards, product labels or pop charts is a vital component of "survival" in a foreign culture.

GRAMMAR

Many foreign students have a stronger command of how grammatical structures work in English than American or Canadian students. There is an important role for grammar work in our ESL classroom, but it is best done orally to facilitate expression and to show the workings of the language. Communication GAMES are a great help and students should expect INTERACTIVE GAMES in class and between classes, exercising grammatical structure.

AFTERNOON & EVENING ACTIVITIES

Since a large part of our day is interactive with Canadian culture, students will be encouraged to use their communicative skills during the afternoon and evening activities. Certain activities may have good learning implications for the morning ESL program. For example, a visit to a market will allow practice in shopping dialogue, money and prices, or weights and measures. Our teachers are aware of the interaction of ESL classes and other activities, and will try to help students use and improve their speaking and other skills. We have designed our afternoon and evening activities with three goals in mind: the Canadian experience and lifestyle, the ESL learning potential, and the students' maximum enjoyment.

TESTING

At the beginning of the course students will be required to take a placement test in order to determine the suitable class. In addition, there will be an interview in which the student will be asked to make some general conversation about schooling, interests, and family; and perhaps to comment on a picture.

During the course, teachers may set their own in-class tests on the material covered.

SUMMARY

The KEY phrases of our programs are therefore:

• LISTENING and SPEAKING come FIRST!
• Learning is DOING!
• INTERACTION is the best way to learn about different cultures and to improve English.

POWER ENGLISH CLASSES

This demanding, academic-based program will include an additional three hours of afternoon week-day classes, for a total of thirty hours per week. The curriculum has been structured for those students who are, or might one day, be entering North American secondary schools, and who have an intermediate to advanced-level of English as a Second Language. Class sizes will be reduced, for even more personal attention! Come join us for studies in -

• Critical Thinking
• Media & Current Events
• Public Speaking
• Novel Study
• Essay Writing
• Organizational Skills

OUR ADVANCED ENGLISH SKILLS PROGRAM

This demanding, academic-based program will emphasize the development of oral AND written skills in a small class environment for three hours each morning. Teachers will be utilizing Canadian teaching methods, text books, and computers to enhance the curriculum. Students will research and work through the writing process to complete a published essay.

This program is recommended for students who are, or might one day, be entering North American secondary schools. The curriculum has been structured for those students who have proven intermediate to advanced levels of ESL. (TOEFL: 450 or SLEP: 45).

Areas of study include :

• critical thinking
• note taking, research skills
• novel study
• media and current events
• public speaking
• organizational skills
• paragraph and essay writing