ELI-English Language Institute Courses

ELI 011. Reading Level 1. 0 Hours.

Students will learn reading skills to get meaning from simple non-fiction, non-academic texts in English. Students will learn general vocabulary. Objectives: Students will read at least 14 non-fiction non-academic texts of up to 200 words in English. The texts are written for use with Level 1 students. Students will learn and practice basic reading skills and strategies, text analysis, and vocabulary skills. Students will learn the form, meaning, and pronunciation of vocabulary in the readings.

ELI 012. Integrated Skills Level 1. 0 Hours.

Grammar, vocabulary, speaking, and listening will be learned and practiced together. Students will learn form, meaning, and pronunciation of simple present, simple past, present continuous, and going to; nouns, adjectives and adverbs. They will practice this language in spoken and written activities. Students will learn and practice form, meaning, and pronunciation of basic vocabulary. They will learn basic speaking skills through practice of grammar and vocabulary in communicative activities. Students will develop basic listening skills to get meaning from classroom and recorded speech that uses the grammar and vocabulary.

ELI 013. Vocabulary Building Level 1. 0 Hours.

Students will learn basic vocabulary that is useful in daily life, in topic groups including time & calendar, daily activities, family, weather, clothes, food, furniture, and places in town. Students will learn the meaning, pronunciation, and form (spelling, part of speech, plurals and non-count, collocations, and phrasal verbs) of the words.

ELI 014. Writing Level 1. 0 Hours.

Students will complete at least 10 paragraphs of up to 100 words. Paragraphs will eventually include topic and supporting sentences. Students will follow the process of generating content, analyzing models, organizing content, and writing drafts with teacher, peer, and self-editing. Students will learn and practice Level 1 mechanics, grammar, sentence structure, and functional language for content area.

ELI 015. Support for Beginners. 0 Hours.

This course is designed to support Level Pre-1 students in their outcomes for ELC 013 Vocabulary Building 1 and ELC 012 Integrated Skills 1.

ELI 021. Reading Level 2. 0 Hours.

Goals: Students will develop reading skills to get meaning from non-fiction non-academic and simplified academic texts in English. Students will learn general vocabulary.Students will read at least 12 non-fiction non-academic and simplified academic texts of up to 400 words in English. Texts are graded for use with Level 2 students. Students will learn and practice general reading skills and strategies, text analysis, and vocabulary skills. Students will learn the form, meaning, and pronunciation of vocabulary in the readings.

ELI 022. Integrated Skills: Grammar, Listening and Speaking Level 2. 0 Hours.

Grammar, vocabulary, speaking, and listening will be learned and practiced together. Students will improve their use simple present, simple past, present continuous, and going to; and learn present perfect, present continuous for future, comparatives and superlatives, modals, quantifiers, and basic infinitives and gerunds. They will practice language in spoken and written activities. Students will learn and practice form, meaning, and pronunciation of general vocabulary. They will develop their speaking fluency through communicative activities, and their listening skills to get meaning from classroom and recorded speech. Students will also develop their writing skills through communicative activities.

ELI 023. Vocabulary Building Level 2. 0 Hours.

Students will learn vocabulary that is useful in daily life, in topic groups including personality, emotions, health, emergencies, errands, workplace, geography, hobbies & sports, and transportation. Students will learn the meaning, pronunciation, and form (spelling, part of speech, plurals and non-count, collocations, and phrasal verbs) of the words.

ELI 024. Writing Level 2. 0 Hours.

Students will complete at least 4 academic paragraphs of up to 120 words. Paragraphs will include topic, supporting, and concluding sentences. Students will follow the process of generating content, analyzing models, outlining, and writing 2 drafts with teacher, peer, & self-editing. Students will learn and practice mechanics, grammar, sentence structure, and functional language for paragraph genre.

ELI 031. Academic Reading Level 3. 0 Hours.

Students will read at least 12 non-fiction academic texts of 600-1000 words in English. Texts are those graded for use with Level 3 students, and authentic articles and excerpts. Students will learn and practice basic academic reading skills and strategies, text analysis, and vocabulary skills. Students will learn the form, meaning, and pronunciation of vocabulary in the readings.

ELI 032. Speaking and Listening Skills Level 3. 0 Hours.

Students will develop their speaking skills to communicate in groups, and give short presentations on general and simplified academic topics. Students will develop their listening skills to get meaning and take notes on graded & authentic conversations and academic lectures. Students will learn basic academic vocabulary on listening and speaking topics.Speaking and listening skills and vocabulary will be studied together with 4 popular and academic topics. Students will develop their communicative speaking skills in topic-based interactive activities. They will give at least 4 short presentations with attention to non-verbal communication. They will receive feedback on their pronunciation and grammar use. Students will listen to at least 4 graded and authentic recorded conversations and academic lectures. They will learn basic lecture note-taking skills with guided outlines. Students will learn form, meaning, & pronunciation of topic vocabulary.

ELI 033. Grammar: Using English Accurately Level 3. 0 Hours.

Students will develop their ability to accurately use verb tenses, and relative clauses. Students will apply this grammar in speaking and expository writing. Students will learn form, meaning, and pronunciation of all English verb tenses in contrast. They will learn restrictive and non-restrictive subject and object relative clauses. Students will practice this language in written and spoken controlled exercises, and apply it in freer written and spoken activities.

ELI 034. Academic Writing Level 3. 0 Hours.

Students will learn to write short academic essays. Students will complete 4 academic essays of at least 250 words in these genres: descriptive, comparison, opinion, and narrative. Essays will include introduction, body (1-2), and conclusion paragraphs. Students will follow the process of generating content, analyzing models, outlining, and writing 2 drafts with teacher, peer, and self-editing. Students will learn and practice Level 3 language, including adverb and adjective clauses, and functional language for essay genre.

ELI 041. Academic Reading Level 4. 0 Hours.

Students will develop reading skills to get meaning from non-fiction academic texts and fiction in English. Students will learn academic vocabulary.Students will read at least 12 texts, including non-fiction academic texts and fiction of 800-1200 words in English. Texts are authentic articles and excerpts. Students will develop their academic reading skills and strategies, text analysis, and vocabulary skills. Students will learn the form, meaning, and pronunciation of vocabulary in the readings.

ELI 042. Speaking Listening Skills Level 4. 0 Hours.

Students will develop their speaking skills to communicate spontaneously in groups, and give presentations on academic topics. Students will develop their listening skills to get meaning from and take notes on authentic conversations and academic lectures. Students will learn academic vocabulary contextualized in the listening and speaking topics. Speaking and listening skills and vocabulary will be integrated into 4 academic topics. Students will develop their communicative speaking skills in interactive activities. They will prepare and give at least 4 presentations, with attention to organization and basic visual aids. They will receive feedback on their grammar use and pronunciation. Students will listen to at least 4 authentic recorded conversations and academic lectures, and develop their lecture note-taking skills with guided outlines. Students will learn the form, meaning, and pronunciation of topic vocabulary.

ELI 043. Grammar: Using English Accurately Level 4. 0 Hours.

Students will learn and develop their ability to accurately use modals, gerunds and infinitives, articles and nouns, passives, and conditionals. Students will apply this grammar in speaking and expository writing. Students will learn form, meaning, and pronunciation of modals including past, gerunds and infinitives, nouns and article use, passives in all tenses, and conditionals. Students will practice this language in written and spoken controlled exercises, and apply it in freer written and spoken activities.

ELI 044. Academic Writing Level 4. 0 Hours.

Students will learn to write longer and more developed academic essays. Objectives: Students will complete 3 academic essays of at least 450 words in these genres: classification, cause/effect, and argument. Essays will include introduction, 3 or more body paragraphs, and conclusion paragraph. Students will follow the process of generating content, analyzing models, outlining, and writing 3 drafts with teacher, peer, and self-editing. Students will learn and practice Level 4 language, including adverb and adjective clauses, and functional language for essay genre.

ELI 051. Academic Reading Level 5. 0 Hours.

Goals: Students will expand their reading skills to get meaning from non-fiction academic texts in English. Students will learn academic vocabulary. Objectives: Students will read at least 12 non-fiction academic texts of up to 800-2000 words in English. Texts are authentic articles or excerpts. Students will expand their academic reading skills and strategies, text analysis, and vocabulary skills. Students will learn the form, meaning, and pronunciation of vocabulary in the readings.

ELI 052. Oral Communication Level 5. 0 Hours.

Goals: Students will expand their speaking skills to communicate spontaneously on academic topics in small groups, and give professional presentations on academic topics. Students will expand their listening skills to extract meaning from and take notes on authentic academic conversations and lectures. Students will learn academic vocabulary contextualized in the listening and speaking topics. Objectives: Speaking and listening skills and vocabulary will be integrated into 4 academic topics. Students will expand their communicative speaking skills in interactive activities with academic topics and tasks. They will prepare and give at least 4 presentations, with focus on organization and visual aids. They will receive feedback on their grammar and pronunciation. Students will listen to at least 4 authentic recorded conversations and 4 academic lectures, and generate their own lecture note-taking outlines. Students will learn the form, meaning, and pronunciation of contextualized vocabulary.

ELI 053. Using English Accurately Level 5. 0 Hours.

Goals: Students will expand their ability to use grammar common to academic contexts such as cause & effect, compare & contrast, narrative, problem & solution, and persuasion. They will apply new and revised grammar in speaking and expository writing in these contexts. Objectives: Students will learn new grammar, and expand on known grammar commonly used in specific academic contexts. They will focus on form, meaning, and pronunciation of various tenses, sentence structures, and functional language used to speak and write academically. Students will practice this language in spoken and written controlled exercises, and apply it in speaking in groups and presentations, and writing in academic contexts.

ELI 054. Academic Writing Level 5. 0 Hours.

Goals: Students will develop skills to write academic research papers. Students will develop their citing, quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills, and learn APA format for external sources. They will learn to integrate source information into their essays. Objectives: Students will write 2 research papers of 500-750 words. For an expository essay, students will develop evaluative criteria, conduct on-line research, generate content, outline, and write 2 drafts with teacher, peer, and self-editing. For a reporting essay, students will read published sources on a medical problem, write a rough and detailed outline, and 2 drafts with teacher, peer, and self-editing. Students will expand their ability to quote, paraphrase, and summarize, and learn APA citation format. Students will expand their reading ability and use complex sentence structures.

ELI 056. Speaking and Listening Assistantship. 0 Hours.

In this course, students will assist the LRC manager in running Language Partners, which is a program for international students where they get to speak with native English speakers. Students will attend weekly sessions and give a report at the end of each session. As an outcome, students will be able to communicate easily and spontaneously with individuals and in small groups, lead and participate in conversations, ask clarification questions, and show active listening skills by appropriately responding to others.

ELI 061. Reading. 0 Hours.

Students will develop reading and vocabulary skills to understand general and academic articles. They will learn and practice taking notes, answering questions, and discussing the readings. They will also learn new vocabulary from the reading topics.

ELI 062. Speaking and Listening. 0 Hours.

Students will develop speaking skills in order to be able to participate in American University classes. They will practice speaking to their teacher and classmates. They will speak in small groups and give a short presentation to the class. They will develop listening skills that will enable them to understand conversations and lectures. They will learn vocabulary and practice speaking about these topics using new language and vocabulary.

ELI 063. Grammar. 0 Hours.

Students will increase their grammar accuracy and fluency. They will learn and review verb tenses and other grammar forms. They will practice using grammar in writing and speaking activities.

ELI 064. Writing. 0 Hours.

Students will develop their academic writing accuracy and fluency. They will learn and practice the content, organization, and language for writing academic paragraphs and essays in American universities.

ELI 071. Pronunciation/Accent Training I. 0 Hours.

This course focuses on improving your American English pronunciation and accent. The desired outcome of this course is that your speech will be more easily understood by speakers of English.

ELI 072. Pronunciation/Accent Training II. 0 Hours.

This course focuses on continuing to improve your American English pronunciation and accent through practicing previously studied skills in active conversation. The primary desired outcome of this course is that your accent will be more easily understood by speakers of English. The secondary outcome is that you will be more comfortable and fluent when speaking in English.

ELI 075. Business Listening and Speaking. 0 Hours.

This course is designed to improve students’ business English skills. In particular, listening and speaking skills will be the focus of this course. Business professionals or persons presently working in the U.S. will benefit from the speaking and listening skills learned in this class. The class will also feature business-related vocabulary, idioms, and culture discussions.

ELI 076. Business Writing Skills. 3 Hours.

The following are objectives for this course: Improve understanding of the different types of business writing and appropriate use of each type (business letters, emails, memos, reports, cover letters, resumes, proposals); enhance familiarity with common business letter formats, the various parts of a business letter and the purpose of each part; create business English writing that is clear, concise and specific; learn techniques of self-editing; improve the following grammar skills: use of articles, prepositions, gerunds and infinitives, contractions, comma usage, punctuation, recognition of sentence fragments, and appropriate use of adjectives and adverbs; and improve the following language usage skills: formal vs. informal language, linking fragments, numbers in writing, and accuracy of vocabulary.

ELI 091. Common Hour. 0 Hours.

This course is designed to provide additional support to students in the Intensive English Program. This course serves as an extended orientation that will help students integrate into campus life and navigate through cultural adjustment while learning about the USA/State/Local/UAB cultures and procedures. The class is not a language learning class. The focus of the class is on knowledge. Translation help will be provided as needed.

ELI 101. Academic Writing for Non-Native English Speakers I. 3 Hours.

This course focuses on the development of various types of writing required in university courses. Becoming fluent in the organizational structure of writing in the American academic setting will be emphasized. In addition, grammar and mechanics are reviewed. Students will practice all aspects of the writing process: generating ideas, drafting, revising, and editing.

ELI 102. Academic Reading for Non-Native English Speakers II. 3 Hours.

This course expands academic reading skills and strategies, text analysis, and vocabulary skills for application in an academic environment. In addition, students will build academic vocabulary range through analyzing vocabulary contextualized in the readings. Students will expand their reading skills to extract meaning from non-fiction academic texts in English, which will feature authentic articles or excerpts.

ELI 111. INTO Success at UAB. 1-2 Hour.

This course is designed to provide additional support and extended orientation to students in the Academic English Program at UAB. Students will discover ways to integrate into campus life and navigate through cultural adjustment while learning about the USA/State/Local/UAB cultures and procedures.

ELI 112. Pronunciation Training. 2 Hours.

This course is designed to provide additional support to multi-lingual students learning English by focusing on the pronunciation of American English. Improvement in pronunciation will enable students to communicate more effectively in social and academic settings. Students will learn to identify and pronounce key vowel and consonant sounds that letter combinations in English make as well as the importance of sentence stress and rhythm in order to become more comprehensible to others.

ELI 113. US Culture and Context. 2 Hours.

This course will guide multi-lingual, adult learners of English through an exploration of cultural norms and US cultural contexts. Students will explore themselves as cultural beings and learn how to identify their own cultural values. Students will have opportunities to compare layers of US culture and contexts with their own cultures of origin. An emphasis on US academic culture will be included.

ELI 114. International Student University Success. 2 Hours.

This course is designed for international students new to UAB. The course will engage students in understanding US university life through the lens of national culture. Students will engage in activities and practices typical for American university students while examining the underlying cultural values.

ELI 115. Special Topics in Language or Culture. 1-3 Hour.

This course is designed to allow for our English Language Programs to respond to a need for new curriculum for special international student agreements with other universities. It will also allow us to try out new curriculum before creating an official course.

ELI 203. Academic Listening and Speaking for Non-Native English Speakers I. 3 Hours.

This course emphasizes the development and practice of speaking and listening skills necessary for successful communication in the university environment. Specifically, this course focuses on effective strategies for listening to lectures, participating in classroom discourse, and giving presentations. In addition, students will engage in oral fluency practice and pronunciation improvement.

ELI 205. Using English Skills for Academic Success. 3 Hours.

This course will build on previous courses and will provide a venue for structured practice with all academic English language skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening, in an integrated format for second-semester, INTO UAB undergraduate standard pathway students. Students will employ a variety of English skills in ways that will mimic what is expected in an actual undergraduate classroom format. The course will feature much feedback from the instructor to facilitate improvement; content will take into account the other courses in the pathway to maximize learning.

ELI 206. Accelerated English Skills for Academic Success. 3 Hours.

This course will provide a venue for structured practice with all academic English language skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening, in an integrated format for INTO UAB undergraduate accelerated pathway students. Students will employ a variety of English skills in ways that will mimic what is expected in an actual undergraduate classroom format, with the intention of accelerating transfer of English language skills to the American academic environment. The course will feature much feedback from the instructor to facilitate improvement; content will take into account the other courses in the pathway to maximize learning.

ELI 401. Academic Reading for the Graduate Student. 3 Hours.

This two-semester, multi-skill course, designed for non-native English speaking graduate students needing English language skill improvement, will focus on reading and writing skill development, with additional outcomes in improved grammar usage and vocabulary expansion. The course will emphasize academic reading skills and strategies and text analysis, using non-fiction academic texts in English, and it will also build academic vocabulary range through analyzing vocabulary contextualized in the readings. Then, students will use readings to practice various types of writing. Becoming fluent in the organizational structure of writing in the American academic setting will be emphasized, and grammar instruction will be addressed as needed. Students will practice all aspects of the writing process: generating ideas, drafting, revising, and editing.

ELI 402. Academic Speaking & Listening for the Graduate Student I. 3 Hours.

This two-semester, multi-skill course, designed for non-native English speaking graduate students needing English language skill improvement, will focus on the development and practice of speaking and listening skills necessary for successful communication in the university environment, with additional outcomes related to pronunciation training. Specifically, this course focuses on effective strategies for listening to lectures, participating in classroom and general academic discourse, and giving presentations. In addition, the course provides a focus on pronunciation and opportunities for oral fluency practice.

ELI 403. Academic Writing for the Graduate Student. 3 Hours.

The second part of a two-semester, multi-skill course for non-native English speaking graduate students needing English language skill improvement, this course will continue building skills in reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary for use in graduate coursework. Reading passages from authentic texts, as well as summarizing and paraphrasing passages from texts, will be included.

ELI 404. Academic Speaking & Listening for the Graduate Student II. 3 Hours.

The second part of a two-semester, multi-skill course for non-native English speaking graduate students needing English language skill improvement, this course will build on the previous course in focusing on the development and practice of speaking and listening skills necessary for success in a graduate academic environment. The course will provide a venue for structured practice with these English language skills in an integrated format, as students mimic in class what transpires in the graduate classroom. The course will feature much feedback from the instructor to facilitate improvement, as well as an emphasis on pronunciation practice.

ELI 405. Academic Success Skills for Intl Grad Students. 3 Hours.

This course will provide a venue for structured practice with all academic English language skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening, in an integrated format for INTO UAB accelerated graduate pathway students. Students will employ a variety of English skills in ways that will mimic what is expected in an actual graduate classroom format, with the intention of accelerating transfer of English language skills to the American academic environment. The course will feature much feedback from the instructor to facilitate improvement.

ELI 495. Academic Success Skills for Intl Grad Students. 3 Hours.

This course will provide a venue for structured practice with all academic English language skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening, in an integrated format for INTO UAB accelerated graduate pathway students. Students will employ a variety of English skills in ways that will mimic what is expected in an actual graduate classroom format, with the intention of accelerating transfer of English language skills to the American academic environment. The course will feature much feedback from the instructor to facilitate improvement.