Available Courses

• Advanced Composition

  • Admin: Erlyn Baack

  

  Advanced Composition is an eight-week class designed for advanced level (500-550 TOEFL) English students preparing for university studies or university entrance exams. The goal of the class is successful organized academic writing. Over a period of eight weeks, participants will write a series of essays such as giving instructions, cause or effect, comparison or contrast, and persuasion, all followed by editing, revisions, and discussions. Click HERE for information about specific objectives, requirements, and cost (will open in new window).
  

• Inquiry into Issues

  

   Open to former students of this site only. pen NOW!  Instructions below...   Registration open NOW!  Instructions below... a

  Technically not a course as much as a research space, Inquiry into Issues is open only to non-native speakers of English students and teachers.  Teachers may be native or non-native speakers of English.  Students may be non-native speakers of English.

  Research by George Hillocks, Jr., has shown that inquiry leads to the greatest gains in composition, that inquiry helps students advance more than any other form of instruction (documentation HERE).  Therefore, all participants in this research space should be prepared to investigate deeply into both their own issues and/or issues presented here.

  Global issues such as global warming, economic issues such as free trade, popular issues such as the effects of television—good or bad—or current events such as Wikileaks will be included, but beyond that, each individual should bring his/her own issues to explore as well.

  This space is for self-motivated participants who wish to explore deeply into both sides of issues.  Former ESL/EFL students and/or teachers, please WRITE to propose a research project that you would like to accomplish.