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| Improve your Language Skills in the USA Intensive English Programs (IEPs) offer concentrated English language training to nonnative speakers. IEPs are generally noncredit-bearing entities and do not award degrees. Instead, students may receive certificates or institutional transcripts. Many international students attend Intensive English Programs in the United States to acquire the English skills necessary to gain admission to U.S. undergraduate or graduate programs. Others aim to improve their English to meet professional or personal goals. A Japanese engineer, for example, studied at the English Language Institute (ELI) at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland to better service English-speaking customers in Japan. You can find IEPs at commercial locations but most are housed within colleges or universities. Intensive English Programs housed at community colleges, such as ELI, have become increasingly popular due to lower tuition. Also, more and more community colleges are adding dormitories to their campuses or developing homestay programs which appeal to international students. When gathering information on IEPs housed in colleges or universities, consider the following factors: Affiliation: A program is not necessarily better or worse because it is affiliated with a university. Instead, consider indicators such as class size, faculty (percentage of staff members with TESOL, ESL or related certification), location, program size, class size, diversity of student population, price, length of study, and levels of study offered. Accreditation: Intensive English Programs obtain accreditation through various regional accrediting bodies. IEPs housed within colleges or universities receive accreditation when their college or university is accredited. In addition to or in lieu of this type of accreditation, IEPs may be accredited by independent and nationally recognized accrediting agencies, such as the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training (ACCET) and Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA). Also, IEP membership in consortia that have high standards, such as the American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP) and the University Consortium of Intensive English Programs (UCIEP), ensures the program you choose will incorporate those standards. Conditional Admission: When selecting an Intensive English Program, consider your goals and whether or not it would benefit you to attend an IEP that guarantees conditional admission into the affiliated academic institution. Investigate whether an IEP offers simplified matriculation into the affiliated college or university once you have successfully completed the IEP. Some also waive admission fees, placement tests, prerequisites, or TOEFL requirements. Course Schedules: Some Intensive English Programs schedule classes in large blocks. They may offer reading and writing as one class every morning and listening and speaking as a second class every afternoon. Other IEPs offer many courses at a variety of times. At ELI, for example, students can choose 70 different classes, including pronunciation, business English, TOEFL Prep, Conversation Partners, and a service-learning class called Using English in the Community, at six different levels. Extras: Airport pick-up, housing assistance, academic counseling, visa/ tax counseling, conversation partners, field trips, home stays, host families, student parties, and coffee hours. A leading global resource guide to Intensive English Programs in the United States is the Intensive English USA Online directory that can be accessed through the links given below. This directory features over 500 Intensive English Programs offered by accredited U.S. higher educational institutions and U.S. English language schools. It provides information on IEP proficiency levels taught, dates, costs, instructional facilities and faculty, student services, eligibility and admissions, contact addresses, phone, fax, e-mail, and much more. Rebecca Price and Tamara Jones Howard Community College, USA Carl De Angelis Institute of International Education, USA membership@iie.org www.intensiveenglishusa.org www.iie.org itchy feet Nr.5, Ausgabe 2008 |
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