Syllabi

Foundation level · Grammar

Grammar Foundation

Focuses on the learning and application of traditional grammar structures and concepts in both speaking and writing. Course emphasis: 45% grammar form, 45% speaking (meaning/use), 10% writing.

Selected learning outcomes: students notice target grammar in listening and reading, use target grammar appropriately in spoken and written English, and engage in level-appropriate tasks such as narrating and describing across major time frames.

Foundation level · Speaking & Grammar

Speaking & Grammar Foundations

Focuses on (1) the production of accurate grammar in oral language and (2) accurate pronunciation in spontaneous speech. Writing supports grammar-form learning, but the emphasis stays on oral development of target grammar; students also learn and apply pronunciation techniques.

Selected learning outcomes: students notice target grammar mainly through listening, use target grammar to participate appropriately in simple conversation, and use correct intonation for statements and questions.

Foundation level · Reading

Reading Foundation

Helps students improve reading ability by focusing on understanding main ideas and details, implementing reading strategies, acquiring new vocabulary, phonetic decoding, extensive reading, and oral/reading fluency. Course emphasis: 70% reading (skills/strategies, vocabulary, fluency, and oral fluency & pronunciation), 15% listening & speaking, 10% writing, 5% grammar.

Selected learning outcomes: students understand explicit main ideas and details in level-appropriate text, implement reading strategies such as previewing and scanning, acquire new vocabulary using context clues, and read level-appropriate text aloud comprehensibly.

Advanced level · Grammar

Advanced Grammar

Moves from an emphasis on spoken accuracy toward written accuracy. Students learn grammar principles and concepts, then apply them to spontaneously produced written and spoken text.

Selected learning outcomes: students notice target grammar in listening and reading (in isolation and in at-level text), use target grammar appropriately in spoken and written English across informal and formal registers, and engage in level-appropriate tasks such as narrating and describing in all major time frames and using grammar to connect ideas at the paragraph level.

Grading: a proficiency grade (grammar tests 40%, midterms & final 20%, presentations 20%, speaking & writing 10%) and a separate learning-experience grade for active participation. A minimum proficiency score above 74% is generally required to advance to the next level. The course includes a late-assignment policy: late proficiency work does not automatically lose points if completed before the next grade-report date.

High-Intermediate – Advanced · Listening & Speaking

Listening & Speaking for IELTS Preparation

Moves listening instruction from bottom-up decoding (connected speech, weak forms, signal words) to top-down strategies (predicting content, gist vs. detail), while speaking instruction builds fluency and coherence through short-response, extended-turn, and discussion-based tasks under timed conditions.

Selected learning outcomes: students identify main ideas and specific detail in listening passages, produce a coherent 1–2 minute extended spoken turn organized with discourse markers, and self-monitor pronunciation for intelligibility under timed conditions.

Grading: a Proficiency grade (listening quizzes 30%, speaking assessments 40%, final mock test 30%) and a separate Learning Experience grade for active participation, following the same twin-grade structure used across my other syllabi.