Program Three

Advanced-Level Program of AEP

Program 3 is the highest level of the AEP. TOEFL scores range from 470 to 499. At this level, the materials used and the expectations placed on students are just a step below what is required of undergraduate students. Students are expected to complete Program 3 within two semesters, and most students actually complete Program 3 in one semester.

Program 3 courses focus on a challenging level of academic coursework, which places high demands on students to read texts that are near those given to university students. Students are also expected to write well organized responses to the ideas in their readings and to listen to academic lectures that are very similar to authentic undergraduate lectures. Speaking assignments emphasize clear and coherent reports on academic issues related to the content being studied.


Similar to College Level Courses

Small group discussions occur on a daily basis in many Program 3 classes. By the time students enroll in Program 3, they should expect to find academic English classes that are similar in challenges and demands to actual university courses; therefore, a heavy load of homework is required in short periods of time and attendance is vital.

It is expected that students who successfully complete Program 3 could enter university courses in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, or other English-speaking countries, as well as the undergraduate program of TUJ.


Classes

The classes in Program 3 are:

  • Listening/Speaking (3 hours per week), in which students are expected to participate fluently in conversations on a wide range of topics, ask questions in class about almost any topic that comes up, make longer reports on assigned projects and information gathering tasks, and listen to academic lectures at an advanced level of difficulty;
  • Vocabulary/Reading Fluency (6 hours per week), in which students read a large amount of university-level materials, develop automatic recognition of the most frequent academic vocabulary, continue to increase reading speed, and use specific advanced reading strategies for university-level academic texts;
  • Reading-Based Writing (6 hours per week), in which students write text-responsible essays on abstract ideas found in texts at or close to the undergraduate level of difficulty. This course is intended to prepare students with the skills and knowledge they will need in the beginning undergraduate writing courses;
  • Content (6 hours per week), in which students study an academic subject at a linguistically sophisticated level in preparation for an undergraduate course in the humanities or social sciences that they will take in the following semester; and
  • TOEFL/Grammar (3 hours per week), in which students focus on advanced strategies for success at the test and on discrete points of English grammar at a more advanced level than in Program 2.