Program Two

Mid-Level Program of AEP

Program 2 is the intermediate level of the AEP. TOEFL scores range from 440 to 469. Students are expected to complete Program 2 within two semesters, and most students do so.

In Program 2, the focus is on helping students further develop English fluency. At the same time, more focus on accuracy occurs through:

a) systematic vocabulary development;
b) attention to grammar and essay organization;
c) focused listening to academic lectures;
d) speaking in group discussions; and
e) study of specific grammar patterns.

Program 2 increases the emphasis on academic uses of language that began in Program 1. At this level, students receive more academic content study and are asked to read, write, and speak more about abstract ideas than personal experiences. In Program 2, the balance shifts from personal response to academic analysis in oral and written work.


Classes

The classes at Program 2 are:

  • Listening/Speaking (3 hours per week), which concentrates on participation in conversations on everyday topics, asking questions in class, short reports on assigned information gathering, and listening to academic lectures at an appropriate level of difficulty;
  • Vocabulary/Reading Fluency (6 hours per week), which focuses on reading large numbers of more difficult materials, continued development of automatic vocabulary recognition and reading speed, and use of specific reading strategies for more advanced academic texts;
  • Reading-Based Writing (6 hours per week), in which students work through the writing process (e.g., multiple drafts of essays, peer review and feedback, referring to sources, conferencing, and surface-level editing) to develop responses to literature and other academic texts;
  • Content (6 hours per week), in which students study another academic subject at a linguistically higher level in order to develop background knowledge of an academic area and to further develop the ways of thinking about ideas and discussing them that characterize academic language use; and
  • TOEFL/Grammar (3 hours per week), in which students continue to focus on strategies for success at the test and on discrete points of English grammar at a more advanced level than in Program 1.