Advanced Conversation

Students will develop the ability to communicate orally and express ideas with clarity and fluency. This includes recognizing and understanding a number of common verb phrases and idiomatic expressions, understanding the elements that affect efficient spoken language (pace, clarity, audience, delivery and interest), discussing and giving a talk on a variety of topics spontaneously, and following preparation.

Advanced Grammar

Students will develop a working knowledge of all the verb tenses and all major grammatical structures. This includes the future tenses, a variety of clauses, conditionals, articles, gerunds and infinitives.

Advanced Reading

Students will build vocabulary, language decoding skills and develop an understanding of the story elements: plot, character, setting, theme and conflict. Students will also develop the ability to skim passages effectively, express an opinion on a character’s behaviour, analyze relationships between characters or events, predict alternate plot outcomes, recognize and decode common verb phrases and idioms, make cultural contrasts and comparisons, and be able to read various kinds of written work with greater comprehension.

Advanced TOEFL

Students will become familiar with the separate sections of the TOEFL Test and develop the ability to comprehend passages spoken at normal speed by native speakers; recognize clear, grammatically correct sentences; recognize new vocabulary and build on old vocabulary; comprehend a variety of reading passages, understand the basic mechanics of writing, and write TOEFL tests with fewer errors.

Advanced Writing

Students will develop the ability to write a variety of clear, well-written essays using all steps of the writing process. This includes using proper sentence and paragraph transitions in a well-organized expository or comparative essay with a minimum of three paragraphs.