ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMS

Course Listings for SPRING 2009 (Jan. 12 — May 6)

ELP courses are open to non-native English speakers living in the St. Louis area as well as Washington University students, faculty and staff. Full-time day undergraduates do not pay additional fees for ELP courses. Graduate students should find out from their departments what the departmental policy is regarding payment for ELP courses. WUSTL employees who are eligible for the employee tuition benefit may generally apply that benefit to any ELP course; employees should review the complete tuition benefit policies. Graduate students whose tuition is not paid by their departments and members of the community who do not have WUSTL employee benefits should visit http://ucollege.wustl.edu/ to find the current tuition. To do so, click on “Courses and Registration” and under “Department,” select English Language Programs.

Speaking Classes

U15 ELP 102 Advanced Pronunciation II (Medical Campus) 3 units
Section 01 TuTh 6:00-7:30 PM, TBA
This course focuses on sound- and word-level features of American English, including prediction skills to learn how spelling gives clues about word stress and how individual vowel and consonant sounds are pronounced.  This course extends the topics covered in ELP 101 (Advanced Pronunciation I) by including a review of rhythm and melody in English and by covering word stress in greater depth than in ELP 101. Effective techniques for practicing and evaluating one's own pronunciation are emphasized.

U15 ELP 1301 Conversation and Pronunciation (Danforth Campus) 3 units
Section 01 Sa 12:30-3:30 PM, Luisette Behmer
This course offers practice with individual sounds, word and sentence stress, intonation, and rhythm of American English, plus conversation strategies and vocabulary expansion.

U15 ELP 1302 Listening and Speaking I (Medical Campus) 2 units
Section 01 W 5:30-7:30 PM, Pamela Guntharp
Students get structured practice in listening to unedited speech and in learning how to cope with fast spoken English. Follow-up writing and speaking activities focus on building vocabulary and recognizing expressions that speakers use to emphasize important information, transitions between topics, and more.

U15 ELP 1303 Listening and Speaking II (Danforth Campus) 2 units
Section 01 M 5:30-7:30 PM, Pamela Guntharp
This course helps students develop strategies for listening to university lectures, building vocabulary, and discussing a point. Different topics are developed from those in ELP 1302, but similar skills are practiced. Students build skills at developing an explanation and clearly expressing their own ideas about academic topics.

U15 ELP 1403 American Idioms and Slang (Danforth Campus) 2 units
Section 02 Sa 10:00 AM–12:00 PM, Luisette Behmer
The class aims to help students become comfortable with informal English in U.S. popular culture. Students investigate idioms and slang that they encounter in the media (including movies, television, talk radio, advertising, and music) and in their interactions with native English speakers.

U15 201 Speaking and Grammar II (Medical Campus) 2 units
Section 01 Tu 5:30-7:30 PM, Pamela Guntharp
This is the second course in a sequence that focuses on fluency and grammatical accuracy. This course is designed for students who have already studied grammar but still have problems with more advanced structures when speaking. Contextual practice and self-monitoring are emphasized.

U15 202 Talking to Americans: Casual and Professional Conversations (Medical Campus) 1.5 units
Section 01 TuTh 12:00-1:30 PM, Larenda Mielke
Appropriate for people doing either clinical or basic science research, this course offers practical instruction in cross-cultural communication skills.  Language skills needed to improve spoken vocabulary and grammar at advanced levels will be addressed. Communication techniques taken from the business world, such as how to talk to the boss or advisor, how to ask for specific suggestions for improvement, how to sell a new idea, and how to relate to lab mates from other countries and the United States will be taught and practiced through role plays and cross-cultural training techniques.

U15 ELP 270 Presentation Skills for the Sciences (Medical Campus) 2 units 
Section 01 MW 4:00-5:00 PM, Larenda Mielke
In this course for professionals in the scientific fields who are non-native speakers of English, students focus on strategies to improve their oral presentation skills. Organization, presentation style, pronunciation, and cross-cultural issues are addressed in the context of typical situations in which scientific presentations are given. Videotaping, individual feedback, and plenty of practice form the basis for assessment. By the end of the class, students will have produced and practiced a complete presentation about their own research interests.

U15 ELP 470 Language, Culture, and Interaction Strategies for Teaching Assistants (Danforth Campus) 3 units
Section 01 TuTh 11:30 AM-1:00 PM, David Braasch
This course is designed for students who are currently or will be serving as TAs in the near future. Practical teaching methodologies and classroom management strategies are emphasized, covering a wide range of cross-cultural and teaching issues. Communication techniques for classroom, lab, and office interactions are modeled, practiced, and videotaped. Students will teach practice classes as well as role play office hours, and will learn how to present information effectively. Extensive individual feedback is provided.

Writing Classes

U15 ELP 115 Writing Workshop for Non-Native English Speakers (Danforth Campus) 2 units
Section 01 W 6:30-8:30 PM, Margie Maclin
This course emphasizes individualized skill-building practice in writing.  Focus areas include writing as a composing process, careful reading for summarizing and reaction, and grammatical troubleshooting and editing.  For degree-seeking graduate students, this class can be taken instead of U15 ELP 1311.

U15 ELP 211 Fundamentals of Research Writing for the Sciences I (Medical Campus) 1. 5 units
Section 01 TuTh 5:00-6:30 PM, Larenda Mielke – 8-week session 1, 1/13/09-3/5/09
Section 02 MW 1:00-2:30 PM, Larenda Mielke – 8-week session 1, 1/12/09-3/4/09
Fundamental conventions of scientific writing are the focus of this class. Grammar, structure, organization, and editing are covered. Approaches to scientific writing including general to specific writing, problem-process-solution writing, critical writing, summary writing, and the writing of supporting documents are taught and practiced in class and in individual tutorials. All of these approaches to writing will be applied to sections of a publishable paper in the IMRAD format. Students' current work is used when possible. High intermediate English proficiency is expected.

U15 ELP 212 Fundamentals of Research Writing for the Sciences II (Medical Campus) 1.5 units
Section 01 TuTh 5:00-6:30 PM, Larenda Mielke – 8-week session 2, 3/17/09-5/5/09
Fundamental conventions of scientific writing are the focus of this class, continued from ELP 211. Grammar, structure, organization, and self-editing are covered. Approaches to scientific writing including data commentary, critiques, and literature reviews are taught and practiced in class and in individual tutorials. All of these approaches to writing will be applied to sections of a publishable paper in the IMRAD format. Students' current work is used when possible. Prerequisite: U15 211 or consent of the instructor.

U15 ELP 250 Research Writing for the Sciences I (Medical Campus) 1.5 units
Section 01 MW 5:00-6:30 PM, Karen Schwelle – 8-week session 1, 1/12/09-3/4/09
Designed for non-native speakers of English who are planning to publish their research, this course focuses on writing papers for scientific publications.  Students learn to edit their own writing using the format of top publications to produce nearly perfect manuscripts.  Clarity and style are the main topics with grammatical and structural issues spotlighted in a fashion tailored to meet the needs of each individual student and the class as a whole. Prerequisite: U15 211/212 or consent of the instructor.

U15 ELP 251 Research Writing for the Sciences II (Medical Campus) 1.5 units
Section 01 MW 5:00-6:30 PM, Karen Schwelle – 8-week session 2, 3/16/09-5/6/09
This course is for non-native speakers of English who are working on a paper for publication. Students learn the writing styles required for each part of a research paper: title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and supporting information. Clarity and style are important topics, and grammatical issues are addressed as needed for support. Prerequisite: U15 250 or consent of the instructor.

U15 ELP 499 Writing Intensive Tutorial (Danforth Campus) Variable credit
This tutorial enables students to get small group or one-on-one writing support after completing other ELP writing recommendations. Students in a one-on-one tutorial may take the tutorial for variable credit (a maximum of 3 units).
Section 01, 1 unit, F 9:00-10:00 AM, Karen Schwelle
Small group writing tutorial for undergraduate students concurrently enrolled in L13 1001 (Fundamentals of Academic Writing). Placement by exam.
Section 02 TBA, variable credit
One-on-one tutorial available to non-native English speaking undergraduates enrolled in an Arts & Sciences course that has a writing intensive (WI) designation. Prerequisite: L13 100 (Writing 1) or the equivalent. Contact the ELP to enroll.
Section 03 TBA, variable credit
One-on-one tutorial open to graduate students on the Danforth Campus seeking regular help with a writing project such as a thesis. Prerequisite: Successful completion of any recommended ELP writing courses. Contact the ELP to enroll.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the ELP Director at 935-5966 or esl@artsci.wustl.edu, or visit our web site at http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~esl