Program Announcements

ESL and IEP

ELPT: Placement Confirmation

February 21, 2008

A modified version of the English Language Placement Test (ELPT) will be offered in Testing Services on February 21, 2008. The test will begin at 9:00. This test is available for students who began their studies at UAH in Spring 2008. The cost for this test is $25. This administration of the test is intended as a confirmation check on initial placement of students matriculating in Spring 2008.

Based on the results of this retake, student placements will be finalized and subject to inclusion on the Program of Study (POS).
 
For more information on eligibility for this test, please contact the director of ESL at esl@uah.edu (Subject: ELPT, 08S)

COURSE CHANGES

AY 2008-2009

As of Fall 2008, ESL 104 will be removed from the list of required ESL courses. For undergraduate students, EH 100 (a 5-hour alternative to ESL 104, EH 003 and EH 101) will be in place. Upon successful completion of EH 100, students will be eligible to move straight into EH 102, to complete the Freshman Comp sequence. For graduate students, EH 301N will be available in lieu of ESL 104.

 

Therefore, after Summer 2008, the possible placements for written discourse will be:

 

Undergraduate: ESL 103, EH 100 AND/OR EH 101

Graduate: ESL 103, EH 301N AND/OR EHL 409 (see course description below)

 

DIAGNOSTICS

Spring 2008

Fall 2007 marked the final semester in which in-class diagnostics were used as the basis for possible waiver from ESL courses. Because UAHuntsville policy states that all students placed in ESL classes should begin those courses from their first semester at the institution, the program will no longer employ diagnostics as a basis for waiver from courses. Language samples will be taken on the first day of classes, but those samples will serve to inform instructors regarding the specific language challenges faced by each unique class population.

For more information regarding options for waiving ESL course placements, see the ELPT: Placement Confirmation announcement above.

 

NEW COURSE

 EHL 409: U.S Academic Discourse for Instructors

This class covers a range of topics associated with functioning in an instructional capacity in a U.S. university classroom. Topics and skills covered include discourse analysis of classroom talk in a U.S. university setting; cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics; formal presentations of information, classroom interaction, and interactive discourse in one-on-one consultations. Major assignments include observation and reflection on target instructional contexts, design and delivery of 4 mini-lessons, quizzes and exams on the concepts presented in class and a 10-page research report on current best practices in the individual student's target field (science, math, engineering, nursing, etc.). This course can substitute for ESL 102 and/or ESL 104, for graduate students only.

Depending on enrollments and student needs, the course will be offered each Fall and Spring semester.

Prerequisites: Graduate standing and permission of the instructor

 For more information about this course or eligibility, contact the director of ESL at esl@uah.edu (Subject: EHL 409).