Our Courses

6-Week Intensive
English Language Course (S992-30001)

Participants in Yale’s comprehensive language program are assigned to classes (average size, 12 students) based on a placement test, student essays, and background information.

The Core Courses

Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Reading and Vocabulary

	Expand comprehension skills, increase vocabulary, practice making inferences
	Develop analytical and discussion skills, focusing on such areas as education, politics, and the environment using both fiction and non-fiction selections
	Recognize rhetorical strategies writers use to mount effective argument

Expository Writing and Conventions of Written English

	Develop clarity, correctness and variety of style in written English
	Gain familiarity with styles, structures and conventions of academic prose
	Focus on revision strategies and on group review of writing-in-progress
	Read and respond critically to other writers, both professional and student writers

Speaking and Listening Skills

	Develop discussion and presentation skills; learn to express ideas more effectively in academic and professional contexts
	Use various rhetorical patterns, learning to adjust vocabulary and level of formality to audience and purpose
	Strengthen comprehension and speaking skills through interaction with guest speakers, audio and video materials, interviews with members of the Yale and New Haven communities, and taped oral journals

Afternoon Courses

Students choose one or two afternoon courses, which meet twice weekly for a total of three hours per week.

The list of courses varies from year to year, but recent courses are described briefly below:

American Film Workshop—
Cinematic Reflections on Life in the United States

Close analysis of American movies that have reflected and shaped the American consciousness is coupled with students’ critical assessment of the films. Recent topics and films have included The Western and Nihilism (Unforgiven); Civil Rights and Federalism (Mississippi Burning); American Nostalgia (It’s a Wonderful Life).

Pronunciation

This workshop is designed to help students quickly reduce their foreign accent. Students learn about phrasing, word stress, speech rhythm, and intonation. By the end of the course students speak English more fluently, with better articulation and greater self-confidence. They learn strategies to eliminate misunderstanding as well as conversational manners for professional and informal settings.

Poetry Workshop

Students examine the works of modern poets to focus on language as a tool to achieve a creative goal. Students will both read poetry and write their own poetry, practicing the precise manipulation of language to achieve a specific tone and learning how to use imagery in written communication. The workshop culminates in a collection of the students’ own work and a public reading for the student community.

The American Identity

This course will examine two strands of inquiry. First, we will ask whether there is such a thing as a national character. Do people from any given country actually exhibit different traits from those in other countries? Secondly, by examining the lives of 10 notable Americans from a variety of times and backgrounds, we will try to identify what aspects, if any, they commonly display that are uniquely American.

Among the figures discussed will be Eli Whitney, Emma Goldman, Jesse Jackson, Frederick Douglass, Helen Keller and Duke Ellington.