Achievement Program
- Course Descriptions
Accent Reduction Courses
As you know, an accent can often interfere with co-workers comprehension of
your speech. An accent can also be an indicator of lower listening
comprehension. If you are not able to distinguish between some sounds, you
probably do not understand as much as you need to. The focus of the Accent
Reduction courses is to improve both your pronunciation of American English
as well as your listening comprehension.
- Accent Reduction I
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Accent Reduction I offers an overview of the sound system of spoken American
English along with an explanation of how to produce these sounds. Twenty-two
individual sounds will be intensively practiced throughout the course. Practice
in class will consist of the repetition of individual sounds within words, and
words within sentences. Further practice will include oral readings, asking and
answering questions, and controlled conversation. The purpose of the course is
to help you build new and correct pronunciation patterns that you can recognize,
produce, and improve on through self-correction and personalized practice.
Materials: English Pronunciation for International Students with cassette
tapes and Collected Tongue Twisters
- Accent Reduction II
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Accent Reduction II presents a short overview of the sound system of spoken
American English along with an explanation of how to produce these sounds.
Fourteen sounds, which were not covered in Accent Reduction I, as well as final
consonants, past tense endings, plural endings, third-person verb endings,
possessive endings, contractions, stress within words, stress within sentences,
rhythm, and intonation will be intensively practiced in this course. Practice in
class will consist of the repetition of individual sounds within words and words
within sentences. Further practice will include oral readings, asking and
answering questions, and controlled conversation. The purpose of the course is
to help you build new and correct pronunciation patterns that you can recognize,
produce, and improve on through self-correction and personalized practice.
Materials: English Pronunciation for International Students with cassette
tapes and collected Tongue Twisters
Idiom Courses
In general, an idiom is a group of words the meaning of which cannot be
understood by translating each individual word in the group. Each idiom must be
defined and understood as one complete unit with a specific meaning or meanings.
Americans use idioms in formal as well as informal speech, so they are very
important to the understanding and use of American English.
- Essential Idioms
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Essential Idioms presents an introduction to the many idioms used by Americans
in their daily speech. In this course, 12 new idioms will be presented each
lesson. They will be explained to you by the instructor, and you will practice
them in class through oral readings of sentences containing the idioms, by
asking and answering questions using the idioms, and through controlled
conversational practice. Practice outside of class consists of varied written
exercises using the new idioms you have learned and practiced in class.
Materials: Essential Idioms in English
- Business Idioms and American Reduced Speech
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Business Idioms presents many business-related idioms used daily by American
speakers in a business setting. Not only do Americans use idioms frequently,
they also commonly reduce and combine sounds when speaking. In this course we
will address and become familiar with this form of reduced speech. Practice in
class consists of listening to taped dialogs, oral readings of material
containing the idioms, asking and answering questions using the idioms, and
controlled conversational practice.
Materials: Biz Talk 1 with cassette tapes
- Popular Idioms and American Reduced Speech
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Popular Idioms presents many common idioms used daily by American speakers. Not
only do Americans use idioms frequently, they also commonly reduce and combine
sounds when speaking. In this course we will address and become familiar with
this form of reduced speech. Practice in class consists of listening to taped
dialogs, oral readings of material containing the idioms, asking and answering
questions using the idioms, and controlled conversational practice.
Materials: Street Talk 3 with cassette tapes
Vocabulary Development
Vocabulary Development presents an intensive study of advanced vocabulary items
commonly used in American English. This course covers approximately 350 new
words as well as basic roots, prefixes, and suffixes commonly used in English.
Pronunciation and spelling skills will improve by combining oral exercises with
the more traditional methods of learning. Practice in the class consists of
several structured oral exercises designed to increase the use of new vocabulary
by means of "words-in-context" approach. The purpose of this course is to
increase effective communication by providing tools to improve reading, writing,
oral, and cognitive skills.
Materials: Improving Vocabulary Skills and Advancing Vocabulary Skills
Grammar and Practice
These practice-based grammar courses are designed to help you identify and
ultimately self-correct the structural problems that you may have in both your
written and spoken language. The word `practice' refers to the in-class oral
practice of structures that are difficult for most advanced non-native speakers.
Most of you know English grammar quite well; we want to help you 'use' what you
already know.
- Grammar and Practice I
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Grammar and Practice I presents an overview of the basic grammatical structures
of written and spoken American English. Emphasis is placed on differentiating
basic time/tense distinctions, articles, prepositions, and subject-verb
agreement. These structures are practiced orally in the class using a
combination of drills, directed conversation, and free conversation. Written
work will be assigned for homework both as a base and preparation for the oral
practice in class.
Materials: Fundamentals of English Grammar, Vol. A.
- Grammar and Practice II
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Grammar and Practice II builds on the material covered in Grammar and Practice
I. The basic grammatical structures of spoken and written American English will
continue to be practiced as more complete material is introduced. Among the
topics to be presented are gerund vs. infinitive usage, passive vs. active
sentences, adjective and noun clauses, and quoted and reported speech. The focus
of the course is intensive practice of the new structures while reinforcing the
the material presented in Grammar and Practice I. Practice in the classroom is
based on a combination of drills, directed conversation, and free conversation.
Materials: Fundamentals of English Grammar, Vol. B
Business Writing and Composition
Business Writing presents an overview of written American English as currently
practiced in the general business community. This course focuses on formatting,
punctuation, appropriate word choice, stylistics, as well as a review of
spelling and grammatical structures when necessary. Style manuals will be used
as tools to help you write in the most effective manner. In-class work consists
of critiquing and editing a variety of letters, e-mail messages, memoranda, and
reports. Approximately 20 writing samples will be required during the course.
Materials: Business Writing Skill and The AMA Style Guide for Business
Writing
Readings in American Culture and Conversation
Readings in American Culture provides an overview of various issues of American
culture and society in both the workplace and personal arena. Different aspects
and perspectives regarding traditions and customs, verbal and non-verbal
communication, and regional variations across the United States are presented.
The focus of this course is on participant presentations of course material and
general discussion of the topics presented. During presentations and
discussions, special attention will be paid to appropriate use and integration
of all aspects of oral skills including pronunciation, correct grammatical forms
and appropriate vocabulary usage. Some of the topics addressed in the course
are: general American attitudes toward daily life; cultural perspectives on
media and sports and recreation; environmental attitudes; and basic political,
educational, and economic institutions. In addition, specific skill development
on how to engage in small-talk, how to interact with American co-workers
appropriately, and how to understand basic rules of conduct in formal and
informal meeting situations will also be addressed relative to the needs and
interests of the group.
Materials: American Ways
in Gaithersburg, Maryland