English as a second language

This course is designed for international students who would like to improve their English speaking, reading and writing skills, for personal or academic reasons.

One great advantage of attending our ESL course is the opportunity for our non-native English speaking students to meet, become friends with and practice their English listening and speaking skills with other girls in an immersive, residential atmosphere. Not simply in class, but at meals, in activities, and on the residence halls – students have infinite opportunities to practice the language.

grammar

Students learn basic forms of English grammar, including parts of speech, simple and progressive verb tenses, all forms of agreement, comparatives, prepositions, and modals. Students practice these structures through a variety of activities.

oral communication

Through listening comprehension, conversation and opportunities for oral presentations, students practice their communication skills. They learn to comprehend ideas in written passages, recall specific details, express opinions and engage in conversation. Through plenty of class and social interactions, students in our ESL course are surrounded by the opportunity and encouragement to improve their spoken English.

reading

In addition to vocabulary and comprehension skills, we also teach reading strategies. The objective is to progress from mechanical to meaningful reading. We use a variety of written material and increase the difficulty level as appropriate.

writing

We emphasize sentence structure, sentence variety, paragraph development, and essay form. We work with students to help them write well-organized, well-developed written pieces. In all areas, students receive skill-appropriate feedback.

Upon enrollment, students choose beginner / intermediate or intermediate / advanced. Many students choose to take multiple sessions to gain greater strengthen their English language skills. ESL is available to rising 7th - 9th graders.