Adult English Level 4  

High intermediate

ELP: Level 4 / NRS: Level 5

This course is for learners with high intermediate English language proficiency.

Level Goals: This course aims to build students’ understanding and use of more complex language relating to both concrete and abstract topics, as well as, environmental, social, academic, and professional ones.

Level Objectives: Through individual and group activities, students will practice:

●  determining the main idea/key details of and citing evidence in conversations or written texts about formal and academic topics of general and professional interest

●  delivering brief oral presentations that describe relationships (e.g. cause/effect and problem/solution) by using formal and academic language

●  writing source-based, multiple-paragraph texts with attention to genre (e.g. expository, persuasive, compare and contrast), text type (e.g. cover letter, research report), and register (e.g. formal/informal).

●  using various verb tense forms comparatively, as well as a wide range of clauses and complex, indirect structures

●  developing academic vocabulary depth, as well as noticeable sensitivity to word formation and formal transition words through readings about various topics

●  distinguishing intonation patterns and stress in content and function words; recognizing linking phenomena in controlled and some semi-controlled oral tasks

●  participating in discussions about formal and informal topics by demonstrating awareness of a variety of speech functions and levels of politeness

Assessment: Students’ performance will be assessed based on their participation in classroom activities, homework, and performance in formative and summative in-class assessments. 

Student Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify the main idea/key details of and use information from conversations and written texts about topics such as personal strengths, future plans, technology, and

environmental issues.

2. Give short, formal and academic oral presentations that focus on experiences, problems, hypothetical solutions, and causes/effects of relationships.

3. Compose four to five source-based paragraphs of various structure and register comparing and contrasting experiences, advantages and disadvantages, describing personality types, and arguing for solutions to environmental problems.

4. Use a wide range of verb tenses with attention to their pragmatic nuances; produce complex structures (e.g. passive voice, indirect speech) and sentences (e.g. noun and adjective clauses).

5. Identify and use a wide range of academic word families, words with many meanings, antonyms, compounds, and formal transition words in readings about various topics.

6. Recognize intonation patterns in wh- questions, stressed/unstressed words, and linking consonant-vowel sounds.

7. Participate in discussions about topics such as aptitudes and intelligence types,

technology, and hopes and wishes by politely expressing opinions, agreement/disagreement and making recommendations.