Graduate ESL Courses

Designed for students who need to work on controlling English syntax. Students review and practice important structures. Norms of organization and rhetorical expression are introduced. Writing tasks, which complement the work with structures, will be contextualized in the student's field of study. Minimal work is assigned outside of class.

Restricted to Instructor Permission. 

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.

Students focus on organization and rhetorical models of academic English. Sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics are reviewed as needed. Writing tasks, which complement the work with rhetorical models, will be contextualized in the student's field of study. Minimal work is assigned outside of class.

Restricted to Instructor Permission.

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.

This course, for students whose first languages are not English, focuses on building oral and aural skills to successfully navigate interactions in the university and larger community. Instruction includes small group conversational practice as well as idiomatic vocabulary building and English pronunciation and discourse strategies.

Restricted to Instructor Permission. 

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.

Students will learn and practice strategies to enhance oral communication with colleagues, classmates, and professional contacts. They will gain skills in conversing with individuals and groups, in group problem solving, and in giving presentations. While pronunciation and listening skills are not the main focus of this course, recommendations for self-study in this area will be given. Vocabulary and structures will be addressed as needed.

Restricted to Instructor Permission. 

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.

Designed for students who need both to practice speaking in academic contexts and to develop their presentation skills. Course activities include discussing academic topics, summarizing texts, paraphrasing, reporting research, and organizing and giving oral presentations, particularly in a poster presentation. Pronunciation is addressed as needed.

Restricted to Instructor Permission. 

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.

This course addresses the skills and strategies international graduate students need in order to carry out teaching responsibilities for their department and provides practice and support for effective intercultural communication with their students. These communication skills also transfer to other academic/professional English language settings. Graduate students successfully complete the course by demonstrating their ability to convey content information from their field to either undergraduate students or to other academic audiences in a comprehensible and appropriate manner. Participants in the course along with departmental supervisors receive a detailed report of progress at the end of the semester. 

Restricted to Instructor Permission.

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.

Assistance is given in improving spoken English proficiency and/or teaching skills, as individual needs require. Does not meet as a regular class; Teaching Consultants work individually with referred ITAs.

Restricted to Instructor Permission.

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is an intensive language and culture course designed for nonnative speakers of English who have been admitted to an undergraduate or graduate degree program at the University of Virginia or who are prospective UVa research associates or visiting scholars. Participants fine-tune the language skills required for success in US higher education through exercises in academic writing, academic reading and vocabulary development, listening comprehension and note-taking, classroom discussion strategies, and presentation skills. A pronunciation assessment is conducted with follow-up work assigned as needed. Application required. See the EAP program page for more details.

Restricted to Instructor Permission.

*Program Fee - See the EAP application and fee page for more details.

Offered Summer Session only.

Students who have a good command of English syntax and vocabulary, but who are being held back by pronunciation problems will be referred to this course. Enrollment is generally limited to prospective international teaching assistants. Other students may enroll as space allows.

Restricted to instructor Permission.

Offered Spring and Fall Semesters.