INTERMEDIATE (8 Weeks)

Reading & Writing

Students can
·         read a variety of authentic texts to identify the content and relevance
·         scan quickly through long and complex texts, locating relevant details
·         identify the main ideas and supporting details
·         demonstrate an understanding of a text by answering comprehension questions, drawing conclusions, making inferences, guessing meaning from context, etc.
·         react and respond to a text
·         identify author’s purpose & attitude & audience
·         recognize the text organization and paragraph sequence to draw its outline
·         identify the thesis of a reading
·         identify and distinguish facts and opinions
·         compare and contrast texts
·         apply critical thinking skills by analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating texts
·         find connections between current reading and personal experience
·         obtain information, ideas and opinions from various sources
·         understand articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems 
·         write, clear and well-structured paragraphs of complex subjects, underlining the relevant salient issues, expanding and supporting points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples, and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion
·         write clear, detailed descriptions of real or imaginary events and experiences, marking the relationship between ideas in clear connected text, and follow rhetoric structures (compare and contrast paragraphs, cause and effect paragraphs, problem and solution paragraphs)
·         summarize a wide range of texts, commenting on and discussing contrasting points of view and the main themes
·         summarize extracts from news items, interviews or documentaries containing opinions, argument and discussion
·         write a review of a film, book or play
·         write opinion paragraphs
·         write response and reflections
·         interpret data from charts
·         use appropriate linking devices to produce a cohesive text
·         revise and edit (identify coherence and unity; punctuation and lexico-grammatical components in their writings)
·         practice paraphrasing
·         practice multiple choice questions (reading, listening and organizational skills)
 
Listening & Speaking
 
Students can
·         listen to academic or professional lectures to identify the topic and main ideas
·         take notes during a lecture
·         demonstrate an understanding of lectures by outlining, andanswering comprehension questions
·         identify the relationship and sequence (major and minor ideas, examples, etc.) in a lecture
·         detect the attitude, mood of the speaker
·         make predictions about the listening topic
·         follow many films, TV programs documentaries, talk shows, etc. 
·         communicate with some confidence on familiar routine and non-routine matters related to their interests and professional field
·         exchange, check and confirm information, deal with less routine situations and explain why something is a problem
·         express thoughts on more abstract, cultural topics such as films, books, music, etc.
·         give clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects related to their fields of interest, expanding and supporting ideas with subsidiary points and relevant examples
·         reasonably fluently relate a straightforward narrative or description as a linear sequence of points
·         give detailed accounts of experiences, describing feelings and reactions
·         explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options
·         construct a chain of reasoned argument
·         develop a clear argument, expanding and supporting their points of view with subsidiary points and relevant examples
·         give a clear, prepared presentation, giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view and giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options
·         summarize and give their opinion about a short story, article, talk, discussion or documentary and answer further questions of detail
·         take part in discussions in familiar contexts, commenting, putting point of view clearly, agreeing, disagreeing, evaluating alternative proposals, making and responding to hypotheses
·         express and respond to feelings such as surprise, happiness, sadness, interest and indifference
·         explain why something is a problem, discuss what to do next, compare and contrast alternatives
·         deal with most situations or transactions like traveling, arranging travel or accommodation, making a complaint, etc.
·         deliver oral presentations by employing current technology
 
Linguistic & Vocabulary Range
 
Students can
·         demonstrate an understanding of verb structures including all tenses and all forms (* recycling)
·         can communicate with reasonable accuracy in various contexts
·         have a sufficient range of language to give clear descriptions, explain the main points in an idea or problem with reasonable precision and express thoughts on abstract or cultural topics such as music and films, etc.
·         have a good range of vocabulary for matters connected to their field and most general topics
·         have a broad active reading vocabulary, work on vocabulary development with special emphasis on parts of speech, collocations, phrasal verbs, idioms, word forms, and increase their active vocabulary to approximately 2200 words
·         demonstrate proficiency in the following grammatical areas:
 
Adverb clauses
Relative clauses
Past Modals (assumption, speculation and advice in past)
Conditionals (if type 3 + wish)
Passives (all)
Gerund and infinitive (subject / object position)
Parallelism
Reported speech (introduction)