2003-2005 - Graduate School - The University of Alabama

78 The University of Alabamastep of the writing process — thinking, writing, and rewriting — teachers guide studentstoward communicating their ideas with increasing clarity and depth. Reading/Writingcourses meet ten hours per week.Optional Classes. The ELI offers several choices of optional courses. Some examplesof optional courses are TOEFL Preparation, Pronunciation, American Culture, CurrentEvents, Business English, English Through Current Events, English Through Music, andWeb Page Design. Optional classes typically meet two or three hours per week.Conversation Partner Program. Through the Conversation Partner Program, ELIstudents meet regularly with American students to converse in English in relaxed surroundings.The Conversation Partner Program is a comfortable way for ELI students toform friendships with American students and to practice their English.Culture and Language Exchange Program. The Culture and Language Ex changeProgram pairs an ELI student with an American student who is study ing or has expressedan interest in the ELI student’s native language/culture. Once paired, these students thenmeet as often as they like for con ver sa tion practice in both English and in the par tic u larforeign language.ELI External Programs. The External Programs consist of a variety of programsdesigned for groups of participants with mutual goals and concerns who desire highlyspecialized, intensive curricula. Such programs are typically designed for internationalEnglish teachers, students whose international universities have approved given cur ricu la for credit, international graduate students preparing to enter universities throughoutthe U.S., and business professionals who wish to improve their overall effectiveness inEnglish or to concentrate on specifi c skills such as written communication.An organization wishing to enroll in such a program should clearly defi ne the goals of itsgroup and keep in mind that program enrollments require a minimum of 10 participants.Financial sponsorship for the above programs may come from ministries of education,embassies, corporations, private philanthropic organizations, U.S. or other governmentsponsoring agencies, or the individual participants themselves. Programs may be offeredat any time of the year and typically range in length from two to six weeks.Academic Support Program. The ELI Academic Support Program provides op por -tu ni ties for UA undergraduate and graduate students who may want or need additionalEnglish-language instruction. At the graduate level, ESL support courses in written andspoken English are available free of charge to full-time international graduate students eachfall and spring semester. In addition, for both undergraduate and graduate students, theUA Language Resource Center is available for individualized language assistance.International Teaching Assistant Program. The In ter na tion al Teaching AssistantProgam (ITAP) provides training and evaluation for international students with graduateteaching assistantships. A mandatory ITAP program for all non-native English-speakingGTAs and graduate assistants with any instructional responsibilities is offered twice ayear.The fall course begins approximately three weeks before the start of the fall semesterfor students wishing to teach during the fall. In addition, a semester-long course is offeredin the spring for students wishing to teach during the spring semester.To obtain more information about any of the above ELI programs, to request a brochureand application to the Intensive English Program, or to discuss the possibility of an externalprogram for your group, contact the director, Mr. Bill Wallace at The University ofAlabama, English Language Institute, Box 870250, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0250; (205)348-7413; fax (205) 348-9266; e-mail info@eli.ua.edu. Or you may visit our Web site atwww.ua.edu/international/eli.ACADEMIC COMMON MARKETThe Academic Common Market is an association of 16 states (Alabama, Arkansas,Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina,Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) formed to avoidprogram duplication and permit out-of-state students to undertake selected programs