Overview of the Language Center Curriculum

Entry Requirements

Undergraduates

Undergraduate students who score between 420 and 447 on the TOEFL will take the level 1 courses, that is, 20 hours per week. Undergraduate students who score between 480 and 527 on the TOEFL will take anywhere from 10 to 20 hours per week of either the level 2 courses or a combination of level 1 and level 2 courses. Undergraduate students who score between 450 and 477 on the TOEFL will take 30 hours per week in the super-intensive track. Undergraduate students who score 530 or higher on the TOEFL test may or may not have to take AWT, depending on the Writing Placement Test results.

Graduates

Graduate students who score below 520 on the TOEFL will take the level 1 courses, that is, 20 hours per week. Graduate students who score between 520 and 547 on the TOEFL will take anywhere from 10 to 30 hours per week of either the level 2 courses, a combination of level 1 and level 2 courses or the super-intensive program. Graduate students who score 550 or higher on the TOEFL test will be exempted from ALS, ARD and GAC. However, ALL graduate students take the Writing Placement Test to determine whether a Language Center writing course is required or not. Specific information about the language requirements for graduate students may be obtained directly from their chosen school of specialty.

Exit Requirements

Undergraduates

In order to pass an LC course, undergraduates must obtain a passing grade of 70% or above.

A student who entered the Language Center with a TOEFL score between 420-447 will take the level 1 courses (20 hours per week) and will continue the following semester with the level 2 courses, unless he/she obtains at least 90% on any level 1 course. If this is the case, he/she will be allowed to pass out of the Language Center, for that particular course. The TOEFL will not be used as an exit mechanism in the Language Center.

Students who take the level 2 courses will pass out of the Intensive English Program by obtaining a passing grade of 70% or above. Likewise, those who take a combination of levels 1 and 2 during the same semester will pass with a Language Center passing grade of 70% or above. For example, if a student is taking Reading 1, Grammar 1, Listening/Speaking 2 and Writing 2, he/she must obtain the passing grade of 70% or above for each course, and the following semester he/she would continue with Reading 2, Grammar 2 and other non-Language Center courses.

Students taking Reading I, Grammar I, or Listening and Speaking I can obtain a superpass and skip the second level of that course if they achieve a grade of 90% or above. However, there is no superpass for Writing I. All students who take Writing I must take Writing II.

Students who take the fast track (super-intensive) will exit the Language Center by obtaining a passing grade of 70% in all four skills; otherwise, they will have to repeat the skill they failed in the corresponding level 2 the following semester.

The TOEFL will not be used as an exit mechanism in the Language Center.

Graduates

In order to pass an LC course, graduates must obtain a Language Center grade of 80% or above. A graduate student who entered the Language Center with a TOEFL score below 520 will take level 1 courses (20 hours per week) and will continue the following semester with the level 2 courses.

A graduate student who entered the Language Center with a TOEFL score between 520 – 547 will take from 10 – 30 course hours per week and his/her schedule may be either only level 2, a combination of levels 1 and 2 or the super-intensive. Students who take level 2 courses will pass out of the Intensive English Program by obtaining a passing grade of 80% or above. Those who take a combination of levels 1 and 2 during the same semester will pass with a Language Center passing grade of 80% or above. For example, if a student is taking Reading 1, Writing 1, Listening/Speaking 2 and Grammar 2, he/she must obtain the passing grade of 80% or above for each course, and the following semester continue with Reading 2, Writing 2 and other non-Language Center courses. However, he/she may also take Reading 1, Grammar 1 and pass out of the Language Center after one semester if he/she obtains a grade of 90% or above for Reading 1 and Grammar 1.

Note: The same rule regarding superpass and super-intensive applies to graduate students as described for undergraduate students with the exception that the minimum passing grade is 80%.

Language Center Writing and Grammar Placement Tests (WPT and GPT)

All Language Center students will take a writing placement test (WPT) at the beginning of the semester in order to determine placement into Writing 1 (AWT 1001) or Writing 2 (AWT 1002).

The Center for Academic Development and Study Skills (CADS)

Language Center undergraduate students who enter with a TOEFL score of 420-477 will take 20 hours in the Language Center plus 1 CAD course. Those who enter with a TOEFL score of above 480 will be able to take 2 CAD courses. Every CAD course is worth 2 credit hours (for additional information visit CAD in building 10).

General Academic Guidelines

Students can expect to spend a minimum of ONE hour each day preparing for each course, thus about four hours of homework a night. In the Al Akhawayn system, instructors expect language students to submit homework regularly. All writing assignments must be submitted using a word processor (e.g. Microsoft Word). Instructors expect students to be prepared every day and to volunteer and participate actively in class. Students placed in the super-intensive program will have to double the effort to meet the LC requirement in one semester. Thus, they are expected to work on their own a minimum of 15 hours per week.

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