Goal Training Educational Center

General English This program is designed to provide the non-native speaker with the necessary language skills and concepts needed to successfully communicate in an English speaking environment. The ESL program teaches English for everyday living and also focuses on language strategies necessary for success in academic environments or function in a professional, academic or other common environments. Graduates of this program will acquire the skills necessary to communicate effectively in English. The ESL English program consists of the following Courses:

ㆍLow Beginner

ㆍBeginner

ㆍHigh Beginner

ㆍPre Intermediate

ㆍIntermediate

ㆍHigh Intermediate

ㆍAdvanced All courses in the program are conducted 18 hours per week. Students are placed into the coursel appropriate for their level of proficiency through our comprehensive placement test upon application.

TOEFL Preparation The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is the world’s leading academic English test. Over 18 million students around the globe have taken the test since its inception in 1964; in addition, more than 6,000 institutions in 110 countries now rely on TOEFL scores for student placement. Our course is designed to prepare students for the Internet Based TOEFL (iBT) test in a short amount of time. The content of the course is based on the newest version of the TOEFL exam and reflects the language that is used in real academic situations. It focuses on all four content areas of the TOEFL iBT: Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. The TOEFL Preparation program is a 10 week course. The 18 hour course week is divided into 12 hours of lecture and 6 hours of language lab. Prerequisites: ESL Level 6 passing grade, IE Advanced Passing grade or satisfactory score on the placement test.

University Preparation The course is designed for English language students who plan to enter an American college or university at the undergraduate or graduate level. Students will develop their academic skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking as well as enhance their field-specific vocabulary and grammar knowledge. In class, students will explore authentic reading and listening materials derived from university level materials and lectures. They will learn to synthesize and analyze information from various sources, and then apply the acquired knowledge, skills and strategies to produce essays in various genres practiced in colleges and universities, such as an analytical essay or a summary. The course will equip students with academic strategies, including note taking, using a thesaurus, paraphrasing, draft writing and timed writing, in order to assure students’ success in an academic environment. The program is conducted a total of 18 hours per week. Prerequisites: General English Advanced (GE30) passing grade, Intensive English Advanced (IE30) Passing grade or satisfactory score on the placement test.

Business English Students will learn the English needed for everyday business situations, becoming familiar with common forms of speech and the communication practices standard in all major facets of business. Controlled activities provide practice with grammar and vocabulary, together with the mechanisms of everyday business writing, networking and giving presentations. The program is divided in three stand alone courses, which include Marketing, Communications and Business Management. You have the option to take a single course or sign up for the entire program. The Business English program is a 30 week program divided into three separate 10 week courses: Business Marketing, Business Communications, Business Management. Each course can be taken independently. All courses in the Business English Program are conducated 18 hours per week. Prerequisites: ESL Level 6 passing grade, IE Advanced Passing grade or satisfactory score on the placement test.

Advanced English This course is intended as an advanced grammar review and development of advanced conversational skills in American English. This course is ideal for English language students who wish to sound more natural, be able to understand and use colloquial expressions, or may be preparing for the TOEFL examination. The focus will be on acquiring fluency in spoken English, with a communicative approach involving all four competencies (listening, speaking, reading comprehension, and writing). The Advanced Grammar and Conversational Skills Course is 10 weeks in length. The 18 hour course week is divided into 12 hours of lectures and 6 hours of lab work. Prerequisites: ESL Level 6 passing grade, IE Advanced Passing grade or satisfactory score on the placement test.

American Discovery This is a one-of-a-kind program, which gives you the unique opportunity to study English in the context of American Cultural studies. Our courses bring together ideas from many academic fields and disciplines including, but not limited to: anthropology, art history, economics, environmental studies, gender and ethnic studies, history, literature, and sociology. The courses use ideas and field-specific vocabulary from these and other disciplines to examine the significance of the American experience for peoples in the USA and those abroad who wish to partake in the experience. Class discussions raise questions about the American dream and about the lived experience of American democracy which have renewed relevance in the post 9/11 context. American Discovery students also look outside of the classroom to answer these questions, by going on study-tours of sites of significance in the Chicago land area while increasing vocabulary and conversational skills. The selection of American Discovery-related courses displayed herein describes the range of courses of study open to students at Goal Training. Completing the full range of courses in the American Discovery program will give students the understanding of the cultural history which has led Americans to our contemporary lifestyles. The American Discovery program includes the following courses:

ㆍAmerican Literature

ㆍAmerican Ethnic Diversity

ㆍChicago's Culture

ㆍAmerican Film

ㆍAmerican Dream

ㆍAmerican Popular Music Each course can be taken separately and is 10 weeks in length. The 18 hour course week is divided into 12 hours of lectures and 6 hours of language labs. Prerequisites: ESL Level 6 passing grade, IE Advanced Passing grade or satisfactory score on the placement test.

Private English Instruction Goal Training Educational Center offers customized private instruction for students with specific language requirements. With the convenience of building your own schedule and the intensive classes, private instruction is ideal for those who would like to study at their own pace.