Department of English Language Instruction

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Chair: N. Kassabgy

Intensive Academic English Program Director: M. Fairley

IAEP Assessment Specialist: M. Baza

Intensive and Academic English for Graduates Program Director: A Lewko

Academic English for the Liberal Arts (ENGL 0210 ) Program Director: M. El Saady

Academic English for the Liberal Arts ( ENGL 0210  )  Assessment Specialist: A. Mishriki

Senior Instructors: N. Aboul Fetouh, E. Arrigoni, A. Demian, S. Esnawi, S. Farag, K. Helmy, R. Jabr, L. Kamal, N. Kassabgy, N. Khafagi, S. Abdel Hady Makhlouf, A. Mishriki, M. Fairley, S. Rizzo, M. El Saady, M. Sarofim, H. Shawarbi, A. Shebeenie, E. Yoder, M. Osman, Y. Salah Eldin.

Instructors: M. Ateek , I. Baza, M. Baza, S. El Farnawany,  A. Lewko, M. Salah Eldin.

Mission Statement

The Department of English Language Instruction (ELI) offers intensive, semi-intensive, and modular non-credit courses to prepare undergraduate and graduate students in academic English, critical thinking, and other academic skills that they will need at university. This is accomplished by highly qualified faculty using content-based and learner-centered approaches designed to align with courses at AUC and to empower learners

ELI Program Accreditation - ELI/CEA

The Department of English Language Instruction of the American University in Cairo, Academy of Liberal Arts is accredited by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation for the period August 2015 through August 2025 and agrees to uphold the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions. CEA is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency for English language programs and institutions in the U.S. For further information about this accreditation, please contact CEA, 801, North Fairfax Street, Suite 402A, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 665-3400,
www.cea-accredit.org

Undergraduates

Academic Bridge Program

An Academic Bridge Program ensures academic preparedness and provides foundations for success for incoming students needing developmental course-work prior to their freshman semester. The undergraduate courses offered by the Department of English Language Instruction (ELI) are the essential core of AUC’s efforts in this regard. As such, their goal is to provide the proficiency in Academic English, along with enhanced reading, critical thinking and study skills, needed for successful study at the American University in Cairo as an English-Language, American style institution of higher learning committed to the principles of a liberal arts education.

As detailed below, the ELI offers two levels of study for undergraduates: Intensive Academic English and Academic English for the Liberal Arts. Both are designed to help transition students into the freshman program at AUC, and to contribute to ensuring future academic success for students, whatever their fields of study.

Intensive Academic English (ELIN 0101/0102)

The Intensive Academic English (IAEP) program for undergraduates offers ELIN 0101  (Intermediate English), and ELIN 0102  (Advanced English). Students are placed in one of the two levels according to their scores on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL-ibt).

Attendance

Students in all undergraduate IAEP classes take five hours of classes a day. Because of the intensive nature of the classes, regular attendance and active involvement are major factors in a student’s success. It is very difficult and often impossible to make up what has been missed.

Attendance and participation are considered so important to this intensive language program that a student who for any reason misses the equivalent of six days of class (thirty hours) in any one semester will be asked to withdraw. Students who are asked to withdraw but fail to do so will be suspended. A committee of IEP Administrators and instructors will decide whether or not the suspended student will be allowed to return to the IEP.

Undergraduate students in Intensive Academic English (IAE) classes are allowed to take up to a full calendar year to reach either the level of ENGL 0210  , Academic English for the Liberal Arts, or the Freshman level (RHET 1010 ). For example, students entering IAE classes in the spring who do not reach the required level of Academic English (either ENGL 0210  or RHET 1010 ) by the end of the semester may attend the summer session and the following fall semester in order to do so. At the end of one calendar year, a student who has still not attained the required level will be suspended.      

Readmission

Suspended students who are not allowed to return to the IEP may be readmitted to AUC only if they submit new iBT or IELTS scores placing them in levels higher than the IEP. Other applicants for readmission may not submit a new TOEFL iBT or IELTS score unless more than six months have elapsed since their last TOEFL iBT or IELTS examination or the IEP exit battery.

Academic English for the Liberal Arts (ENGL 0210 )

Academic English for the Liberal Arts (ENGL 0210 ) is a non-credit, concurrent, conference-centered course intended to transition students into a full course of study in the Freshman Program at AUC. Sessions are devoted to the comprehension and summary of university-level texts, the introduction to basic research tools, the writing of essays on science and humanities topics, and remedial grammar, within the context of individual teacher-student conferences. Newly developed materials and approaches, such as close adjuncting to Freshman Program courses or course content, ensure that students see the relevance and impact of their efforts in terms of their long-term academic success.

Since students receive the equivalent of nine credit hours of instruction in Academic English for the Liberal Arts, students taking the course (ENGL 0210 ) may enroll in no more than two academic courses with a maximum of 7 credit hours of academic course credits. Any student who withdraws from ENGL 0210  must also withdraw from the two other academic courses. Regular attendance in ENGL 0210  is important; a student who for any reason misses more than 10 days will be dropped from the course. A student who is dropped will be allowed to retake the course the following semester. For new students, placement in ENGL 0210  is determined by their score on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Test of English as a Foreign Language- Internet-Based Test (TOEFL-Ibt). For students enrolled in Intensive Academic English (IAEP) courses, placement in Academic English for the Liberal Arts (ENGL 0210 ) is determined by their score on the IAEP exit test. All students who have been admitted into ENGL 0210  must satisfactorily complete the course work within a time period not to exceed two full semesters and a summer session. Students taking ENGL 0210  in summer may not enroll in any other academic course.

The Academic English for Graduates (AEG) Program:

Graduate students who are otherwise qualified to enter the university but whose English does not meet the necessary level of proficiency, based on the applicant’s performance on the TOEFL, iBT or IELTS, will be admitted to ELIN 0301  or ELIN 0302  , or placed in the appropriate modules of ENGL 123-125/0310, 0311 and 0312.

Graduate students in the intensive ELIN 0301  and ELIN 0302  courses are allowed a maximum of two semesters to reach the level of Academic English for Graduates (see Academic English for Graduates Modules in this section), or beyond. Graduate students enrolled in the modules are allowed a maximum of two semesters per module to pass out of the program.

Intensive English for Graduates Courses

The intensive English for Graduates course is offered at ELIN 0301  (intermediate) and ELIN 0302  (advanced) levels. Students are placed in one of the two levels according to their scores on the TOEFL, iBT or IELTS. Students in these courses are not allowed to concurrently enroll in other AUC courses.

Content of Courses

Students are placed in sections normally composed of up to twelve students. Students are given a grammar review, extensive reading and writing practice, advanced vocabulary review, and practice in speaking and listening comprehension. Grading in this course is on a Pass/Fail system.

Attendance

Attendance and participation are considered so important to this intensive language program that a student who for any reason misses the equivalent of more than 21 class hours in any one semester will be asked to withdraw. Applicants for readmission may submit an iBT, TOEFL or IELTS score. If their score is the intensive level, they will be allowed to return to ELIN 0301  or ELIN 0302 . Students who are asked to withdraw but fail to do so will be suspended.

Suspension and Readmission

Graduate students suspended from ELIN 0301  or ELIN 0302  must petition for readmission and must meet all the admission requirements prevailing at the time of readmission. Readmission is not granted automatically. Students suspended from ELIN 0301  or ELIN 0302  who are readmitted to the university must score high enough on the TOEFL, iBT or the IELTS for direct admission to Academic English for Graduates or higher, as they will not be allowed to return to ELIN 0301  or ELIN 0302 .

Academic English for Graduates Modules

Academic English for graduate students consists of three non-credit modules covering effective writing (ENGL 0310 ), academic reading (ENGL 0311 ), listening and speaking (ENGL 0312  ). Students who are taking all their required modules may take other courses at the same time, thus enabling them to apply what they are learning in these modules to what they will be expected to do in other graduate courses. Grading in these modules is on a Pass/Fail system.

ENGL 0310  meets for two hours two times a week, while the other two modules (ENGL 0311  and ENGL 0312 ) meet for two hours one time per week. Students who have part-time or full-time jobs are strongly advised not to attempt other undergraduate or graduate courses until they have completed their academic English requirements. Students enrolled in any of the modules are expected to spend at least three hours per week outside of class in preparation for each weekly class meeting of each module in which they are enrolled (e.g., a student enrolled in three modules should expect to spend at least 9 hours per week outside class plus eight hours per week in class).

Generally students taking the modules are limited to taking courses according to the formula below:

Required Academic         English modules Students may take
3 modules                          One undergraduate course
2 modules                          One undergraduate or one graduate course
1 module                            Two undergraduate or graduate courses

Any student who withdraws from a module must first withdraw from any non-ENGL courses. Students who fail any given module(s) may repeat the module(s) once. Students who are repeating a given module will not be allowed to take concurrent courses without the written approval of the Program Director of Academic English for Graduates (AEG) program. Students who fail the same module twice will be disqualified but may apply for readmission. Applicants for readmission must score high enough on the TOEFL, iBT or IELTS to be exempt from English courses, as they will not be allowed to return to ENGL 0310, 0311,or 0312.

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