The English Language Proficiency Course (ELP) is offered in the fall, winter, spring, and summer semesters each calendar year, featuring twenty (20) hours of instruction per week to students at all skill levels. (The final level of this course is the very popular free conversation' program, noted above.)

The English Language Proficiency Course is UEC's primary instructional offering to an international clientele. It is designed for adult learners to enhance their English language ability in the following skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and cross-cultural understanding. Students are given the opportunity of developing and demonstrating their comprehension and fluency in all language skills, thereby increasing their communicative competence. Unlike other language service organizations, UEC's approach emphasizes the communication process rather than a particular instructional methodology.

At the most elementary level, conversational English, grammar, vocabulary and idioms are taught. Special attention is given to pronunciation. At the intermediate level, conversational skills are enhanced and vocabulary is enriched. At the advanced level, screenplays, novel excerpts, and academic essays are often used in place of conventional textbooks, and stimulating discussions are conducted on a wide array of subjects from American culture to international relations.

ELP is a six (6) level course of study that is appropriate for beginning, intermediate, and advanced language learners.

• Levels I and II are intended for beginners.
• Levels III and IV are targeted at intermediate students.
• Levels V and VI provide advanced training in English primarily for graduates of foreign universities whose aim is to enter the academic world in the continental United States.

(Level V is based in part on UEC's TOEFL course, which is described in more detail below. It is less intensive, but the more 'far-ranging' instructional offering in our program. Whereas the TOEFL course is primarily a grammar course, Level V treats grammar in the context of developing reading and writing skills. Level VI is informally entitled 'free-conversation'. It is an advanced seminar emphasizing specific themes from modern, urban culture. It is also designed as a 'capstone' course in which deficiencies in a student's communicative competence are isolated and corrected by the instructional staff. Depending upon a student's personal educational objectives, full-time students can register for either Level V or Level VI.)

At each level of instruction, students receive twenty (20) hours of instruction per week for a period of twelve (12) weeks. With the permission of the Executive Director, students with special educational requirements can take more than 20 hours of instruction.