Intensive Academic English Program

Levels of Proficiency

Level	Description
BEGINNER LEVEL  1 & 2	Students with beginner level English will build a strong foundation to succeed in the next levels.
LEVEL 3 -5 PRE-UNDERGRADUATE  English for Academic Purposes courses	Students must complete levels 4 and 5 with a grade of B or higher in each course. Successful completion of level 5 meets the English language proficiency requirement for undergraduate studies at Towson University.
LEVEL 6 GRADUATE English for Academic Purposes courses	Students must complete level 6 with a grade of B or higher in each course. Successful completion of level 6 meets the English language proficiency requirement for graduate studies at Towson University.

*NOTE: Each Level is approximately equal to one 15-week semester, or 12-week sessions over the summer. Classes run Monday-Thursday (fall and spring) and Monday - Friday (summer).

Application Deadlines

• Fall: August 01 
• Spring: January 01
• Summer: May 02 

WHY STUDY IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER?

Integrated Core Skills Classes

• reading/vocabulary (R/V) + writing/grammar (R/G), and listening/vocabulary (L/V) + speaking/grammar (S/G)
• research writing and graduate communication skills for level 5 and 6

Small Class Sizes

• averaging only 8-12 students
• opportunities to speak, work in small groups, and apply skills in real-life language learning situations

Towson ELC Collaborate

• creates opportunities to develop intercultural communication skills. 
• highly qualified experienced teachers make learning English exciting, challenging, and fun 

Schedule: Levels 1 through 5 

WEEK DAY	9 - 12:00	9 - 11:00	12 - 1:30	12:30 - 2:00	2 - 3:00
Monday	Listening/Speaking
Tuesday		Reading		Writing	Grammar
Wednesday	Listening/Speaking		Collaborate
Thursday		Reading		Writing	Grammar
Friday	Listening/Speaking

 

Course Components

Levels 1-5 are designed to prepare students to reach English language proficiency levels to be successful in undergraduate study at a US university. Towson University's "Conditional Admission" program allows students to complete Level 5 instead of submitting an English Language proficiency test.

Full-time F-1 students must take two blocks of core integrated classes per semester for a minimum of 18 hours of instruction per week.

Schedule: Level 6

WEEK DAY	9 - 12:00	9 - 11:00	12-1:30	12:30 - 3:00	2 -3:00
Monday	GCS
Tuesday		Graduate Reading		RW	Grammar
Wednesday	GCS		Collaborate
Thursday		Graduate Reading		RW	Grammar
Friday	GCS

• GCS = Graduate Communication Skills
• RW = Research Writing 

Course Components

Level 6 is designed to prepare students to reach English language proficiency levels to be successful in graduate study at a US university. Towson University's "Provisional Admission" program allows students to complete level 6 instead of submitting an English Language proficiency test.

Full-time F-1 students must take two blocks of core integrated classes plus complete an Independent Research Capstone Project on a topic relevant to their academic program of choice. Minimum number of content hours will be 18.

Course Dates 

TERM, YEAR	ORIENTATION & PLACEMENT TESTING	FIRST AND LAST DAY OF CLASS	ADD/DROP
Fall 2024	Aug 19-23	Aug 26 and Dec 6	Sept 2
Spring 2025	Jan 21-24	Jan 27 and May 16	Feb 3

Add/Drop Date

Add/drop date is the LAST day a student on an F 1 Visa can begin classes at the ELC. Students will be marked absent for days missed from the class start date. Students on F-1 visas must maintain 80% attendance throughout each semester. Therefore, do your best to avoid a late start date. Students will need to have a valid excuse for beginning the semester after the official start date. 

Holidays (No class)

• Fall 2024: Labor Day, Sept 2, Thanksgiving, Nov 28-29
• Spring 2025: Martin Luther King Day, Jan 20, Spring Break, Mar 17-24