Information found in this online edition of the 2008-09 catalog is unofficial and for informational purposes only. By authority of the dean of the College, some factual corrections to the printed version may appear here. The official document of record is the printed edition of the 2008-09 Catalog. For more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
Academic English Studies
Director: Joann M. Geddes
Lewis & Clark College instituted a program of English language study for nonnative speakers of English in 1972. Formerly known as the Institute for the Study of American Language and Culture (ISALC), this program is now Academic English Studies (AES). AES offers nonnative speakers the opportunity to enroll in intermediate and advanced English language courses. Students may take a full-time schedule of language courses. They may also take AES courses for credit while enrolled in a degree program or a term of overseas study.
Program of Study
AES is dedicated to fostering a diverse community of highly qualified learners within the undergraduate college. The program's mission is to provide intermediate and advanced instruction in English as a foreign language for nonnative speakers. Sociocultural objectives are reflected in classroom practices designed to assist students in developing cross-cultural awareness and in improving multicultural relations. Students learn how to communicate fluently and effectively in an academic setting. Through content-based language courses, they are exposed to major assumptions, knowledge, and approaches encountered within a liberal arts institution. Courses emphasize meaning and process, while providing the framework for language instruction. Students read a wide variety of unadapted texts and sources, recognize and develop different writing styles and rhetorical patterns, engage in in-depth research, and develop complex analytical and critical problem-solving skills in English.
Admission
AES offers English courses to all Lewis & Clark students who are nonnative speakers. Placement in AES courses is determined by a proficiency exam administered when those students arrive on campus. The low intermediate courses, AES 101 through AES 106, may not be counted toward graduation from Lewis & Clark. However, students may apply up to 24 elective credits earned in AES 110 and above toward the 128 credits required for graduation. For more information on the undergraduate admission process for international students, see International Student Admission in this catalog
Academic English Studies Program Fees
Students who have been admitted to the Academic English Studies (AES) Program and who are not enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences are assessed the AES semester charge. This charge is $5,320. Those AES students registered for fewer than 12 credit hours are charged at the rate of $443.33 per semester credit.
AES students are subject to the same charges as other College of Arts and Sciences students for the Associated Students of Lewis & Clark (ASLC) Student Body Fee, residence costs, student insurance plan, Green Energy Fee, and parking permits. The Costs chart details these charges.
Faculty
Deborah Anholt, instructor.
Joann M. Geddes, director, instructor.
Julie Vorholt-Alcorn, instructor.
Christine Wallin, instructor.
Norman Yoshida, instructor.
AES 101 Intermediate Reading For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study with a focus on reading strategies, vocabulary expansion, and critical thinking through intensive reading exercises and extensive reading of adapted literary sources. Emphasis on reading speed, accuracy, fluency, general comprehension.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit.
AES 102 Intermediate Writing For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study with a focus on sentence and paragraph structure. Sentence variety, topic sentences, punctuation, grammar, drafting, and process writing emphasized. Introduction to a variety of rhetorical patterns.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit.
AES 103 Intermediate Communication Skills For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study with a focus on development of listening and speaking skills. Designed to complement other AES courses at the 100 level. Topics of conversation and sources of new vocabulary, idioms, and sentence patterns are taken from texts, newspapers, magazines, audio-visual materials.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit.
AES 105, 106 Intermediate Content-Based Topics For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language instruction topics, which vary from semester to semester. Topics include the English of math, the English of the social sciences, the English of sociology and anthropology, the English of science: biology or ecology (global warming), the English of economics, the English of international affairs (globalization). Duration: half-semester. Students take two modular courses each term.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Annually, each half-semester, 2 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit.
AES 110 High Intermediate Reading For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study with a focus on reading strategies, vocabularybuilding skills, and critical thinking through intensive and some extensive reading. Analysis of grammatical and rhetorical patterns encountered in adapted and unadapted texts.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
AES 120 High Intermediate Writing For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study with a focus on paragraph and essay structure, developing grammatical competence and idiomatic usage, and appropriate writing and formatting conventions. Introduction to library research skills, including databases, reference materials, and the Internet; documentation and issues of academic integrity. Formal research paper and oral presentation required.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
AES 130 High Intermediate Communication Skills For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study with a focus on development of academic note-taking and listening skills, vocabulary, and extensive oral work. Structured undergraduate academic class observations. Community contact through service-learning projects required.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
AES 150, 151 High Intermediate Content-Based Topics For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language instruction topics, which vary from semester to semester. Topics include computer applications, environmental issues, U.S. culture, current events. Duration: half-semester. Students take two modular courses each term.
Prerequisite: Placement exam.
Taught: Annually, each half-semester, 2 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit with change of topic.
AES 210 Advanced Reading For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study based on unadapted readings of cultural and academic interest, fiction, and nonfiction. Focus on reading strategies, critical reading and thinking skills, as well as vocabulary acquisition skills and increased reading speed.
Prerequisite: Completion of Academic English Studies 110 or placement exam.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.
AES 221, 222 Advanced Writing For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English language study with extensive practice in academic writing. Emphasis is on developing a wide variety of sentence types and rhetorical patterns; appropriate writing and formatting conventions, particularly as they relate to research (i.e., citations, documentation, databases, Internet resources, other reference materials); issues of academic integrity. Includes a comprehensive review of grammar, punctuation, mechanics, spelling.
Prerequisite: Completion of Academic English Studies 120 or placement exam.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit.
AES 230 Advanced Speech Communication For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: Advanced English language study with a focus on the development of small-group and public speaking skills. Introduction of practical speech communication principles, rhetorical styles, and critical listening requirements for successful interaction in the classroom.
Prerequisite: Completion of Academic English Studies 130 or placement exam.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
AES 240 Seminar For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: Advanced English language study with a focus on a specific academic subject. Seminar format drawing upon all language skills through lectures, small-group discussions, presentations, projects, and research, culminating in a formal paper and oral presentation.
Prerequisite: Completion of Academic English Studies 130 or placement exam.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit with change of topic.
AES 244 Practicum
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: Opportunities for well-prepared students to apply English language training to practical work in the private or public sector. Specific activities vary, usually involving work with a public agency or private group. Students must consult the faculty supervisor about the program prior to enrolling, submit a weekly e-mail journal, and write a final report on the practicum experience. This course is not available to AES-only students. Federal authorization is required for curricular practical training for international students.
Prerequisite: Academic English Studies 120 or 220.
Taught: Annually, 1-4 semester credits.
AES 250, 251 Advanced Content-Based Topics For Nonnative Speakers
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: English instruction on an academic topic, which varies from semester to semester. Topics include media, information technology, controversial issues, linguistics, and literature. Development of analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Duration: half-semester. Students take two modular courses each term.
Prerequisite: Completion of Academic English Studies 150 and 151 or placement exam.
Taught: Each half-semester, 2 semester credits. May be taken twice for credit with change of topic.
AES 260 Introduction To Modes Of Inquiry
Anholt, Geddes, Vorholt-Alcorn, Wallin, Yoshida
Content: Requires full participation in undergraduate class. Focus on note-taking, aural comprehension, and application of language skills required to succeed in an academic setting. Weekly meetings with audit supervisor to synthesize course content.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.