American Conversational English is a three-week course that enables you to practice conversational English with other participants, in a variety of structured and casual speaking contexts, led by experienced instructors in the Intensive English Program at Georgetown University. A typical day will include:
- an introduction to common discussion strategies, such as offering an opinion, asking for clarification, and agreeing and disagreeing
- structured practice sessions to use these strategies in pairs and small groups
- stimulating topics of interest, including current events, social issues, culture, politics, and more
- instructor feedback on grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation in each class
- engaging and relevant online videos, audio recordings, and tools for grammar and vocabulary
- on selected days, a morning or afternoon extracurricular activity or field trip relating to the topic of the day, for additional conversational practice in an authentic setting
Sample Topics & Skills
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Week 1 |
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| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
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American culture and world cultures |
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| Introductions and interviewing | Giving opinions and preferences | Comparing and contrasting | Making polite requests | Off-campus activities & discussion practice |
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Week 2 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
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Washington, D.C. and important global events |
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| Giving advice and suggestions | Describing hopes and wishes | Talking about the future | Discussing current events | Off-campus activities & discussion practice |
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Week 3 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
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Global events continued and special topics |
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| Strategies for storytelling | Giving oral summaries | Describing charts and graphs | Discussing current events | Off-campus activities & discussion practice |