UESL offers 20 hours a week of academic English instruction in reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Students are prepared with the skills that they need to study in an American university.

There are five levels of instruction in the UESL Program:

Level 1 — Beginning
Level 2 — Low Intermediate
Level 3 — Intermediate
Level 4 — High Intermediate
Level 5 — Advanced

New UESL students are given a level check during Student Orientation at the beginning of each quarter and are assigned to a level based on this assessment. Students may request a placement review at the beginning of the 2nd week.

Depending on enrollment, two levels may be taught in the same classroom by the same instructor. For example, levels 1 and 2 may be combined to levels 1/2.

Program Level Outcomes for UESL

1. Apply advanced writing skills to personal and academic writing.
2. Demonstrate fluency and accuracy in speaking.
3. Apply listening skills to comprehend lectures, presentations, and conversations.
4. Apply readings skills to comprehend reading passages and novels.
5. Demonstrate appropriate grammar usage in both oral and written communication.
6. Demonstrate appropriate vocabulary usage in both oral and written communication.

There are 4 core courses in the UESL Program:

Oral Communication
Grammar
Reading
Writing

Students in level 5 take an elective such as test preparation or academic skills preparation instead of grammar.

Each class meets for 1 hour from Monday to Friday for a total of 20 hours a week of instruction.

UESL Guide to Levels
What is your level? Look at the descriptions below to figure out what level you might be. Remember that you will be given a level check when you arrive and the level check will determine your level. These descriptions are just to help you make your plans.

True Beginner
Please note that the UESL Program does not have a beginning level course. Beginning level means students with no English language knowledge.

Level 1 — Beginning
Students in level 1 have usually studied English in high school and already have some English basics. Level 1 students know the alphabet, basic words and grammar.

Are you level 1? Level 1 students can say and write:

• the alphabet, numbers
• the days of the week, months of the year
• basic greetings (hello, how are you)
• simple sentences

Level 2 — Low Intermediate
Students in level 2 have studied English before. Level 2 students know how to write a simple paragraph and can have a simple conversation in English.

Are you level 2? Level 2 students can:

• Write a paragraph about their family or home town
• Read short stories or newspaper articles on familiar topics
• Take part in basic conversations
• Understand basic English grammar and parts of speech

Level 3 — Intermediate
Students in level 3 have studied English before in high school and beyond. Some have used English abroad. Level 3 students know how to write a paragraph and can have a conversation in English. Level 3 students can read simple books and newspaper articles on familiar topics

Are you level 3? Level 3 students can:

• Write a paragraph on a variety of topics
• Read short stories or newspaper articles on familiar topics
• Take part in conversations and give a short presentation or speech
• Understand and use English grammar and parts of speech correctly
• Watch TV shows and follow with the use of subtitles

Level 4 — High Intermediate
Students in level 4 have studied English before in high school and beyond. Many level 4 students have been abroad or used English for work. Level 4 students know how to write a simple essay and can have a conversation in English. Level 4 students can read simple books and newspaper articles on many topics.

Are you level 4? Level 4 students can:

• Write an essay on a variety of topics
• Read short stories or newspaper articles on a variety of topics
• Take part in complex conversations and give a presentations on academic subjects
• Understand and use English grammar and parts of speech correctly
• Understand the main ideas of TV shows without subtitles

Level 5—Advanced
Students in level 5 have studied English before in high school and beyond (university or private lessons). Many level 5 students have been abroad or have used English for work. Level 5 students know how to write an essay and do not have any problems with every day conversation in English. Level 5 students can read books and newspaper articles on many topics.

Are you level 5? Level 5 students can:

• Write an academic essay on a variety of topics
• Read novels and newspaper articles on a variety of topics
• Take part in complex conversations and give a presentations on academic subjects
• Understand and use advanced English grammar
• Understand almost everything on TV shows and the news without subtitles

Weekly schedule:

All UESL classes are held on the CWU campus in Ellensburg. Students move to different buildings on campus, just like other CWU students. UESL students can start class as early as 8am and end class at 4:50pm.

A typical schedule may look like this:

A typical quarter schedule looks like this:

Click here for a Sample UESL Calendar for one quarter.