English

About English at CHICLE

New Course: Public Speaking for Beginners

Mondays, 6:30-8:00 pm, dates to be determined

Public Speaking for Beginners is designed for anyone who wants to improve his/her ability to present various forms of public speech in a safe, collaborative and supportive environment.

The emphasis will be on student practice, presentations and feedback through the observation and assessment of various well-known speakers, including Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Maya Angelou, Amy Goodman, as well as from people representing different topics of personal and local interest.

Students will work with one another on writing, voice, language-verbal and non verbal- and other elements of effective speaking and have the opportunity if they choose to write and present a speech on the WCOM LP FM community radio program, “Talk of Hope!”

The course is geared for advanced English as a second language learners as well as native English speakers. Experience has shown that both groups can learn and progress on an equal basis. At the end of the course a certificate from CHICLE Language Institute will be given to students who have completed the course of study.

The course will be taught by Sean Wellington, M.S., who currently teaches ESL and public speaking/oral communication at Durham Tech Community College and is a teacher trainer with Oxford Seminars. He has been an instructor of humanities, literacy and language for more than a decade, with posts at two New York City high schools, New York and Columbia Universities and recently served as Academic Manager for an international language and culture youth exchange program. His research and interest in other cultures has taken him to five continents, including assignments in Japan and Tanzania. He is the proud host of a community radio program, "Talk of Hope," on WCOM, 103.5 FM.

The cost for this nine-hour course is $135 plus an additional $5 materials fee. The course will meet for 1.5 hours weekly for six weeks.

About English at CHICLE

• The cost  of classes is $15/hour. Our nine-hour courses cost $135 plus $5 for materials.
• CHICLE’s English instruction has three components: listening and speaking, reading and writing, and grammar.
• The focus in all classes is on conversational skills, comprehension of spoken American English, common usage problems, and idiomatic English.
• Intermediate and advanced students are exposed to regional accents, dialects, and the use of different and appropriate ways of speaking in specific situations.
• CHICLE's advanced English students take private or small group classes that focus on the particular issues that they have. These include accent reduction, preparation for conference presentations, or conversation and grammar.
• We encourage international students to come spend one or more months in Chapel Hill studying with us.
  • Students often study with us four or five hours a day.
  • We help them with their language skills and also introduce them to the Research Triangle area.
  • As part of our instruction, we help them feel more comfortable using the telephone, guide them in using the Internet to enhance their language skills, provide opportunities for conversation with native English speakers, and encourage them to make presentations in English.
  • We can not, however, help with visas nor give college credits.
• We also offer intensive classes at a reduced rate for students who are visiting for a month or more and want classes at least 10 hours a week.
• Private instruction is scheduled at the student's convenience. Cost is $45/hour for one student, $35/hour/student for two students. When we have three or more students at the same level, we form a group class.

TOEFL Classes at CHICLE

Foreigners who wish to attend a U.S. university are usually required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. Our English teachers can help you prepare for this exam.

We use standard TOEFL preparation books and work with the student on whatever their weaknesses are. Whenever possible, we group students for this class.

Private instruction is scheduled at the student's convenience. Cost is $45/hour for one student, $35/hour/student for two students. Some students take once a week, others twice. Some take one hour classes, some one and a half, others two hours. Depending on deadlines, TOEFL preparation can also be done intensively.