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Intensive English Program (IEP)

An Accredited Program to Improve English Language Skills

The Intensive English Program at SFBU is accredited by The Commission on English Language Program Accreditation.

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Program Structure

San Francisco Bay University’s IEP features four levels of courses in Grammar, Listening and Speaking, Writing, and Reading. With 7.5-week courses meeting for five hours a week, each course has a total of 37.5 hours. These student-centered classes have a maximum of 15 students, so students can build their communication skills in an interactive small group setting.

The IEP’s academic affairs are managed by the Chief Academic Officer, ESL Administrator, and IEP faculty members.

Purpose

The IEP is open to non-native speakers of English who want to improve their English language skills quickly. This program is designed for students preparing for university study, working professionals, and learners who want to increase their ability to communicate in English in general.

Mission

The Intensive English Program supports San Francisco Bay University’s mission by equipping non-native speakers with the English language skills needed to successfully advance towards their academic and career goals. Along with providing an orientation to academic culture in the U.S. and fostering a diverse international community, the IEP helps students overcome the linguistic difficulties involved in studying a subject in English in a university setting.

Intensive English Program Objectives

  • Students will develop fluency and accuracy in both spoken and written English.
  • Students will develop effective oral communication strategies to interpret auditory input and express concrete and abstract ideas, in formal as well as informal settings, and with increasingly native-like pronunciation.
  • Students will demonstrate comprehension of a variety of texts of increasing complexity, evaluate texts using critical reading skills, and identify useful and reliable sources when doing research.
  • Students will write sentences, paragraphs, and essays using connecting expressions and developing ideas with supporting evidence; follow the conventions of standard paragraph and essay format; and synthesize and cite information from various sources.
  • Students will accurately use grammatical structures of greater complexity as well as employ vocabulary of increasing variety and precision.