According to the Center for American Progress, “more than one out of four of all children in the United States are from immigrant families, and in most cases these children speak a language other than English at home.”
To better serve the growing population of ELL immigrant children (and their parents), we’ve added two intermediate level conversation courses to Transparent Language Online!
The Low Intermediate Conversations in English course helps adult learners build practical speaking skills through fun, realistic exchanges between adult characters living in the U.S. It's a natural next step after the English Essentials course, but learners already on the cusp of intermediate proficiency can also take it on its own.
The course has 27 online units, each about an hour long, and each unit combines three parts: vocabulary, grammar, and conversation. Online grammar lessons summarize each conversation while reinforcing the unit's grammar and vocabulary focus. Conversation activities have learners listen to the dialogue, practice pronunciation by role-playing one of the characters, and test their understanding with "What Would You Say?" exercises that ask them to choose the best reply in a realistic scenario.
Units cover everyday situations learners are likely to face, including: home life, going downtown, food and groceries, shopping at the mall, parties, dining out, health and fitness, hospital visits, work, school, and travel.
In "Going Downtown 1," for example, Cameron asks his mother, Laura, to borrow the family truck, and she agrees on the condition that he runs some errands while he's out. The grammar lesson introduces "wh-" question words and continues practice with the present progressive tense and the possessive pronouns "their," "his," "her," and "our." The conversation lesson teaches learners to talk about places in the city, make plans with friends, and find their way around town. The unit's vocabulary includes everyday words and phrases like "errand," "to pick someone up," "to fill up," "gas station," and "Drive safe!", along with notes on usage, such as the irregular past tense "drove." The "What Would You Say?" activity then applies these skills in a new scenario, in which a young woman named Jess asks her dad to borrow his car and answers his questions about her plans for the day.
One step up from Low Intermediate, the Intermediate Conversations in English course helps adult learners build the everyday language skills they need for life in the U.S. through a series of natural conversations. Learners follow a recurring cast of characters as they settle into life in the US. The course has 10 topics of 5 units each, built around practical situations such as renting an apartment or buying a car. Along the way, learners practice useful exchanges, learn key vocabulary and phrases, and work on grammar suited to their level. The full course takes about 90 hours to complete, and an accompanying e-workbook provides vocabulary lists and written conversation and grammar exercises for each topic.
In the first topic, Moving In, learners follow Elliott as he gets advice from an American friend about adjusting to life in the U.S., works with a real estate agent to prepare his lease documents, and tours a rental while comparing living costs in Britain and the U.S. The fifth unit then applies the topic's skills in a new scenario, in which two young professionals compare past moves and recent big purchases.
Across these units, learners practice asking about apartments by phone and email, describing types of housing and home features, asking questions about a rental agreement, discussing bills and utilities, and giving opinions with expressions like "definitely," "absolutely," and "not at all." Vocabulary covers household routines, chores and cleaning supplies, and home problems and maintenance, with words and phrases such as "lease," "tenant," "security deposit," "utilities," and "culture shock." The grammar focus is phrasal verbs and reciprocal pronouns.