2022/2023

CONTENTS

Welcome…………………………………………………………………………2
About the Centre for Language Learning………………………………………..3
About the EFL Programme………………………………………………………4
Academic Calendar………………………………………………………………4
Registration………………………………………………………………………5
Course outline……………………………………………………………………6
Course objectives………………………………………………………………...7
Course content…………………………………………………………………...8
Language functions………………………………………………………………9
Assessment………………………………………………………………………10
Resources………………………………………………………………………...12
EFL policy……………………………………………………………………….14
Immigration……………………………………………………………………...16
Timetable…….…………………………………………………………………..18
Public holidays…………………………………………………………………..18
FAQ’s……………………………………………………………………………19

ESL STUDENT HANDBOOK @CLLUWI

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 WELCOME

WELCOME
TO
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
The University of the West Indies welcomes students from all over the world.
The St. Augustine Campus is one of the five campuses that make up the UWI.
Other campuses are located in Barbados (Cave Hill) and Jamaica (Mona) the
web-based campus (Open Campus) and the Five Islands campus.
The St. Augustine Campus is an attractive campus situated 15 kilometres east
of Port of Spain (the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago), with a
distinctive mix of early 20th century and modern architecture and rich
landscape of indigenous and introduced trees and shrubs.
It comprises eight (8) faculties:
 Engineering • Medical Sciences
 Food and Agriculture • Science and Technology
 Humanities and Education • Social Sciences
 Law • Sport

Its graduate institutions are the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business, the
Institute of International Relations and the Sir Arthur Lewis School of
Economics.
For information regarding the University’s research units and centres, visit:
www.sta.uwi.edu/research/

ESL @CLLUWI
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STUDENTHANDBOOK
HANDBOOK2022/2023 @CLLUWI
www.sta.uwi.edu/fhe/cll/
https://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/cll/
2014
ABOUT THE CENTRE

WELCOME
TO
THE CENTRE FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING (CLL)

The Centre for Language Learning (CLL) is a department under the Faculty of
Humanities and Education. It was established in 1997. We offer courses in Arabic,
(Mandarin) Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean,
Portuguese, Spanish, and Yoruba and English as a Second Language. With our
state-of-the-art facilities, small, highly interactive classes, dynamic staff and
supportive learning environment, we invite you to embark on a journey of a
lifetime.

@CLLUWI
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ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

English as a Foreign Language at the University of the West Indies,

St. Augustine

The English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Programme has provided international

students with quality English language tuition for over twenty years. In the last ten
years, it has expanded to facilitate the English language learning needs of the
Caribbean and South America.

Our qualified and experienced EFL staff members are specialists who are committed
to providing learners with a high standard of English language proficiency to serve
their student and career goals. As learners develop all four skills – speaking, listening,
reading and writing – through cultural immersion and diverse opportunities to practice,
they emerge as more confident language users of the English language.

ESL ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2022/2023

October 3 - 28, 2022

November 7 - December 2, 2022
January 9 - February 3, 2023
February 6 - March 3, 2023
March 6 - 31, 2023
April 3 - 28, 2023
May 1 –26, 2023
June 5 - 30, 2023
July 3 – 28, 2023

@CLLUWI
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REGISTRATION

How do I register for an EFL course?

On the CLL ESL webpage click on this icon to access the registration form.

Submit your registration form using the live form.

@CLLUWI
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COURSE OUTLINE

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 Each module comprises 50 contact hours. A level is comprised of three

modules I, II and III. To ensure that learners benefit from the total number of
hours, there are twelve and a half (12.5) hours of classes per week for a period
of four (4) weeks.
 A skills-based syllabus is employed where the following components are
equally weighed: Grammar, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.
 Skills are practiced in classes under the guidance of a tutor. It is important
however that the learner take charge of his/her learning in an appealing, varied
and supportive environment.
 Courses in General English are offered to those who have either completed the
pre-requisite course, or so qualify after placement. satisfactorily on a given
placement test.

TEACHING STRATEGIES

Both inductive and deductive strategies are employed in the EFL

classroom. The teacher’s role is that of a guide and it is expected that
students take responsibility for their own learning, i.e. students are
expected to use their own initiative, asking questions to seek
clarification, promoting discussion as well as speaking to English-
speakers outside of class time in order to maximize the learning
process.

@CLLUWI
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COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of a level, students will be able to do the following:

ELEMENTARY PRE-INTERMEDIATE INTERMEDIATE UPPER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

 Use simple phrases  Use spoken English in a  Begin conversation on  Communicate effectively  Analyze the systems
and sentences to more natural way. various topics. in everyday situations – of language in use.
describe what they personal and factual
do, where they live, topics.
people and places
they know.

 Ask and answer  Extend and build on the bank  Communicate with native  Compose and understand  Read and listen to a
simple questions on of already acquired speakers in the texts on personal and variety of
familiar topics and in vocabulary. appropriate register. factual topics. challenging and
areas of immediate interesting text-
need. types.

 Interact using simple  Produce paragraphs using  Write longer personal  Compose and understand  Give opinions and
topics once the other grammatical structures letters and simple business texts on non-technical participate in
person is prepared to learnt. letters. narrative and description discussions and
repeat or rephrase appropriate to this level. role-plays.
ideas at a slower rate
of speech.

 Write a short, simple  Become cognizant of  Summarize short  Develop writing

messages and techniques and strategies in selections of text. skills in a variety of
postcards, fill in second language acquisition. genres.
forms with personal
details.

@CLLUWI
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COURSE CONTENT

Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing classes will either highlight/reinforce grammatical structures taught, or other structures
and themes considered relevant to this level and drawn from independent sources.
ELEMENTARY PRE-INTERMEDIATE INTERMEDIATE UPPER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

 Verb ‘to be’ with  Present Simple  Auxiliary Verbs  Review of the tense  Avoiding Repetition
possessive adjectives,  Present Continuous  Present Simple system  Tense Review
possessive ‘s, questions  Present Perfect  Present Continuous  Present Perfect  Adverb Collocations
and negatives and short  Past Simple  Present Perfect
answers.  Past Continuous Continuous
 The Present Simple  Past Simple  Modals of Obligation and  Narrative Tenses  Discourse Markers
 There is/are, prepositions  Past Continuous Permission  Passive Voice  Ways of adding
of place  Future Forms (going to  Question Formation emphasis
and will)  Distancing the facts
 How many?  Quantity  Verb Patterns  Forming negatives  Modal Auxiliary
 Some, any  Articles  Present Perfect Simple  Future Forms Verbs
 Much, many  Future (going to and will)  Phrasal Verbs  Expressing Quantity/  Real and Unreal
 A, some  Comparative and  First, Second and Zero Count Nouns Tense Usage
 This, that, these, those Superlative Adjectives Conditional  Modals  Verb Patterns
 Can, can’t, could  Time Clauses  Phrasal Verbs + Get
 Past Simple  Time and Conditional  Modals of Probability  Relative Clauses and  Intensifying
 Adverbs Clauses  Present Perfect Participles Adverbs
 Count and uncount nouns  Verb Patterns Continuous  Expressing Habit  Relatives and Past
 Comparatives and  Second Conditional  Time Expressions  Conditionals/ Participles
superlatives  Indirect Questions Hypothesizing  Linking Devices
 Present Continuous  Question Tags  Prepositions
 Going to  Reported Speech
 Question forms

@CLLUWI
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LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

The following language functions will be developed over the course of the level:
ELEMENTARY PRE-INTERMEDIATE INTERMEDIATE UPPER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

 Giving Directions.  Asking and answering  Asking questions, using  Talking & writing about  Following the main
 Describing habits and personal questions. negatives and giving short events in the past, using points in linguistically
routines.  Exchanging information answers. regular & irregular verbs. complex academic
 Describing people, about various activities.  Talking about sports and  Asking & answering and professional
places, food, the weather. leisure activities. questions about life presentations, reports
experiences. and lectures.
 Giving personal  Talking about events in the  Talking about events in the  Using passives to describe  Interacting fluently on
information. past using regular and past using regular and processes or systems. general matters and in
irregular verbs. irregular verbs.  Recognizing & using his/her field of
 Storytelling.  Giving opinions. technical vocabulary. specialization.
 Greetings.  Asking for information and  Making requests and offers.  Summarizing &  Using synonymous
 Making polite requests. providing answers in  Making suggestions. paraphrasing a text. words and
 Making suggestions. “shopping” situations.  Hypothesizing.  Giving advice & making expressions.
 Talking about hopes and deductions.  Expressing spoken
ambitions.  Expressing wishes & regrets. and written points of
view explicitly or
implicitly.
 Telling the time.  Giving opinions.  Presenting oral and written  Giving written views for/  Manipulating
 Understanding and using  Making suggestions. discourse on everyday against a subject. connectors in spoken
numbers.  Making plans. topics.  Using connecting sentences and written discourse
 Understanding and using  Hypothesizing.  Summarizing ideas. in texts. with ease.
prices.  Listening for the gist & for  Producing clear, well-
specific information. structured detailed
texts on a wide range
of topics.

@CLLUWI
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ASSESSMENT

EVALUATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

The four-week course is evaluated

through 100% continuous in-course
assessment. Evaluations will take
place on the final Friday. Students
who are absent for testing, will be
allowed to sit the tests in the coming
week ONLY if there is documented
proof of illness or an emergency.

@CLLUWI
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ASSESSMENT

How to study:
Other than using the prescribed texts for the purposes of study and consolidation,
reading newspaper/magazine articles and other texts in English no doubt improves
the student’s comprehension and written skills. Communication skills can be
practiced by consistently engaging in conversation with English speakers.

STUDENTS WILL BE ASSESSED IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

AREAS OF ASSESSMENT PERCENTAGE

ELE. – ADVANCED
Grammar & Vocabulary 10%
Listening 10%
Speaking 10%
Reading 10%
Writing 10%

GRADING SYSTEM

GRADE MARKING RANGE

A+ 90-100
A 80-89
A- 75-79
B+ 70-74
B 65-69
B- 60-64
C+ 55-59
C 50-54
F1 45-49
F2 40-44
F3 0-39

@CLLUWI
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RESOURCES

In class -
 The text required for these courses is the New Headway Elementary/Pre-
Intermediate/Intermediate/Upper-Intermediate English Course (Student’s
Book) and accompanying workbook.
 Material will be drawn from the abovementioned text as well as from other
sources to ensure that the syllabus is covered. It is up to the students to complete
grammar exercises in their workbooks and check these against the answer keys.
 Purchasing a monolingual or bilingual dictionary is recommended, although for
the higher levels a monolingual dictionary is preferable.
 The required text does not represent a course outline, and therefore does not
require completion.
 Supplementary material for skills classes will be provided by the tutor(s) in the
form of handouts.

@CLLUWI
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RESOURCES

Online Resources -

The following are recommended websites that students may visit for the purposes of
practicing English:

1. http://www.englishjobmaze.com/ejmlinks2.htm
2. http://www.answerenglish.co.uk/
3. http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/
4. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslstudent.html
5. http://www.scc.losrios.edu/~langlit/esl/practice.htm/
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswis/
7. http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/
8. http://towerofenglish.com/

@CLLUWI
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ESL POLICY

Attendance policy -

 Students are asked to be punctual for all

sessions.

 Student attendance will be noted daily by

teachers.
 In order to be eligible for an official record, a student can miss NO MORE
THAN 5 contact hours overall.
 Students should inform the relevant teacher if they are going to be absent or
late for class by email, telephone or note. Make-up sessions will be at the
discretion of teacher and ESL administration.

Communication Policy -

 It is recommended that student issues not be dealt with

during class time.

 Individual teachers will inform students of their preferred method of contact, i.e.
by telephone or email.

@CLLUWI
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EFL POLICY

Classroom Etiquette

 It is expected that cell phones be turned off during class time. This is in
accordance with a directive taken at the Academic Board at the University
of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus dated 05 April 2002, which
states, “All mobile/cell phones must be switched off before entering
lecture rooms for lectures/seminars, tutorials.”

 Students should arrive punctually to the class session. This minimizes the
chance of lost time and is a mark of respect for both the teacher and fellow
classmates.

 Students are asked to maintain appropriate behaviour and language during

the class session.

 All assignments including homework are to be duly completed.

@CLLUWI
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 PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Please note that on public holidays in Trinidad & Tobago, no classes will be held.
The timetable has been adjusted to ensure the total of at least 50 hours is delivered.
Public holidays in Trinidad & Tobago for 2023 are listed below:

DATE HOLIDAY DATE HOLIDAY

2 January New Year’s Day 1 August Emancipation Day

20 & 21 February Carnival Monday 31 August Independence Day

and Tuesday

Spiritual Baptist 24 September Republic Day

30 March Liberation Day

7 April Good Friday 13 November Divali

10 April Easter Monday

22 April Eid-ul-Fitr 25th December Christmas Day

31 May Indian Arrival Day 26th December Boxing Day

8 June Corpus Christi

19 June Labour Day

@CLLUWI
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FAQ’s

1. When can I apply for a refund of caution money?

The Caution Money is refundable only when you are leaving The University and will
be returned at that time after the amount of any outstanding liability to The University
has been deducted.

2. How do I apply for a refund of caution money?

You must complete an Application for Refund of Caution Money form, have it signed
by the Library and the Faculty in which you were registered and return it, along with
your UWI Student ID Card, to the Customer Service Centre at The Lloyd Braithwaite
Student Administration Building.

3. How is Caution Money used?

Caution Money may be applied to cover library fines, charges to breakages, or Hall
charges during a course of study. If it becomes exhausted before the end of an academic
year, you will be called upon to replenish it.

4. When can I expect to receive the refund of Caution Money?

Caution Money will NOT be refunded until three (3) months after the completion of
studies or withdrawal from the University, providing that an “Application for Refund of
Caution Money” form was submitted.

@CLLUWI
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