English for Liberal Arts Program (ELA)
Enhance your ability to think in English
In addition to increasing students' facility with English, the English for Liberal Arts Program (ELA) enhances their capacity for critical thinking and cultivates the skills necessary to study effectively at ICU. Consequently, this is a very important introductory program to a liberal arts education.
The majority of April entrants study in the ELA intensively during their first year at ICU. Students are placed into Streams 1, 2, 3, or 4 based on their English proficiency. In each Stream, students are divided into small-size classes of approximately 20 students, which are called "sections". Depending on the Stream, students take 4-11 periods of ELA classes every week.
Students read college-level articles on topics such as "Intercultural Communication" and "Bioethics", discuss and present ideas and opinions, and write papers on each topic. Through such academic activities, students learn to be critical, creative and independent thinkers in English. In addition, the intensive English learning environment prepares students to take liberal arts courses in English.
ELA: We want students to acquire the critical and creative thinking skills that are applicable in a global society in this intensive English learning environment.
Senior Lecturer, Director of the English for Liberal Arts Program
The English for Liberal Arts program (ELA) aims to accomplish two goals. The first is to help students acquire English proficiency, and the second is to promote the acquisition of critical thinking and study skills for academic work. In order to meet these two goals, the ELA classes are taught solely in English in small-size groups of approximately 20 students.
The ELA provides customized instruction to meet each student's needs and proficiency. Through actively interacting with teachers and classmates, students learn a range of academic skills in English, including reading academic materials critically and analytically, discussing and presenting ideas and opinions, note-taking, listening and responding to what other students have to say, and writing academic papers. Students also participate in individual tutorials with teachers to help improve their academic writing.
The types of questions and activities in the ELA are designed to make the students think critically and creatively. For example, when studying "Issues of Race" in the Autumn Term, the students are asked to create a system for classifying "human beings." They are then asked to answer questions such as:
- How do we categorize humans?
- How should we categorize humans?
- What is the point of categorizing humans in the first place?
In the ELA, you will not "study" English. Instead, you will be invited to take a journey through which you discover how to be critical, creative, and independent thinkers as you "use" English.
We hope that you will take full advantage of the opportunities offered at ICU. In order to do so, we also hope that you will take on the challenge of the ELA; we are ready to support you.
Customized instruction to meet each student's needs and proficiency
The aim of the education in the ELA is to acquire academic English skills and critical thinking skills, which are necessary for the liberal arts education at ICU. The courses are conducted in small-size classes of approximately 20 students, and instructors provide intense guidance depending on the English proficiency and needs of each student.
In the core courses of the curriculum (ARW and RCA), classes are conducted 2-3 times a week, and in addition, there are tutorials. The same instructor meets the students several times a week, so they are well aware of the students' strengths and weaknesses. The core courses are taught by full-time instructors and students can make an appointment to see the instructor when needed.
This intensive, customized instruction is a unique feature of the ELA, which is described in details below.
Streaming
Students are placed in Streams 1, 2, 3, or 4 based on Placement Test results, as well as their overseas experience and academic writing experience. In order to place students in the most appropriate stream, some students are interviewed to more accurately evaluate their communication skills, vocabulary, grammar, and logical thinking skills. Stream 1 has the highest English proficiency and approximately 20 students are placed in this stream. Stream 2 consists of approximately 80-100 students. Stream 3 is the largest stream with approximately 340-360 students, and the English proficiency of this stream is the average level for April students. Stream 4 students, who require more support in vocabulary, grammar, and listening skills, consists of approximately 120 students. Students in each stream are divided into "sections" of about 20 students for most of their classes.
Streaming Procedure
Intensive
Students take 4-11 class periods per week depending on their stream. For example, Stream 3 has 9 class periods per week. In addition to the classes outlined in the diagram above, students will also attend tutorials and will be given homework assignments to prepare for each class. Apart from the ELA, students usually take General Education course, Physical Education course, and Foundation course in their first year, however, a significant portion of first year study is allotted to the ELA.
All the assignments in ELA are in English and some of them are extremely time-consuming. Although students may require some time to become acclimated to the rhythm and intensity of the classes, they eventually feel their English improving. Upon completion of the ELA, students will be reading, writing, listening and speaking English with confidence.
Stream 3 Model Schedule
Small class size
Students learn and get used to expressing themselves well by taking classes which emphasize group discussion and interaction with other students and instructors. When working on such topic as "Intercultural Communication" and "Bioethics", students first read articles on the topic, and then they are asked for their opinions. At first, students accept what is written without question, but eventually they learn to express their own thoughts and ideas.
At the same time, through group discussion and presentation, students become aware of the fact that what they believe as common knowledge or common sense is not true for everyone, and that their way of thinking might have been based on their own stereotypes. By learning this, they also begin to acquire the skill of listening to others, and learning how to reach a consensus. In addition, students are given numerous assignments in which they have to work together with their classmates using a problem-solving approach, which enhances their ability to work with others.
Tutorials
ARW (Academic Reading & Writing) and RCA (Reading & Content Analysis) are the core courses of the ELA and in both of these courses tutorials are an integral part of the curriculum. In principle, ARW has tutorials twice a week, and RCA once a week. However, students can make an appointment for additional tutorials in consultation with teachers.
Tutorials are an effective way to develop the students' ability to think. Rather than giving students direct answers to their questions, the instructor will try to elicit answers from the students. Through the dialogue that ensues, students are encouraged to think more deeply. The main aim of tutorials is to make students autonomous learners, which in turn will help them to become lifelong learners.
Teaching English through English
All the ELA classes are conducted in English. Students read academic articles, conduct discussions, make presentations, and write academic essays, all in English. Reading college-level English academic articles and discussing the content in English is very demanding for students learning English as a second language. However, engaging in this process repeatedly with the support of the instructors helps the students to realize that their English proficiency is improving.
ELA Courses
ELA consist of the two core courses, ARW (Academic Reading & Writing) and RCA (Reading & Content Analysis). These two core courses interact by working on the same topic such as "Intercultural Communication" and "Bioethics". AS (Academic Skills) is a set of courses that support the core courses. All students take RW (Research Writing) at the end of the program, which prepares students for the study in their majors.
The period required for completing the core courses varies by stream. Stream 1 completes ARW in one term, while Streams 3 and 4 take three terms to complete ARW/RCA and then take RW in their second year.
| ARW | Students of Streams 1, 2, 3, and 4 take this course. Courses are taught mainly by native English-speaking instructors and include individual tutorials as an important part of the course. ARW courses use academic topics students are interested in to increase their reading comprehension, critical thinking and writing skills. |
|---|---|
| RCA | Students of Streams 3 and 4 take this course. Courses are taught mainly by Japanese instructors and include tutorials. Students read academic papers and learn to improve their reading skills and strategies with the overall aim of acquiring higher analytical skills. |
| AS | Students of Streams 2, 3, and 4 take this course. AS courses teach students various skills necessary for study at the university level, including notetaking, building vocabulary, participating in discussions, and giving presentations. |
| RW | All students complete their study in the ELA by taking the Research Writing course. The course is topic-based and requires the students to complete a fully-documented research paper of 1,500 - 2,000 words. During the process of writing the paper, the students are required to produce multiple drafts and attend numerous tutorials. |
Advanced English Studies
Additional classes are offered for students who have completed their ELA courses but who still want more English language study. These courses can be taken for elective credits. These include courses in TOEFL/ IELTS preparation and improvement of presentation skills.
Experience the ELA classes!
You can experience the actual ELA classes throughICU OpenCourseWare.
