Introduction
The English Language Department at PSU offers a mandatory pre-university course, the Prep Year English Program (PYEP) and three separate undergraduate programs within the University English Program (UEP): Composition 1, Composition II, (Basic Report Writing) and Business Communication.

The PYEP is a six hundred-hour intensive course, spread over two semesters. The UEP courses are either 45-hour programs (Composition and Report Writing) or 30-hour programs (Business Communications) taking place during one semester.

A pass at C level or better in each part of the PYEP is obligatory for entering any university course. Each of the UEP courses is an accredited part of a main degree course. A student cannot graduate without passing each of these courses.


Objectives of the Preparatory Year Program
The Preparatory Year Program (PYP) offers a bridge between the students’ high school education and the degree-level course he will be taking (in English) in general science, computers, accounting, finance, and marketing. The main aim is to improve the students’ English language skills to the level required in freshman courses conducted in English. The English program is sharply focused on what the students will need to achieve success in freshman studies and beyond. It is not a general English program. It is an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program.

High school mathematics is reviewed to consolidate students skills and to introduce mathematical terminology in English. The Computer Department also conducts computer studies in English. In addition, students take two hours a week of physical education to help ensure they remain fit and healthy.


Objectives of the Preparatory Year English Program
The Preparatory Year English department is responsible for developing the language proficiency necessary for students to enter the main part of the university, where English is the medium of instruction. All students must take and pass the two-semester, 600 hour, Preparatory Year English course, before they can begin undergraduate studies.

The objectives of the Preparatory Year English program fall into two specific categories:

1. To raise students English language proficiency to a level that enables them to begin their university studies
2. Shaping students study habits and promoting self-reliance.

Category 1 involves:
- Building students technical and sub-technical vocabulary
- Developing skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, which includes:
- Tolerance of ambiguity and minimal redundancy in a message or situation
- The use of tabular information, charts and diagrams to anticipate and interpret written materials
- Stimulating and improving grammatical competence


Category 2 includes a strong emphasis on:
- Punctuality
- The importance of regular attendance as a minimal requirement for success
- The importance of compliance with university regulations
- The setting and planning of priorities
- The ability to work under pressure for long periods of time
- Basic library skills
- How to understand and follow instructions
- How to follow the format required for written assignments

Objectives of the University English Program
The University English Program is an accredited part of each major. A student may not qualify for a degree without a passing grade in each of the following courses:

ENGL-101 (English Composition I)
ENGL-103 (English Composition II – Report Writing)
COM-201 (Business Communication Skills)
COM-301 (Oral Communication of Technical Information)


Here is a brief description of each of the four courses:


English - 101 English Composition I Credit hours: 3.0 Prerequisite: ENGL-002

Course books
An Introduction to Academic Discourse, UEP publication, 1999 (Second Edition) The American Heritage Dictionary

This course is generally referred to as English 101. It is the bridge between the reading and writing skills taught in the OEP and the research report skills that are taught in Composition II and Technical Report Writing. The Coursework focuses on three areas: composition, reading and dictionary use.

The composition element of this introduction to academic discourse is organized on the basis of the principal methods of exposition (comparison, causal analysis, etc.) at the level of the sentence, paragraph and composition. Attention is also paid to such important aspects of text as coherence, unity, conciseness, and sentence readability; and to problem areas of grammar and sentence structure such as fragments, fused sentences, and subject-verb disagreement. The reading element focuses on ways to improve student reading of technically oriented textbooks, encyclopedias, and specialist periodicals. Finally, a significant part of the course attempts to teach students how to make use of a large monolingual dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary.


English - 103 English Composition II Credit hours: 3.0 Prerequisite: ENGL-101

Course books
Researching & Reporting, UEP publication, 1998 (Fourth Edition)
Composition II is generally referred to as English 103. The focus of the course is the production of a 600-800 word term paper on an assigned topic. The general objective of the course is to provide the students with the skills to write this paper.
The course starts with paraphrasing and the synthesis of ideas from several different sources. Library skills follow. Students are familiarized with the College library’s circulation and reference sections; they are taught how to locate printed materials by using the library’s computer catalog. Other basic research skills taught include the writing of bibliographies and the use of documentation. Finally, students are instructed in narrowing a topic, taking notes from sources and formatting a term paper.


COM - 201 Communication Skills Credit hours: 3.0 Prerequisite: ENGL-103
Communications Skills (Com 201) is a basic introductory course to communications and is designed to familiarize students with the concept of communications as a scientific discipline. The course is divided into two sections (Part-1 & Part-2) and each part is further divided into subjects.

Part-1: This is the theoretical section of the course in which students will look closely at the communications process. Topics will include: introduction to the field of communications, the process of human communications and listening, verbal and non-verbal communications, intrapersonal and interpersonal communications, small group and organizational communications, public and mass communications, and intercultural communications.

Part-2: This is the practical section of the course where students will learn to build essential skills for effective communications. Topics will include: interviewing, communication technology, making presentations, forms of business communications, running meetings and leading discussions, conducting surveys, negotiating, training and teamwork, and developing presentations.


Course Objectives
This course is intended to accomplish the following objectives:

‎Understanding - To assist students to understand: a broad range of communications
concepts, various communications contexts, and technological advances relating to means of communications.
‎
Critical Analysis - To increase students’ ability to analyze concepts and issues in communications and provide them with an improved understanding of interaction among people from different cultural backgrounds.
‎
Building Skills - To provide students’ with opportunities to build new and better communications skills in the following areas: interviewing, meeting, conducting surveys, negotiating, and managing people. Also to assist students’ development of presentation skills in the following business and management areas: designing and presenting business plans, marketing plans, project overviews, or strategy recommendations, selling an idea or product, and reporting progress.


COM-301 Oral Communication of Technical Information Credit hours: 3.0 Prerequisite: COM-201
Communications 301 is a practical communications skills course. Students will learn how to construct (research, document and design) and deliver information and speeches. They also will gain a deeper understanding of the uses of technology in the oral communications process. During the course, the students will make several presentations. Specific topics of study include: public speaking, the speech communication process, working with others, oral presentations, formal meetings, assertion and negotiation, using charts and diagrams, user documentation, on-line manuals, varieties of public speaking, and training users.

Course Objectives

- To deepen the student’s understanding of oral communications.
- To improve skills in other related areas of the communications process.
- To build skills on how to research and document sources of information and to compose meaningful speeches.
- To develop skills in using presentation technology, including the integration of visual aids and internet sites relating to topic content.
- To build skills on ways to command an audience’s attention and increase self-confidence while communicating in public