English language learners in the Greater Birmingham area have an opportunity to expand their knowledge and language skills at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s free community English classes. The English classes are offered Thursday evenings and Friday mornings for learners at all levels.
Hosted by the UAB School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the English language classes serve as a training program for the master’s program in teaching English as a second language. Classes are taught by graduate students who are being trained to become teachers of English as an international language, in order to teach in intensive English programs within American universities or to teach abroad. The English classes take an integrated skills approach and include integrated listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar skills into the lessons.
English language learners will take a placement test that evaluates listening, speaking, reading and writing English language knowledge to place learners in the appropriate level class. A placement test is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the UAB Education Building, 901 13th St. South, Room 111.
Two classes with five different levels, ranging from emerging English language learners to advanced, will be offered every Thursday from 7:30-9 p.m., running Jan. 30 through April 23, and every Friday from 9:30-11 a.m., running Jan. 31 through April 24. For the Thursday and Friday classes, additional registration dates and times for the spring semester will be Thursday, Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m. and March 26 at 6:30 p.m.
Child care for children ages 3-10 years will be available for classes offered Thursday evening and Friday morning.
New in 2020 is English Classes for Specific Purposes. This new program offers three free 10-week English courses for intermediate and advanced levels, including a TOEFL prep class, IELTS prep class, and a writing class for college and the workplace. English learners may take both the Thursday and Friday classes as well as the classes for specific purposes. Registration and placement for these specialized classes will be Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the UAB Education Building, 901 13th St. South, Room 111. Classes will be held Monday through Wednesday from 6:30-7:45 p.m. from Feb. 3 through April 8.
These community English classes are a well-established tradition within UAB’s international community, having taken place on campus for more than 20 years. UAB’s community English classes are offered at no cost to the participants. For more information, contact Josephine Prado, Ph.D., assistant professor of English learner education, at 205-975-5045 or jprado@uab.edu.