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Graduate English Skills Program (GESP) Small class size Research paper writing Low textbook cost Literature review preparation and writing Weekly instructor conferences Accent reduction Scholarly text focus in your academic discipline Videotaped Presentations Technical vocabulary building in your academic discipline Academic Lecture Note-taking "Practicing English skills in the GESP program is advantageous for overseas students, like me. Especially the writing class, I found is very helpful as it guides me the way to structure and write my thesis in my final year. The reading and speaking classes are also good. They all helped improve my English for both studying and daily life." --Titti Saksornchai, GESP Summer 2002   General Description. GESP is an intensive English program for international graduate students. Students who have been accepted by the Graduate School and admitted to a graduate program (either conditionally or provisionally) as well as current graduate students are eligible for GESP. If students have a low verbal score on the GMAT or GRE, they can meet the UTA Graduate School and most graduate departments' English proficiency requirements by successfully completing GESP. Occasionally, exceptions are made to this policy; if interested, please contact the GESP Coordinator at gesp@iep.uta.edu. The workload for each class, Writing, Reading, and Listening/Speaking, is equivalent to a graduate-level class. Class Content. Each course is discipline-specific and content-based, so students use texts and journals in their discipline for their reading and writing assignments, presentations, accent reduction homework, and their vocabulary assignments. GESP Class Descriptions   Writing Write 4 persuasive and analysis papers on topics relevant to your discipline. Read, summarize, and analyze at least 20 articles from scholarly journals in your discipline. Use materials from scholarly journals to inform your writing. Follow documentation styles most commonly followed in your discipline. Write a full-length literature review. Recent Paper Titles The Detrimental Role of the IMF in the Recovery of Thailand's Economy The Questioning Method as a Teaching Tool BISDN and Future Broadband Communication Risk and On-line Information Security The Optimal Method to Reduce Loss in the Distribution System Systematic Risk in Bond Investments Phonetic Assessment of Korean Vowels Heat Exchangers: A Study of Parallel, Counter, and Cross-Flow Arrangements The Importance of Activity-Based Costing on Production Activities Globalization: A New Era of Renaissance   "All my papers during my first year of graduate school came out great as a result of improved writing skills. The lessons from GESP writing class will remain with me and help me for the rest of my life." --Anant Dewan, GESP Summer 2002     Reading Read, summarize, and analyze at least 20 articles from scholarly journals in your discipline. Recognize and use the layout and style of scholarly material. Identify the most common collocations used to discuss topics in your discipline. Use a discipline-specific text to learn ways to increase your reading speed and comprehension of academic material. Use a discipline-specific text to learn ways to build your discipline-specific vocabulary. Master at least 100 academic and discipline-specific vocabulary words through repeated exposure via reading scholarly and textbook reading. Increase your comprehension when you learn how to draw inferences, identify assumptions and bias, and synthesize information. Continuously work on reading speed, reading comprehension, and vocabulary. Increase your comprehension and vocabulary when they keep a weekly reading journal: respond in writing and discuss in class a total of 40 articles on various topics. Representative Required Readings The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (chapter) (Thomas Kuhn) The Evolution of Management Thought (chapter) (Wren) History and the Present Day (chapter) (Braudel) "What Is Enlightenment?" (Immanuel Kant) Selected short stories (Langston Hughes) (Ernest Hemingway)     Listening & Speaking Learn pronunciation and how to reduce your accent. Work 1-on-1 with your instructor and with pronunciation software to reduce your accent. Present (teach) at least 5 lessons on topics in your disciplines. Listen to lectures and take notes from videotaped academic lectures. Listen to a variety of English accents in a videotaped lecture format. Recent Teaching Lessons Total Quality Management Continuous Auditing Acute Otitis Media Asthma Should the Balkans be Euroized? Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Cervical Cancer The Aging Process and Dementia Link to Pronunciation Practice     "Speaking/Listening class in GESP program enables me to make formal presentations as good as native speakers!" --Pai Yu (Quency) Kao, GESP Summer 2003 Students' home countries include: Bangladesh China Colombia India Indonesia Japan Korea Nepal Sudan Taiwan Thailand Turkey Uzbekistan Jordan Germany Albania Morocco Palestine Algeria Kenya Students' disciplines include: Accounting Civil Engineering Computer Science Engineering Education Electrical Engineering Finance Healthcare Administration Information Systems Landscape Architecture Linguistics Material Science Marketing Management MBA Nursing Psychology Psychology Real Estate Urban Development Mechanical Engineering Industrial Engineering Political Science Placement Testing GESP students must register for and pay a $50.00 placement-testing fee.  Students will need to register by the Friday before the week of placement testing, which for Fall 2008 is August 15, and will have to pay the placement-testing fee by the end of the testing week, which for Fall 2008 is August 22.  Students can register in person at the ELI main office in Hammond Hall 402 or via email with the GESP Coordinator.  Students can pay the placement-testing fee online with MyMav, or in person at the Bursar's Office.   NOTE: Students conditionally admitted on GESP probation to the UTA Graduate School will have their placement-testing fees waived by the English Language Institute (ELI). Prospective students (not yet admitted to the Graduate School) will have to first register with the ELI by sending to the GESP Coordinator their name, date of birth, address, and ID/SSN (if they have one, or the ELI will generate this number). Students will have to show their placement-testing fee receipt before placement results are released. Students who are returning to GESP from a previous semester do not need to and are not allowed to retake the placement tests.   Students who miss the regularly scheduled placement testing dates will need to pay a $25.00 late-testing fee.     Placement Testing: Fall 2008 Tuesday, August 19, 2008 9:00 AM Room: Trimble Hall 200 (NOT Trimble Hall 20) Late Testing: Fall 2008 Friday, August 22, 2008 9:00 AM Room: Trimble Hall 200 EVERY STUDENT WHO TAKES THE GESP PLACEMENT EXAM MUST PRESENT A CURRENT PHOTO I.D. BEFORE TAKING THE EXAM.   Explanation of Placement Scores Level 7 - Your English proficiency in this skill area is sufficient to do graduate-level work. Levels 6, 5, 4 - English instruction is necessary for you to meet graduate-level English proficiency. Level 6 - Proficiency in this skill area is weak and will interfere with your ability to do graduate-level work. Level 5 - Proficiency in this skill area is very weak and will limit your ability to do university-level work. Level 4 - Proficiency in this skill area is extremely weak. You may require two or more semesters of English instruction to achieve graduate-level English proficiency. Example Student Writing Reading Listening/Speaking A 6 7 5 B 4 6 6 Student A has graduate-level English proficiency in reading and needs English instruction for writing and listening/speaking. Student B needs English instruction in the 3 skill areas and may require 2 semesters to reach proficiency in writing.   Tuition Costs 1 Course 2 Courses 3 Courses Fall $999 $1,998 $2,997 Spring $999 $1,998 $2,997 Summer $665 $1,330 $1995 Books & Materials: $125.00 (full-time student) Health Insurance: $377 (approx.)   Class Dates and Hours   First Day of Classes: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 Room: TBA   Order of classes is subject to change. (see schedule below) L/S Writing Reading Tues 12:30-1:50pm 2:00-3:20pm 3:30-4:50pm Weds 12:30-1:50pm 2:00-3:20pm 3:30-4:50pm Thurs 12:30-1:50pm 2:00-3:20pm 3:30-4:50pm Fri 12:30-1:50pm 2:00-3:20pm 3:30-4:50pm For More Information contact the GESP Coordinator at gesp@iep.uta.edu   -last updated on 05 September 2004  © 1996 University of Texas at Arlington   [Back to top of page]