Program Curriculum

Classroom Highlights

Learn from a Customized Curriculum

We have designed a curriculum to challenge your mind and to build your skills in English, whether you come to the U.S. as a beginning, intermediate, or advanced speaker. Our dedicated teachers will tailor this curriculum to your needs to help you achieve your goals for growth in English language proficiency.

Reading

You will delve into the lives of great American authors as they remember stories from their own childhoods. This window on American culture through literature will enrich your understanding of current films and television produced in the U.S.

Writing

Travel creates a perfect reason to write. Our writing class will inspire you with ideas for your own travel journal as you practice narrative and descriptive essay styles at your level of English.

Listening

A selection of recent feature films will give you a rich listening comprehension experience. You will practice listening with intent as you watch scenes of people on cross-cultural journeys and discuss themes from the films with your classmates.

Engage in a Capstone Project

In the Intensive ESL Program, you will work with a group of classmates to prepare a presentation about your culture to share with the Northwest University community. This is your chance to teach your U.S. campus hosts about your culture, history, and values.

Invest in Teacher Training

In addition to Intensive ESL classes at a suitably advanced level, the Teacher Training Institute also provides lectures by experienced classroom teachers and faculty in the College of Education at Northwest University.

Share from Your Portfolio

Teacher Training Institute participants will complete a portfolio project to build resources they can use in their own classrooms. At the end of the program, each participant will present one lesson from their portfolio for discussion with the group.

Learn Outside the Classroom

Field trips around Seattle form an integral part of the Exchange experience. Northwest University students and teachers serve as Culture Guides for these activities. From the birds-eye view at the top of the Space Needle to hands-on interaction with exhibits at the Seattle Aquarium and Pacific Science Center, you will have plenty of chances to use new vocabulary, to ask good questions, and to engage with the Pacific Northwest region.

Activities may include: Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Science Center, Museum of Flight, EMP (Experience Music Project) Museum, Seattle Aquarium, Sports Workshop, Lake Washington Boat Cruise, Mariners Baseball Game, Seattle Premium Outlet Shopping, Movie Nights, and more!