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POLICY REGARDING ENGLISH
AT IMPERIAL COLLEGE of TORONTO
(revised,
January, 2005)
Students
from Asia Countries come to Canada with a very strong educational background,
especially in Mathematics and Science. However, the level of English
proficiency is not as strong. In native countries they have studied English as a Second Language (ESL) and often have a good knowledge of grammar.
They tend to have weak listening and reading comprehension; weak writing
skills; and are not very confident speaking, due to lack of practice. They
have also not studied English literature.
In
order to qualify for university here in Canada, students need to achieve
over 70% in university preparation English (ENG4U), as well as
achieving a T. O. E. F. L. score of over 550 (213
computer based). This is a very difficult task, given their language
skills. Students from Asia, almost always, will need to take additional
courses to help them prepare. In some cases this will involve further
courses in E. S. L. and in most cases, an introductory course in English, which will introduce them to analyzing literature and essay writing,
will be required. Students will be able to study university preparation
courses in other subjects at the same time and this should not mean a
delay in their university acceptance.
It
is the policy of Imperial College to test all incoming students to
determine their level of English proficiency. As
of September 2003, all Ontario students must meet an English Literacy
Standard in order to qualify for a high school diploma. This is met by
successfully passing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) which is written each October. Students who are not successful on this
test may satisfy the literacy requirement by successfully completing the Ontario
Secondary School Literacy Course (OLC4O), a credit course which we
will offer.
This
is done in the best interest of our students and will help ensure their
success at a university of their choice.
January
2005
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