Placement Test Information Students are given listening and oral interview placement tests on the first day of the session. These tests help us place you into one of five levels:
Basic: For students who need beginning English for survival situations.
High Basic: For students continuing their studies in English, who are beginning to be able to converse with native speakers of English in everyday, simple situations.
Intermediate: For students who are able to have simple conversations on a variety of concrete topics related to personal interests and familiar situations.
High Intermediate: For students who are becoming more comfortable with the English language, and who are ready to begin using more complex English to discuss opinions, beliefs, and feelings related to more abstract topics.
Advanced: For students who have a good grasp of the language, but need to practice understanding of, and communicating in, more complex information, and who need to work on perfecting their accuracy of the language.
Class Times Winter and Spring NICE classes meet from 12:30 PM to 4:20 PM and Summer NICE classes meet from 8:30 AM to 12:20PM. Please see the program calendar for testing and graduation days as well as for other scheduled events.
Textbooks No textbooks are required; teachers provide all handouts and other materials.
Classrooms NICE classes are held in various classrooms on the UH campus. Use your campus map to help you find your rooms. Your teachers and the office staff can also help you. Since classroom temperatures might be cold, it is a good idea to carry a sweater or jacket with you.
Teachers Most hold advanced degrees in teaching English as a Second Language, Linguistics, or related fields. Typically, they have many years of experience in teaching English to speakers of other languages ; all want to provide quality instruction to each student.
Homework Teachers usually give 1 hour of homework each night. This offers you more practice with the skills learned in class, and helps you to prepare for future activities. You should always complete your homework assignments.