"Making Sense of the News" was offered for the first time at ELI in November. Initial interest in the class was so strong that two sections were taught by Barbara Gillette and creator Patience Phillips. Students eager to keep up to date worked on their listening and speaking skills while they learned about events happening in the U.S. and around the world. The "textbook" for the class was the news itself--as it was presented on radio and television broadcasts, newspapers and the Internet. It a was fascinating news season, with the U.S. elections, the crisis in Zaire and both Russia and the U.S. in space. Students also learned how Americans viewed important news stories by developing questionnaires and conducting their own surverys.
Faculty and students welcomed another new addition to ELI's content-based course offerings: English through Health for the International Student. The new Advanced Listening/Speaking class, designed and taught by ELI instructor Grant Wolf, offers students challenging work in oral communication and listening skills, while also providing an overview of health issues relevant to international students. The course includes such topics as nutrition, exercise, counseling, substance abuse, sleep, AIDS, and both conventional and alternative medical care. Students are given many opportunities to interact with native speakers through guest lectures, field trips and out-of-class interviews. Authentic television news segments, as well as the World Wide Web, are also utilized extensively, with students being encouraged to discover and to share information which will help maximize their own well-being while studying in the U.S.