1. Graduate English Skills Program (GESP): Mastering Academic Skills
Paper Presentation
Nancy Baum
GESP Coordinator & Instructor
English Language Institute
The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX
nbaum@eli.uta.edu
(817) 272-7576
TEXTESOL V Conference
Tarrant County College – Northeast Campus
October 2, 2004
2:15 – 3:00 p.m.
NACB Building
Room #1104
(40 copies)
I. Basic Background Information
A. How Students Enroll in GESP
1. Academic Departments Accept w/ Graduate School
a. Disciplines
b. Native Countries
2. Referred for GESP Placement Testing (conditional admission)
3. Exceptions (ELI I-20)
4. Level 7 = Passing (no GESP needed)
5. Lower Levels (GESP is needed); all students in same class
B. How Students Exit GESP
1. 85% (+) average course grade
2. Those below must repeat
3. Sum04 – Writing +2 levels; Reading +13%; Listening + 5%

2. II. Typical Standardized Test Scores
C. TOEFL - 217 CBT
D. TOEFL - 531 Paper-Based
E. GRE/GMAT - 24 (Verbal)
III. Brief Overview of GESP
This paper presentation will provide an extended summary and description of the
Graduate English Skills Program (GESP) of the ELI at the University of Texas at
Arlington. Explanatory handouts and audiovisual aids will facilitate the paper
presentation. GESP is the comprehensive intensive English program for international
graduate students who have been accepted by the Graduate School and admitted to a
graduate program (either conditionally or provisionally).
The philosophy of GESP is teaching the specific academic skills
needed to survive in graduate school and then requiring repeated practice of
those skills. The workload for each GESP class (writing, reading, and
listening/speaking/pronunciation) is equivalent to a graduate-level class.
GESP instructors assign a great deal of work and challenge students;
likewise, instructors must be always available to encourage and work with
students outside of class—giving vital feedback for improvement.
Each class is discipline-specific and content-based; therefore, students use texts
and journals in their respective disciplines for their reading and writing assignments,
presentations, accent reduction homework, and their vocabulary. Students write a total of
four persuasive and analysis research papers relevant to their respective disciplines and
cite only scholarly journal articles. Further, they read a minimum of twenty scholarly
journal articles, which they choose from their discipline and master a minimum of 100

3. academic and discipline-specific vocabulary words. Finally, students teach at least five
videotaped lessons in their discipline, intensively practice lecture note taking, and
continuously work on accent reduction through individualized feedback and instruction.
IV. 3 Skill Areas of GESP : Writing, Reading, L/S
A. Specific Writing Skills
1. Read a minimum of 20 scholarly journal articles
a. OH: 7 sections of scholarly article
2. Complete an extensive summary sheet for each article
(objective & subjective responses)
3. Write 4 research papers (2 pages – 12 pages)
a. Persuasive
b. Analysis
c. OH: The Writing Process (STRICT adherence)
4. Follow documentation style used in respective discipline
5. Cite scholarly sources only
a. In-depth practice with in-text citations: paraphrase,
summary, and quotation
6. Plagiarism
a. UTA’s Office for Academic Integrity (BROCHURE?)
b. Extensive Study of Intentional & Unintentional
7. Write a full-length literature review
8. Writing Journal (3 full-length essays per week)
9. Timed Writing Practice (essays)
10. Sentence Clarity (2 principles of clear writing)
11. Grammar Instruction (subordination, agreement, etc.)

4. B. Recent Paper Titles
• The Detrimental Role of the IMF in the Recovery of Thailand’s
Economy
• The Questioning Method as a Teaching Tool
• Risk and On-line Information Security
• Systematic Risk in Bond Investments
• Phonetic Assessment of Korean Vowels
C. Specific Reading Skills
4. Students read, summarize, and analyze at least 20 articles from
scholarly journals, respective to their disciplines.
5. Students recognize and use the layout and style of scholarly
material (7-section scholarly journal article).
6. Students identify the most common collocations used to discuss
topics in their disciplines (collocation dictionary and scholarly
article study).
7. Students use a discipline-specific text to increase their
- reading speed and comprehension of
academic material
- build discipline-specific vocabulary
- master at least 100 academic and
discipline-specific vocabulary words
through repeated exposure via reading
scholarly articles and textbooks.
8. Reading Strategies
a. Pronoun Reference
b. Repetition & Synonym Use

5. c. Logical Relationships/Connectors
d. Collocations (Collocation Dictionary & Journal Articles)
e. Critical Reading Skills (main idea, purpose, tone, fact vs.
opinion, inference, assumptions, author credibility, etc.)
f. Inference in Scholarly Articles
g. Synthesis
9. Speed Reading Strategies
10. SQ3R – textbook reading
11. Dense Sentence Structure Analysis
12. Reading Journal (30 selections) ranging from…
• The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Kuhn)
• The Evolution of Management Thought (Wren)
• History and the Present Day (Braudel)
• “What Is Enlightenment?” (Kant)
• Selected Short Stories including Langston Hughes and
Hemingway
C. Specific Listening & Speaking Skills
1. Listen to academic lectures (variety of topics)
a. “Evolution of the Stars” to “The American Political
Process”
a. Focus on taking good notes
b. Open-book exams (test on how well students take notes)
2. Dictations (twice weekly)

6. 3. Teach 5 videotaped lessons w/in their respective disciplines
a. Instructor evaluation
b. Peer Evaluation
c. “Successful GESP Presentations” Show VIDEO
4. Pronunciation
a. Pronunciation Recordings: each student receives diagnostic feedback
on vowels, consonants, sentence stress, rhythm, and intonation
b. Pronunciation Conferences: each student receives as much
individualized instruction as required in order to assist her to reduce
her accent
c. Pronunciation Power 2 software
d. David Allan Stearns
e. All Students receive instruction on English intonation, rhythm,
consonant and consonant cluster word endings,
5. ITA Pass Option for GESP L/S Students
REPRESENTATIVE LESSON TITLES
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7. Overheads: Many!
Audiovisuals:
“Successful GESP Presentations” Video
Handouts (on table):
Basic Outline of Paper
COBA Brochure for GESP
GESP Flyer
Skills Taught Respective of Skill Area (see old handout used for recruiting)
Collocation Dictionary