English Department


Lise Prep Program

The English preparatory program is comprised of 20 hours of English lessons a week. Ten hours a week are given to a holistic, literature-based program that works on reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Five separate hours are given to intensive work on oral expression. The remaining five hours focus on writing skills and academic reading skills. As much as possible, teachers working in the three groups attempt to communicate about lessons and the progress of their students. By the end of the year, all students should be ready for a regular grade nine program, in which English, math, science, and certain electives are taught in English, using books and materials developed for native speakers.

Prep classes are of mixed English ability, with those students who come in with the least English being pulled out for extra lessons and a special language club. The program is very fast-paced, interactive, and literature and language based. The range of students’ English upon entering the school is considerable, given that the national exam tests math, science and Turkish and has no English component. Teachers must be comfortable and creative in working with these mixed-ability groups.

Lise 9 English Courses

There are two separate English courses in Lise 9: 2A, a fiction course, and 2B, a non-fiction and poetry course. In both of these courses the students develop skills which they began to acquire in Lise Prep. In 2A students read a selection of novels such as Catcher in the Rye and Bless Me, Ultima, plays such as The Crucible and Romeo and Juliet and a selection of short stories. During the year they work on improving their reading and critical thinking skills and are expected to be able to understand and interpret the works of literature they read. They also work on improving their writing skills. Students are expected to write regularly. In 2B the emphasis is on works of non-fiction and poetry. Students read Into Thin Air and Going Solo and a selection of essays, articles and poetry. They learn to analyze the rhetoric used by the authors they read and are expected to develop their own writing accordingly. In this course students also begin analyzing advertisements and how they work. In both courses students are expected to participate orally in a wide variety of classroom pair and group activities.

Lise 10 Core Course

All Lise 10 students must take this course in order to prepare for the elective courses they will take in Lise 11 and 12. In this literature based course, students further develop their English and critical thinking skills through reading and writing about literature. During the course of the year students will read and analyze fiction from various genres and forms, including a short story collection, novels (Siddhartha, The Virgin and the Gipsy, The Great Gatsby, 1984), and drama (Macbeth, Amadeus).

During their Lise 11 and L12 years students, may choose their English courses from a list of electives.