The CATESOL Journal

The article describes how the author created the curriculum for an advanced class of adult students at an Intensive English Program (IEP), and how she piloted the course during an 8-week summer program. The level of this class of 20 students from 9 different countries was distinctly above the usual 7 levels practiced at the IEP. Thus, there was no guidance, no texts, and no curriculum set for the course. Choosing the thematic approach suggested by Stoller and Grabe (1997), and settling on the theme of children and parents as presented in literature, the writer takes us through ways of creating background knowledge, keeping momentum, integrating all 4 skills, and approaching language learning through individual and interactive strategies.