English
Language
Program
Welcome!
The English Language Department at the Deanship of Preparatory Year and Supporting
Studies congratulates you on choosing our program and extends you a warm welcome! We
look forward to working with you to help you achieve your goals and to making the one year
you will spend with us enjoyable as well. Your accomplishments will, insha’Allah, make our
beloved country proud.
Vision
Leadership and academic excellence in teaching English locally, regionally, and internationally.
Mission
The DEL›s mission is to provide comprehensive English language courses that equip students
with the academic language skills needed for their undergraduate studies. We also aim to help
students to develop their intellectual, cultural, and creative potential.
The Objectives of the English Language Program
Objectives
The DEL has an ambitious -5year strategic plan (2025-2020. Below are 7 objectives to
help the DEL achieve its vision and mission.
[Link] develop the scientific knowledge and basic English skills students need in their future
majors.
[Link] provide students with the 21st century skills
[Link] continue professional development
[Link] support the practices of scientific research, publishing and innovation
[Link] promote Islamic, national, and cultural values
[Link] develop the DEL program for achieving the university competitiveness and excellence
[Link] provide an English-rich environment where courses are taught by native and near-native
English speakers, you will be given an opportunity to cultivate good communication skills.
[Link] help students transition from high school to undergraduate programs that place heavy
demands on all four communication skills.
[Link] train students in general English as well as in English for specific purposes, especially
in relation to fields such as medicine, science, and engineering.
Placement Test
All students who plan to join Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University are required to take a
placement test. Based on the results of this test, students will be placed in English classes for
Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced proficiency levels. The test comprises a written and
listening component worth %90, and a speaking component worth %10.
English Language Courses
The English language courses aim to help students to progress in all proficiency levels (beginner,
intermediate, advanced) to reach an exit benchmark C1. Students at beginner and intermediate
levels study two courses distributed over the two semesters (the first semester: general English
language, course 1, and in the second semester: general English language, course 2). Students
who do not pass the General English1- course in the first semester can retake it in the second
semester. If they do not pass it in the second semester, they lose their opportunity to complete
all the English language courses. As for advanced students, they study General English 2
only in one of the two semesters. The following illustrate the plan for General English 1 and
2 courses, which is based mainly on the Common European Framework of Reference for
Language Learning, Teaching and Assessment (CEFR), an international standard for the four
language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
General English - 01:
This is an intensive -17week course that consists of 16 and 12 contact hours per week for the
beginner and intermediate proficiency levels, respectively. The course is designed for A1 level
students and aims to improve their English language skills to advance from A1 to B1 for the
beginner level and from A2 to B1 for the intermediate level. The course is mainly practical and
includes a combination of face-to-face tutorials and lectures. The contact hours are distributed
as follows:
Credit Entry Exit
Course Title Contact hours Prerequisite
hours Benchmark Benchmark
General
Beginner Intermediate A1 A2
English – 01 4 B1 -
(16) (12) Beg. Inter.
ENGL101
General English 02-:
This is an intensive -19week course that consists of 10 contact hours per week. The course
is designed for B1 CEFR level students and aims to improve their English language skills to
advance from B1 to C1. The course is mainly practical and includes a combination of face-to-
face tutorials and lectures. The contact hours are distributed as follows:
Course Credit Contact hours Entry Exit Prerequisite
Title hours Benchmark Benchmark
General General
English - 02 3 10 contact hours B1 C1 English – 01
ENGL102 ENGL101
English Courses for the Colleges of Education and Kindergarten:
Course Credit Hours Contact Hours
General English – 01 ENGL111 3 Credit Hours 6
General English - 02 ENGL112 3 Credit Hours 6
Assessments Plan
# Assessment Grades Distribution Percentage
MCQs: vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening comprehension %7
1 Test 1 15 Writing %5
Speaking %3
MCQs: vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening comprehension %10
2 Test 2 20 Writing %7
Speaking %3
MCQs: vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening comprehension %16
3 Final Exam 40 Writing %16
Speaking %8
Writing Three writing assignments: (4/3/3 marks each) inside classroom
4 10 %10
Portfolio supervised by skill teachers
Blackboard grammar quizzes %1
Blackboard vocabulary quizzes %1
5 E-Learning 5
Discussion forum %1
Practice tests %2
Academic
6 5 Two academic presentations: 2.5 marks each %5
presentation
CPA (Class
7 5 Attendance & class participation %5
Participation)
Required Coursebooks
General English - 02 ENGL102 General English - 02 ENGL102
General English - 02 ENGL102
Beginner Intermediate
Books 2 ,1 and 3 Books 2 and 3 Books 4 and 5
Exemption from General English 01 and 02
All students are eligible for exemption (if they want to) from only General English 01 and 02
provided that:
Course Test Required score
An overall score of 5 out of 9, with no band score lower than 5
IELTS Academic
General English – (Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking)
01 ENGL101 An overall score of 48 out of 120, with no section score lower
TOEFL iBT
than 12 (Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking)
Course Test Required score
An overall score of 6 out of 9, with no band score lower than 6
IELTS Academic
General English – (Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking)
02 ENGL102 An overall score of 80 out of 120, with no section score lower
TOEFL iBT
than 20 (Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking)
• Please note that students who obtain an exemption, their GPA will be calculated
without ENGL 02/01
• Students are required to submit the exemption application by the end of the first
teaching week of the new academic year 2024-2023 online by using the line below:
[Link]
English for Academic and Specific Purposes (ENGL 103)
This is an intensive -19week course that consists of 6 contact hours per week. The course
is tailored for the following fields: medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, applied medical sciences,
nursing, public health, science, business administration, architecture, design, computer science,
engineering and humanities. It is taught only in the second semester. The aim of the course
is to train and familiarize students with the technical lexis, grammar and writing that they are
likely to encounter within their specializations.During this course, students will attain subject
specific knowledge and an understanding of the content as well as develop academic writing
and presentation skills.The course is mainly practical and includes a combination of face-to-
face tutorials and lectures. The contact hours are distributed as follows:
Credit Entry
Course Title Contact hours Prerequisite
hours Benchmark
English for Academic
& Specific Purposes 3 6 contact hours B1 -
ENGL 103
Assessment Plan of English for Academic and Specific Purposes
The students are tested at various points during the course. The distribution of grades is outlined
below:
# Assessment Grades Distribution Percentage
1 Test 1 15 MCQs: vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension %10
Writing %5
2 Test 2 25 MCQs: vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension %16
Writing %9
3 Final Exam 40 MCQs: vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension %30
Writing %10
4 Writing 10 Two writing assignments: (5 marks each) inside classroom %10
Portfolio supervised by skill teachers
5 Academic 5 One academic presentation %5
Presentation
6 CPA (Class 5 Attendance & class participation %5
Participation)
Required Coursebooks for English for Academic and Specific Purposes
Course College Textbook
Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Applied Medical English for Health Professions
Sciences and Pharmacy
College of Science English for Science Professions
College of Engineering English for Engineering Professions
College of Design (Science Stream) English for Design: Science Stream
English for
College of Design (Literary Stream) English for Design: Literary Stream
Academic &
College of Nursing Healthcare & Nursing
Specific Purposes
College of Public Health Healthcare & Nursing
College of IT & Computer Science English for IT & Computer Science
College of Business Administration English for Business Administration
College of Architecture & Planning English for Architecture
College of Education English for Educational Purposes
Writing Portfolio
Students are required to create and maintain a Writing Portfolio (WP). Guided by their teachers,
students will engage in writing activities in class on a weekly basis. Students complete in-class
writing activities; teachers review them and give students their suggestions for improvement
based on a publicized rubric/feedback form; students revise their work the following week and
resubmit the assignments together with their new in-class writing assignments. Students will
collect all the writing they produce and file their work in the WP. By the end of the course, it
is expected that the weekly writing activity will lead to students being able to produce coherent
paragraphs and essays that are free of significant lexical, syntactic, and organizational errors.
Passing the English Language Courses
• Students pass the English courses by getting a minimum of %60 in each course.
• If a student fails in the General English (101) in the first semester, the student may repeat
this course in the second semester. In the event that the student fails General English 101
for the second time, the student loses his chance to complete the program.
• In case that a student fails in English for Academic & Specific Purposes103, the student
may re-register for the course in the summer subject to the rules and regulations of the
University and the maximum credit hours allowed in the summer term.
Learning Support and Resources
The English Language Department endeavors to provide learning support for all students.
Learners who need additional help with their communication skills can avail themselves of
personalized help at our Learning Resources Center. A state-of-the-art language laboratory
provides outstanding opportunities for students to practice their oral skills. Some of these
facilities, operational currently on the Rakah Medical Campus, will be expanded to the other
campuses in the future.
Best Wishes!
