English for Specific Purposes: the Prison Management Certificate Program

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is provided to students in the Prison Management Certificate Program.  This program, under a partnership agreement between ONU and the Directorate of Prisons of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), brings cohorts of students to ONU for a two year term of study.  The ESP program helps students with the language skills needed for completion of that program, employing content-based English instruction as well as tutoring and highly focused seminars.  

The practical coursework is designed to instruct English language learners in group discussion and presentation strategies, listening and note-taking strategies, reading speed and comprehension as well as writing. Vocabulary development pervades the curriculum.  Instruction runs concurrently and in collaboration with the academic coursework. The goals of the program are to see students thrive in the academic classrooms, professional environments and the internships at the end of their programs.

Professional Instruction

The teaching staff is drawn from Masters level English teachers as well as content area instructors who work in close collaboration with each other, supporting the university faculty who teach the academic content.   Since the cohort groups progress through the program as a unit, tutorial help is available for students who lag behind in the heavy work load required of them.

Admission to the ESP Program

Because this program is limited to the cohorts sent by the KSA Directorate of Prisons, neither the Prison Management Certificate Program nor the ESP is open to general admission.