Programs

Course Details

Course Code:  EASL 030

Calendar Description:
A low intermediate course for non-native English students that covers grammar, reading, writing, listening and speaking skills to encourage confident use and understanding of English in a variety of settings with diverse topics, both social and academic.

Date First Offered:  2007-09-04

Hours:

• Total Hours: 300
• Lecture Hours: 20

Total Weeks:  15

This course is offered online:  No

Pre-Requisites:  None

Non-Course Pre-Requisites:  SLEP 40

Co-Requisites:  None

Rearticulation Submission:  No

Course Content:
Grammar

• Verb tenses - negative, questions, short answers
• Nouns - count, non-count, qualifiers and measurement units
• Modals - situation of application
• Connectors - coordinating conjunctions, transitions, subordinating conjunctions
• Phrasal verbs
• Clauses and phrases of comparison
• The passive voice using various verb tenses
• Gerunds, infinitives and related structures
• Conditional sentences including hope and wish

Listening and Speaking

• Pronunciation - discrete sounds, reductions, contractions, linking, stress, focus and rhythm
• Discussion using various discourse strategies
• Public speaking
• Listening and note taking from a variety of formats

Reading

• Read and respond to various materials
• Develop vocabulary
• Use reading strategies for comprehension: skimming, scanning, predicting, inferring
• Recognize the main idea
• Locate important details and facts to support an idea
• Summarize important ideas

Writing

• Paragraph writing in various forms
• Brainstorming, forming a topic sentence which can be proved
• Organizing main supporting ideas
• Preparing details to substantiate each idea
• Writing an outline
• Writing body paragraphs focusing on unity and cohesiveness by using a variety of transitions and connecting phrases
• Writing conclusions
• Editing
• Drafting and revising for style and fluency
• Introduction to the basic five paragraph academic essay

Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:

Grammar

• Recognize and duplicate grammatical structures through relevant contexts moving from basic to complex structures through a variety of topics.
• Practice and apply grammatical structures to real life contexts.

Listening and Speaking

• Improve two-way communication through developing fluency in discrete sounds, focusing on rhythm, and the use of reductions.
• Apply discourse strategies such as phrases for rejoinders, follow-up questions, clarification, comprehension checks, asking for details, describing, summarizing and leading a group in discussion by asking for input.
• Employ rhetorical cues to aid in listening fluency.

Reading

• Read and respond to a variety of materials.
• Express and support personal responses to various types of materials.
• Analyze the elements of literature: plot, character, theme.
• Practice skimming for main ideas, scanning for detail, inferring ideas, and predicting outcomes.
• Examine and use new vocabulary through consulting a dictionary, inferring meaning from context, relating words to word families and applying in writing and discussion.

Writing

• Develop organizational skills in writing:
• Demonstrate that they understand the concept of content and detail to support the topic;
• Explore and organize ideas;
• Develop cohesion and style in writing through the drafting and revision process;
• and to use the correct forms for a variety of writing purposes.

Grading System:  Pass/Fail

Passing Grade:  Based on the SLEP and writing

Percentage of Individual Work:  50

Percentage of Group Work:  50

Course Offered in Other Programs:  No

Additional Comments:

• 80% attendance is required. If students maintain the 80% attendance they receive a certificate showing the level they have completed (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) .
• Although, we give chapter quizzes, weekly tests, and speech marks, these do not have any bearing on the student passing or failing. Students remain in the same level until they receive the appropriate mark on a SLEP test and Writing test (both administered at the same time), which shows if the student can participate and continue to learn at the next level.
• The whole system is fluid. The levels are based on the SLEP and Writing test marks and are used as the criteria for a pass or fail grade.