Bunker Hill Community College

BSL 001 Speaking & Listening I

Goal—Listening

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to listen to and comprehend beginning listening materials (audio and video) and demonstrate an understanding of them by answering comprehension questions in sentences and by responding in short writings.

Objectives—Listening

After listening to a brief spoken description or dialogue (approx. 50-150 words) such as teacher or supervisor directions, news reports, workplace conversations, public transportation announcements and simple, everyday conversations, the student will be able to:

1.      identify main ideas and supporting details

2.      paraphrase the description or dialogue

3.      answer factual questions and begin to draw conclusions

4.      begin to use prior knowledge to comprehend dialogues

5.      learn to identify a speaker’s tone

6.      begin to develop a note taking system

7.      identify and understand some common contractions and speech reductions

8.      begin to build a listening word bank to distinguish vowel and consonant sounds

9.      identify some common homonyms

10.  identify some common two-word verbs and idioms with repetition

11.  begin to recognize some transition signals

12.  identify new vocabulary and understand meanings in context

13.  complete cloze exercises

Goal—Speaking

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to converse on familiar topics in various settings, formal and informal.  These settings could include work, school, home, and places around town such as clinics, supermarkets, and the library.

Objectives—Speaking

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1.      speak briefly on a limited number of topics

2.      learn how to form questions

3.      begin to use language in functional situations in order to:

a.       make introductions

b.      give directions and instructions

c.       make requests

d.      express agreement/disagreement

e.       ask for clarification

f.        apologize

g.       express regret

h.       express sympathy

i.         take leave

j.        ask for permission

k.      make excuses

4.      begin to use formal/informal registers

5.      use correct word order with some difficulty

6.      use past, present and future tenses with some difficulty

7.      use a limited number of idioms in conversations

8.      begin to use tag questions

9.      locate words in a dictionary to learn basic pronunciation skills

10.  pronounce endings for plural nouns and past tense regular verbs with limited proficiency

11.  pronounce some or most contractions correctly

12.  pronounce the 500 most common words in English (list)

Work-Related Objectives

Listening.  After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1.      understand and respond appropriately to questions about himself or herself and work experience in a role-play of an interview

2.      begin to recognize body language as an indirect means of communication

3.      distinguish between formal and informal speech at work

4.      listen to or watch advertisements and identify the product and the speaker’s purpose

Speaking.  After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1.      answer questions about himself/herself and work experience in a role-play of an interview

2.      discuss the basic job benefits including health insurance, vacation time, and sick days

3.      discuss safety and hygiene regulations for workforce in different workplaces such as hospitals, restaurants, and offices

4.      discuss issues of sexual harassment and other types of discrimination on a job

5.      paraphrase the company’s mission statement

6.      study pictures from an inventory list and learn how to pronounce the words

7.      discuss positive and negative aspects of the workplace with fellow employees

8.      begin to use speech required for meetings

9.      ask a supervisor for a letter of reference

 

Grammar and Mechanics

·        simple tenses—past, present, future (going to)

·        present continuous tense

·        “ed” for regular past tense verbs [d] [t] [id]

·        verbs ‘to be’ and ‘to do’ as main and helping verbs

·        There is/are

·        modals—‘can’ and ‘have to’

·        question formations—‘wh,’ yes/no, short answers

·        negative statements/question form

·        adjectives

·        plural nouns [s] [z] [iz]

·        articles

·        common prepositions

Grammar Handout for BESL Courses—Grammar explanations from Focus on Grammar; exercises are available on computers in CSDL.