Bunker Hill Community College

ESL 077 ACADEMIC SPEAKING I w/(RWGXC)

w/reading, writing, and grammar across the curriculum

This low intermediate course focuses on the speaking skills that are necessary in an academic setting. All speaking activities will be organized around reading and writing exercises. Grammar is taught in the context of speaking, in the context of the reading materials, and in the context of student generated writing. This course must be completed with a “C” grade or better in order to take ESL 087. Prerequisite: ESL Placement test

GOAL
Upon completion of this course, students will begin to develop speaking skills that are necessary in an academic setting.

OBJECTIVES
I. Speaking
A. In pairs, small group, and whole class discussion, students will be able to:

1. form and answer questions

2. make introductions

3. give directions, advice, and instruction

4. make requests

5. express agreement/disagreement

6. ask for clarification

B. Over the course of the semester, students will demonstrate significant improvement in preparing for and making presentations of at least five minutes by practicing the following skills:

1. state agenda and main ideas

2. support with specific details

3. state conclusion

4. solicit/answer questions

5. use visuals, props, etc.

6. speak clearly enough to be understood by audience

C. Over the course of the semester, students will demonstrate significant improvement in sound discrimination in the following areas:

1. Distinguish 3 sounds of “S”- “s”/ “z”/ “ez”, and “ED”- “t”/ “d”/ “id”

2. recognize speech reductions such as “gonna,” “wanna,” “hafta”, “didja”

3. distinguish the sounds of “S” and “ED”

4. distinguish helping verbs

5. recognize academic lecture cues and transition signals

II. READING

A. Prior to or after class discussions, students will be assigned a reading passage of 350-500 words related to the topic. Over the course of the semester, the length and difficulty of the reading passages should increase in order to challenge the students’ levels of academic literacy. In class activities and homework assignments over the course of the semester, students will repeatedly:

1. demonstrate at least 75% comprehension of the assigned readings

2. relate the ideas of the reading passage to the discussion and vice versa

3. understand and use the master schedule

4. make significant progress on the ESL 078 reading curriculum objectives

5. gather information from several sources on a factual topic related to class activities

III. WRITING

A. After reading articles on topics related to class discussions, students are expected to write summaries and/or personal reactions to the readings. After class discussions, students may write summaries of the discussion and/or reactions to the topic. In class activities and homework assignments over the course of the semester, students will demonstrate writing proficiency by doing the following:

1. write summary paragraphs of class discussions and /or presentations both as in-class assessments and as homework

2. write an opinion paragraph in reaction to discussions or presentations, relating one’s own ideas to those of others and reading passages

3. freely and frequently write journal entries on topics related to classroom activities

4. score at least 3.6 on the REEP rubric on an in class writing assignment by semester’s end

5. write a 1-2 page factual report as part of a project that involves extending a topic related to class activities

6. write at least 3 drafts of the factual report on a research based project

IV. GRAMMAR/EDITING OBJECTIVES

In the context of the class discussions, readings, and student-generated writing, students will practice or review the following structures:

1. present and past real conditionals

2. simple quotations

3. simple and continuous aspects of present, past, and future tenses

4. gerunds and infinitives

5. simple and continuous aspects of tag questions

6. wh- and yes/no questions

7. editing the errors in drafts of a report on a research based project

V. PROJECT-BASED LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will extend their knowledge of a topic related to class activities by doing research and writing a report. In doing so, students will:

1. use resources such as encyclopedias, almanacs, and periodicals to gather facts

2. choose a factual topic related to personal interests, career/educational goals, etc.

3. evaluate the usefulness of sources, relevance to one’s topic

4. revise at least two drafts before submitting a final draft

5. quote, paraphrase and cite sources

6. take notes on readings

7. base report on notes taken from readings

8.do 5 minute oral presentation based on report

RECOMMENDATIONS

A. RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS

1. Northstar, Intermediate Focus on L/S, Solarzano and Schimdt, Longman, 1998 ISBN 0-201-57178-1

2. Our Own Stories, Dresser, Longman, ISBN 0201-84670-5

3. an English dictionary, American Heritage ESL Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin. 1998. ISBN 0-395-873-7

 

B. RECOMMENDED TEACHING PROCEDURES

1. Prior to class discussions, students should be given a reading passage of 350-500 words related to the topic as homework.

2. Students should have ample opportunities to discuss topics in pairs, small groups, and as a whole class.

3. Students’ speech/presentations should be evaluated by the teacher periodically.

4. Students should write summaries and/or responses to the discussions/presentations both in-class and as homework.

5. Students should write frequently and about topics related to discussions and readings.

6. Students should revise and edit a t least one long, or several short writing assignments.

7. Students should be given 2-4 in-class writing assignments, which should be assessed w/the REEP writing Rubric.

C. RECOMMENDED PROJECTS

1. mini-research paper of 1-2 pages in preparation for 5-10 minute presentation on topic related to class activities

2. conduct interviews on topic related to class activities, write 1-2 page report in preparation for 5-10 minute class presentation

3. 1-2 page report in preparation for 5-10 minute presentation on movie, book, or TV program

4. 1-2 page report in preparation for 5-10 minute participation in a debate or panel discussion

5. prepare and give a mini-lecture to the class

6. 1-2 page report in preparation for 5-10 minute presentation on current event news story

D. RECOMMENDED GRADING SCHEME

1. Presentations 25-40%

2. Notes and outlines of presentations 10-20%

3. Journal 15-35%

4. Project 15-25%

5. In-class assessments 15-25%

6. Attendance and participation 10-20%

7. Evaluations pf peer presentations 10-20%

E. RECOMMENDED EXIT CRITERIA

1. Prepare for and give a 5 minute class presentation, in which at least 75% of the information presented is comprehensible.

2. In response to an open-ended question designed to elicit a reaction to readings or class discussions, student relates own ideas to those of others by writing at least a paragraph, which can be independently scored at least 3.6 on the REEP rubric.