Some guidelines for the course
COURSE GOALS
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The purpose of this high
intermediate course is to improve your reading, writing and grammar skills in
order to be successful at the advanced level of English.
We will cover summarizing, vocabulary development, and reading
strategies. You will have
opportunities to read good writing, discuss it and then write about a similar
topic. By the end of the course, you
will be able to:
Identify main ideas and supporting details in reading passage.
Apply reading strategies to the reading of short and long passages
Develop a main idea and supporting details in writing summary paragraphs and
short essays.
Produce sentences that show understanding of the tenses, adjective, adverb and
noun clauses in subordination, and high intermediate spelling
Find information via a search engine in the computer lab
Type with proficiency
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Journal
You will be asked to write in your journal weekly on
topics that I give you in class. The
purpose of
the journal is to record your opinions of various
topics and to develop fluency in your writing.
I
don’t correct your grammar or spelling in the journal.
I read your writing and comment on the
content. The journals will be collected once a month
and are part of your grade.
You will spend two hours a week in the computer lab
working on typing, internet-based projects and
using the educational software we have available.
You can also go to the lab during open lab hours
to work alone
on your assignments or with a tutor.
When you are in the lab with the class, the
printing is free.
When you go to the lab to work during open lab hours, you will pay for
your copies.
You can get a print card on the main floor of the
library. Please, not food in the lab.
Drinks in sports
bottles is
okay.
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As we meet daily for two hours, regular attendance is
a critical part of this course. Your
participation
is important to the success of this course.
If you miss three consecutive classes or more than four
during the course, I may drop you from the course. Class begins on the hour and ends 10 minutes before the hour.
Please be in class on time.
If you are late, please enter the class quickly and quietly.
I will regard any
tardy of more than 10 minutes as an absence.
Many of you are working parents and I know that
problems occur in life. If you know that you will be
absent because of childcare issues or illness, it is
your responsibility to contact me by email or phone.
I am happy to help you all I can.
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This course is a credit/no credit course.
You must attain at least a “C” in the course to pass.
You
will be graded on in-class work, participation,
homework, quizzes, tests, lab assignments and
compositions.
I will give you percentage grades for all assignments so that you will
know
your progress in the course. There will be a midterm
exam at 8 weeks and a final exam at the end of
the semester.
The work we do in this course builds your skills from
the first week to the last. It is
important for
your progress for you to hand in homework
and assignments as they are due so that I
can help you
build your English skills.
It does not help you to keep papers for weeks before you turn them in.
This is why I am firm about the due dates of
assignments and the consequences for late work.
I will
deduct points
from late assignments.
check your grades throughout the semester from my
website. Your grades will be posted on my
website and updated each week.
It is your responsibility to check your grades and turn in all
assignments
when due. Late assignments will
result in a lowered grade. Let me know when you
have any problems with the coursework.
I am available during office hours and open lab hours to
help you with
your assignments.
You will soon learn that I grade less on
fill-in-the-blank quizzes and more on proficiency in
communicating clearly in writing and speaking.
We will use the grammar book and study specific
aspects of English grammar, and you will do
fill-in-the-blank exercises for homework and quizzes.
Then, you will write a summary or report using the
grammar we have studied, which will show me
how well I have taught you.
The best way to learn a language is to practice
listening, speaking, reading and writing.
I will make
this class as interactive as I can and I look forward
to your participation as well. We do
large group,
small group and
pair work daily. Because we don’t talk to strangers, your assignment for the
beginning of the semester is to learn the names of
your classmates. Yes, there will be
a quiz!!
30% Summaries
(See how important they are?)
5%
Homework
5%
Computer Lab
15%
Vocabulary Quizzes
5%
Grammar Quizzes
10%
Midterm exam
20%
Final exam
5%
80 most common irregular verbs
5%
Journal
100%
ATTENTION 442 STUDENTS
Those of you who are taking this course for 0 units
will take a challenge exam at
the end of the semester.
Passing this exam qualifies you to advance to level 5.
I
will let you know more about this in our in class
orientation.
September 7: HOLIDAY: Labor Day
November 13: HOLIDAY: Veteran's Day
November 26-27: HOLIDAY: Thanksgiving Recess
December 14-17: Final examination week
December 15:
ESL Potluck
December 14:
342/442 last class meeting and Certificate Ceremony