Contra Costa College
Course Description and Syllabus
ESL 50 – Beginning ESL -- Section 6521 – 2 Units
Semester:
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Office Phone:
E-Mail:
Class Dates:
Holidays:
Schedule:
Final Exam:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This beginning ESL course provides instruction in English for every day life. Students work on
developing basic grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Students will improve their ability to identify the basic parts of speech.
2. Students will increase their knowledge of basic, every day language (greetings, asking for
directions, weather, health, family, etc.)
3. Students will learn and feel comfortable using appropriate classroom language (such as How do you
pronounce…?)
Course Objectives:
At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Recognize the following parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs of frequency,
conjunctions, articles and prepositions.
2. Construct affirmative and negative statements and questions with the present tense of the
verb to be.
3. Construct affirmative and negative statements and questions in the following verb tenses: simple
present, present continuous, simple past, and future (be going to).
4. Create plural nouns with the appropriate ‘s’ spellings.
5. Use the articles a and an with singular nouns.
6. Use this, that, these, and those with singular and plural nouns.
7. Use there is and there are with singular and plural nouns.
8. Use the basic prepositions of time and place (in, on, at, from...to).
9. Use the verb go + 0; go + to; go + to the in phrases indicating location (e.g., go home, go to
work; go to the library).
10. Read and write short paragraphs about family, daily routine, a past event, etc.
11. Ask questions, make statements, and make requests appropriate in a classroom setting (e.g.,
How do you pronounce that?; I have to be absent tomorrow, etc.)
12. Demonstrate understanding of typical classroom language (e.g., Pass your papers up; Are you
following me?)
13. Conduct short conversations in English using greetings and partings and asking about, for
example, where a person is from, what he or she does, the past or coming weekend.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lecture
Text exercises with associated audio and videotapes
Pair and small group work
Individual conferences
TEXTBOOK AND SUPPLIES:
1.
2.
The New Grammar in Action, Book 1
The New Grammar in Action, GrammarWork 1
Dictionary
GRADES AND ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Tests and quizzes
2. Homework
3. Final Exam
60%
20 %
20%
70% and above = Credit
Below 70% = No Credit
Course expectations: [Optional – can be modified]
Attendance
I expect you to attend every class meeting. Good attendance is very important. If you miss class, you
won’t learn much. If you have to miss class, you still have to do the homework. Check the course
website or contact me or a classmate to find out what the homework is. You must attend every class
meeting and arrive on time. If you are absent more than three times, I may drop you from the class. If
you arrive late or leave early, I will add up the time you are not in class and count it as time you are
absent.
Homework
You will have homework for every class meeting. You will have about eight hours of homework
every week for this class. There will be unannounced homework quizzes often.
Class etiquette
The way students behave in a class makes a big difference in how much we can all learn. For that
reason, you are expected to behave in ways that help you and others learn the most. That includes:
coming to class on time and finishing all your homework before class,
turning off your cell phone ringer before the beginning of class,
never using your phone to send or receive texts, to make calls, or to check messages
never leaving the class to talk on the phone, smoke a cigarette, or take a break,
participating actively in group and classwork, and helping everyone participate,
treating everyone with respect and kindness.