Course syllabus
English for Domain Specific Purposes, Level III
604PU3SA
Field of Study: English
Discipline: English for Domain Specific Purposes
Weighting: 2-1-3
Credits: 2
Semester: Winter 2014
Instructor: Elena Kalashnikov
Web site: www.englishliteratureandcomposition.weebly.com
Availability:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
7:30 – 9:00
7:30 – 9:00
7:30 – 9:00; 12:30 – 13:30
Course description
1. General
604PU3SA is a general language course geared to intermediate-level students of English
as a second language
2. Competencies targeted
o To improve students’ mastery of the English language
o To further develop students’ ability to communicate in a nuanced manner using
different forms of discourse
o To enable them to acquire the practical communication skills needed for higher
education
3. Elements of the competency
o To enable students to attain an understanding that goes beyond strictly factual data
o To communicate with increasing fluency in a variety of situations whose degree of
complexity corresponds to the level regularly encountered at the college level
o To express themselves with more accuracy and to develop as part of their learning the
ability to self-correct by reviewing a recent production
4. Course contribution to program
As part of the general education component, this course enables students to develop
their critical and ethical thinking and to structure their ideas in a rational manner. It provides
situations that enable the students to exercise their creativity within a framework that goes
beyond mere reproduction or repetition, and allows students to explore new ideas and to
include new vocabulary in their productions.
5. Course objectives
By the end of this course, students are expected to be able to:
o deliver, in a comprehensible manner, an oral presentation related to their field of
study
o analyze complex texts
o write clear and coherent 450-word texts related to their field of study
In all of the above mentioned, students are expected to be able to:
o defend their point of view
o recognize different types of discourse (literary, informative, promotional, critical,
scientific and technical) as well as linguistic, socio-cultural and contextual factors
that influence written communication
o establish connections between the following components of communication:
intention, interlocutor, situation, code, message, implicit and explicit interaction
o maintain a high level of accuracy in the application of the grammatical, syntactical
and orthographic codes
o use nuanced vocabulary related to topic and the appropriate level of language and
register
o format texts appropriately
o use efficient revision strategies
o show openness and respect
Pedagogical methods
1. Lecture
This course will incorporate many of the ideas of the active learning classroom where
the student is required to take control and interact directly with the content of the course.
There will be a strong emphasis on creativity.
The students will explore notions, critically assess the quality of studied texts, and
establish links between various documents. The teacher will give introductory lectures and
guide the students in their in-depth class /home group /individual research
projects/assignments.
Class work will include reading and discussions, listening and commenting as well as
exploratory, argumentative and synthesis essay writing.
2. Participation
Students’ presence in class is mandatory. Students are also required to actively
participate in all class activities.
3. Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
To facilitate students’ active participation in class discussions, the Active Learning
approach as well as ICTs will be used. The use of the laptop is encouraged as a pedagogical tool.
The instructor reserves the right to decide when the use of the laptop is appropriate. All course
materials will be available online.
4. International dimension
The international perspective will be integrated in this course to sensitize students to
different customs, ideas, interests and values. While analyzing texts, students will be
introduced to various geo-historical contexts. Through the study of various works of literature,
non-fiction texts and visual documents, students will be invited to think about how ideologies
and artistic creation have evolved over time.
Evaluation
1. Formative
Formative evaluations will be conducted on a regular basis to provide students with an
opportunity to practice the newly acquired skills, and in preparation for upcoming tests/exams.
Such evaluations may consist of all or some of the following tasks:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
formative listening and reading comprehension assignments
various in-class and home practice writing tasks
impromptu individual and group speaking activities
practice oral presentations
peer editing/correction
practice individual/group text analysis exercises
collaborative learning group achievement assessment
self-evaluation
All the formative evaluations will be tailor-made to meet the needs of a given group.
Individual corrective qualitative feedback will be provided by either the instructor or the
students to facilitate every student’s progress.
2. Summative
Assignment
Quizzes 1-3 on Brave New World
Test 1 on Brave New World
READING WEEK
Quizzes 4-5 on Brave New World
Test 2 on Brave New World
Final test on Brave New World
Your CV project
Summaries of 3 domain specific articles (3 x 5%)
A mandatory formative synthesis essay
Academic vocabulary test
%/100
3 x 2% = 6%
15%
2 x 2% = 4%
5%
10%
5%
15%
10%
Final exam: essay on Brave New World
30%
3. Pedagogical support
In order to provide individual student with additional explanations/clarifications
personal or group sessions will be given during regular office hours, or online.
Institutional policies
All the institutional policies concerning this course can be found on the school portal:
http://cisa.csadl.ca/portail.
Documents and Materials
o Any edition of The Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Additional Reading Suggestions
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Animal Farm (1945) by George Orwell
1984 (1949) by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451(1953) by Ray Bradbury
Waiting for the Barbarians (1980) by J.M. Coetzee
The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood
Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro
Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins
Schedule
This schedule is only a rough overview and may change depending on students’
progress. A detailed and frequently updated schedule will be provided by the instructor. Each
student is required to check the schedule frequently.
Week 1
Week 2
Introduction: sequence 1 explained
Introduction to Brave New World (pp. 5-11): focus on elements of the novel and
allusions/unique terms
Collaborative learning 1: focus on RC
Chapters 1-3 (p. 13)
Collaborative learning 2: focus on satire, a subgenre of literature / Chapters 1-3 (p. 14-16)
Quiz on Chapters 1-3 (2%)
Academic vocabulary 1
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Collaborative learning 3: focus on RC
Chapters 4-6 (p. 17)
Collaborative learning 4: focus on figurative language and vocabulary
Chapters 4-6 (pp. 18-20)
Quiz on Chapters 4-6 (2%)
Academic vocabulary 2
Collaborative learning 5: focus on RC
Chapters 7-9 (p. 21)
Collaborative learning 6: focus on tone and mood
Chapters 7-9 (pp. 22-24)
Test on Chapters 1-9 (15%)
Collaborative learning 7: focus on RC
Chapters 10-12 (p. 31)
Collaborative learning 8: focus on irony and vocabulary
Chapters 10-12 (pp. 32-34)
Quiz on Chapters 10-12 (2%)
Academic vocabulary 3
Collaborative learning 8: focus on RC / Chapters 13-15 (p. 35)
Spring break
Collaborative learning 8: focus on response to literature + finding supporting quotations
Chapters 13-15 (pp. 36-39)
Academic vocabulary 3
Quiz on Chapters 13-15 (2%)
Collaborative learning 9: focus on RC / Chapters 16-18 (p. 40)
Collaborative learning 9: focus on symbolism and analogies / Chapters 16-18 (pp. 41-42)
Quiz on Chapters 16-18 (2%)
Academic vocabulary 4
Post-reading reflection (pp. 46-48)
Test on Chapters 10-18 (5%)
CV writing workshop (5%)
Orals on analytical reading of articles 1 (15%)
Academic vocabulary 5
Orals on analytical reading of articles 2 (15%)
Final test on Brave New World (10%)
Academic vocabulary test (10%)
Preparation for the final essay on Brave New World
Final essay on Brave New World (30%)