De Anza College
ESL 251.03 High Intermediate Listening and Speaking Spring 2015
Welcome to ESL 251!
I am so happy to spend the quarter with you. I am here to guide
you and help you improve your English. I will do my best to create
an interesting and challenging class with many opportunities for
learning and practicing English, but you are ultimately responsible
for what you learn. You are the key—you will get out of this class
what you choose to put into it.
Prerequisites
Successful completion of ESL 244 or qualifying score on the ESL
placement test.
Instructor: Gretchen Himes
Room: L33
Time: M/W 10:30 to 11:45
Email: himesgretchen@fhda.edu
Website:
http://faculty.deanza.edu/himesgret
chen/
Telephone: 408-239-3069
Office hours: you may talk to me
after class and by appointment.
Also feel free to email, call, or text
with questions.
Student Learning Outcomes:
• Demonstrate understanding of essential points of discussions or speeches on selected topics.
• Recognize and demonstrate level-appropriate spoken American English in class discussions and
speeches on selected topics.
Course Description
The purpose of this class is to improve your English speaking and listening skills in a variety of contexts.
Help you develop vocabulary appropriate in both formal and informal situations and guide you in
discussions and analysis of topics in American culture and cultural differences.
Required Materials
 Internet access (available at De Anza College)
 Turnitin.com account
 A Qia.com account
 A good monolingual learner’s dictionary such as Newbury House or Longman.
Grading Criteria
Your grade will be decided by the following criteria.
Class Participation
CCP Assignment
Quizzes
Midterm
5%
10%
10%
15%
Final
15%
Presentations
20%
Summary
25%
LSL Workshops – Extra Credit 3%
Grading Scale
A= 90%--100%; B= 80%--89%; C= 70%--79%; D= 60%--69%; F= 59% and below
Attendance
If you wish to improve your English, it is important that you come to every class. Students who miss class
anytime in the first two weeks of class without contacting the instructor will be dropped. After 3 absences,
you may be dropped or receive a failing grade in the class
Class Participation
Class participation is extremely important because it gives you the opportunity to use and practice your
English skills. Participation and behavior are all a part of your class participation grade. Four times
throughout the quarter I’ll assign a grade from 100 points based on the following factors.
1. Did you come to class on time and stay until the end of class? Arriving 15 minutes late or
leaving 15 minutes early counts as a tardy.
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2. Did you come to class prepared, meaning your work was done before class? Were your
assignments turned in on time?
3. Did you participate in class activities, volunteer answers to the teacher’s questions, and
answer when called on?
4. Did you talk only when it was your turn and follow the class rules?
5. Did you help create a positive learning atmosphere by encouraging your fellow
classmates/group members to take turns expressing their opinions and offer positive and
supportive feedback?
6. Did you do your share of group work?
7. Were you considerate of your classmates and the instructor?
8. Did you avoid using your phone for non-class purposes?
Assignments
Assignments are extremely important in this class. You can expect an average of at least 6 hours of
homework and study each week in order to keep up with the assignments, which may include the text,
recordings, presentations, and current events. Some homework will be turned in for credit and some will
be used to prepare you for class participation and your own improvement.
Summaries
Five times during the quarter you will listen to an audio recording or watch a video. As you listen, take
notes. Write the title of the video or recording and the date you watched it at the top of the page. Write
a summary of the story in your own words. See the summary instructions handout for further
information.
Contact Assignment
For this assignment you will need to find a person from another culture and from a different language
background to work with. You will meet with this person for at least 5 hours throughout the quarter
during which time you will practice your English and learn about the other culture and share your own.
Some of you will be able to find a partner through the Cross Cultural Partners Program where you will
be matched with a speaker of a language different from yours. See the online instruction for further
details.
Vocabulary Journals
You will create and turn in 100 vocabulary cards during the quarter. These cards will be words that you
feel yo need to practice. Further instructions are available online.
Presentations
You will give two presentations in this quarter. If you are absent on your assigned presentation day,
you will most likely have to miss your presentation and you will receive a 0 for the assignment.
LSL Workshops
You may earn up to 3% extra credit for attending one workshop at the Listening and Speaking Lab.
You may choose from the Pronunciation Workshop, the Presentation Skills Workshop or the Listening
Skills Workshop for credit.
Quizzes
We will have several announced and unannounced quizzes that will test items covered in the homework
and in the previous class. Quizzes allow me to test to make sure you are doing your homework and
measure what you are understanding in class.
Exams
The midterm and final will include class material and material from the text, listening comprehension,
summarizing, paraphrasing, and vocabulary.
Cheating
Some examples of cheating follow:
communicating in any way with any person other
than the instructor during a quiz or a test; using
any written materials other than the exam or
quiz; using an electronic device such as a phone
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FAQs
or electronic dictionary. If a student cheats while
taking a quiz or exam, the first time he/she will
receive a zero on the assignment. The second
time somebody is caught cheating will result in
the student's final grade in the class being
lowered one grade. After that a student may be
dropped from the class and receive an F for the
course.
Plagiarism
When you turn in an assignment with your name
on it, you are saying that it is your work. If you
copy words or phrases from someone, you must
cite it (say who wrote it). Any copied material
that is not cited is plagiarism, a form of cheating.
I can usually tell when work has been copied. If I
suspect that your assignment is plagiarized, I will
lower your grade or ask yo to rewrite it.
Continued instances can lead to no credit for
assignments, an F in the class or the student
being asked to leave the class.
Q: Must I contact the instructor if I am going to be absent?
A:
No, unless you will be absent in the first two weeks or more than two class in a row.
Please contact a classmate to find out everything you missed if you are absent or late.
Classmate #1___________________________Contact info:_____________________________
Classmate #2___________________________Contact info:_____________________________
Q: May I turn in late written assignments?
A Yes. I will have two late turn in dates, one in week 6 and one in week 11. Work due before the
midterm can be turned in late up until week 6. Work due after week 6 may be turned in until week 11.
Q: May I rewrite a summary to improve my grade?
A: Sometimes. On the first and second summaries, if you receive less than 80% you may rewrite them
once for a better grade.
Q: What do I do if I am absent the day an assignment is due?
A: Bring the assignment to the next class that you attend or contact your instructor about alternate
methods of submitting work.
Q: May I take a quiz that I missed?
A: Missed in-class quizzes cannot be made up. Out-of-class quizzes can be made up if the answers
have not yet been given to the class. I will drop your lowest quiz score.
Q: What is the best way to get an A?
A: Do your assignments on time and rewrite summaries whenever possible. Ask me for help whenever
you are confused. Come to class. Try even if you think you may be doing something wrong. Get help
at the tutoring center.
Q: May I take an exam outside of the scheduled time?
A: No, but if you must miss an exam, the score for your other exam will be used for the missed exam.
Q: What if I know I will need some extra help to pass this class?
A: Please come see me right away so that we can create a plan to help you. Also, follow the links bellow
to find out more about how De Anza’s support services.
Important Links
Listening and Speaking Center
Student Success Center (Tutoring)
Disability Support Programs and Services
List of De Anza Clubs
Dates to Remember
 Monday, April 6
First day of instruction
 Saturday, April 18 Last day to add
 Sunday April 19
Last day to drop for a refund
and no record of a grade
 Friday, May 1
Last day to request pass/no
pass
 Monday, May 25 No school for Memorial Day
 Friday, May 29
Last day to drop with a W
 Tuesday, June 23 Final Exam 9:15 to 11:15..
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