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HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE CENTRAL
Advanced-Intermediate Conversation for Foreign Students
ESOL 0349-SPRING 2011
Course: ESOL 0349
CRN: 67942
Time: M/W 11:30-2:00
Room: BSCC 302
Instructor: Lora Vysokos
E-mail: lora.vysokos@hccs.edu
Office: FAC 310
English Dept. Phone: 713-718-6678
Texts and Materials
Contemporary Topics 2, 2nd edition by Ellen Kissinger (Pearson Longman) ISBN:
9780131358096 (Required)
Course Description
ESOL 0349 is a continuation of ESOL 0345. This course is designed to further
develop conversational skills by incorporating more complicated vocabulary and
grammatical structures. Students are also required to present oral reports at
various times during the semester.
ESOL 0349 Statement of Purpose: ESOL 0349, Advanced Intermediate
Conversation, seeks to prepare students for college or workforce classes and
speaking assignments in general by accomplishing the following objectives:
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Develop students’ speaking and listening communication skills in different contexts,
including academic, workforce and social situations.
Introduce students to the language and culture of academic, workforce and social
situations through the use of in-class presentations, role plays, panel and group
discussions.
Develop students’ listening comprehension and note taking skills through exposure
to recorded and teacher-generated listening comprehension material, which can
include guest speakers.
Give students practice in English pronunciation, including common stress and
intonation patterns, through exposure to songs, jazz or grammar chants, tapes and
other recorded materials (these may be found on the Internet).
Reinforce English language skills used in formal situations (such as academic or
workplace presentations or interviews). These skills include: 1) Developing topics;
2) Organizing ideas; 3) Building complex sentence structure; 4) Increasing
academic and workforce vocabulary.
Course Outcomes: After taking ESOL 0349, the student should:
1) Be able to understand main ideas and supporting ideas, and make inferences from
conversations and talks dealing with academic, workforce and social topics;
2) Exhibit working knowledge of the most common academic, workforce and social
vocabulary;
3) Understand how to produce clear English pronunciation, including stress and
intonation patterns;
4) Be able to be generally understood by native speakers when speaking on common
topics;
5) Be able to clearly present individual, pair, and group presentations on researched
topics using introduction, conclusion, and well-organized points with support;
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6) Be able to understand and take notes on short presentations representative of a
college lecture;
7) Be able to use current technologies, including computer programs and pertinent
websites as well as audio CDs, to develop listening and speaking skills.
Classroom Policies-Attendance
Students are expected to arrive to class on time with their textbooks (you will not be
allowed to share a textbook after the first week of class). If a student is late, he or she
will be marked tardy. If a student is tardy two times, that is equal to one absence. After
four absences (10 hours) a student will be dropped. If the student is an F-1 student, he
or she will then be out of compliance for his or her student visa. If students are absent
from class, they must ask the teacher for the assignments that they missed. If you are
absent on the day of a presentation, you will be expected to present the day you return.
You can not make up a listening quiz, however, I will drop the lowest grade.
Electronic Devises
As a courtesy to your instructor and your classmates, no electronic devices can be
used at any time. This includes cell phones and laptop computers. Please turn off any
cell phones and other electronic devices before entering the classroom. If one of these
devices goes off and interrupts the class, the instructor may take it until the end of the
class period. If you leave class to talk on your cell phone, you will counted tardy. You
may use your electronic dictionary with the sound turned off.
HCC Policy on Use of Recording Devices
Classrooms and Other Instructional Locations: To prevent disruption and academic
dishonesty, instructors are permitted to impose restrictions on students regarding use of
recording devices in classrooms, laboratories, or other locations where instruction or
testing occurs. The use of recording devices, including camera phones and tape
recorders, is prohibited in classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and other locations
where instruction, tutoring, or testing occurs. Students with disabilities who need to use
a recording device as a reasonable accommodation should contact the Office for
Students with Disabilities for information regarding reasonable accommodations."
HCC Course Withdrawal Policy
The State of Texas has begun to impose penalties on students who drop courses
excessively. For example, if you repeat the same course more than twice, you have to
pay extra tuition. In 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a law limiting new students
(those starting college in Fall 2007) to no more than six total course withdrawals
throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree. There may be
future penalties imposed.
To help students avoid having to drop/withdraw from any class, HCC has instituted an
Early Alert process by which your instructor will "alert" you and HCC Student Services of
the chance you might fail a class because of excessive absences and/or poor academic
performance. You should visit with your Instructor, an HCC counselor, or HCC Online
Student Services to learn about what, if any, HCC interventions might be offered to
assist you – tutoring, child care, financial aid, job placement, etc. – to stay in class and
improve your academic performance.
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You MUST visit with a faculty advisor, a counselor or on-line student services at:
http://studentservicesonline.hccs.edu/ prior to withdrawing (dropping) the class and this
must be done prior to April 21 to receive a "W" on your transcript. After that deadline,
you will receive the grade you are making in the class, which will more than likely be an
"F"
Sexual Harrassment Policy: Sexual harassment in any form is not tolerated at
Houston Community College. See the HCCS Student Handbook for further information.
Academic Honesty
If a student copies sentences from another person's work without giving credit to the
writer by naming the writer as the source of the ideas and words, it is called "plagiarism."
This is a serious offense in American colleges, and it is unacceptable. Academic
honesty is expected of all college students. Any homework, journal entry or composition
that is not a student's own work will be given a grade of 0. The student may receive an F
for the course when plagiarism occurs repeatedly.
College Grading System
Students in ESOL 0349 classes may receive a letter grade of A, B, C, IP or F. IP means
"in progress." This is not a failing grade, but it is given to students who complete the
course but who are not yet ready for the next level. Anyone who receives an IP must
take ESOL 0349 again. However, if a student has already received an IP in this course
during a previous semester, that student will receive a letter grade: A, B, C, or F this
semester.
*Basic Speaking/Listening Requirements for ESOL 0349
Students in ESOL 0349 will have at least 4 graded speaking assignments and 5 graded
listening assignments in class:
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Student presentations may include the following: individual, pair, group, and
panel. At least two of the presentations will be with Power Point. It is
recommended that at least one presentation include taking a stand on an issue
and then supporting it with specific reasons and details. (Some teachers hold
formal or informal debates.)
Listening quizzes can consist of several types:
1) short dictations
2) note-taking quizzes
Presentation Requirements: AT LEAST ONE PRESENTATION MUST BE IN POWER
POINT
1. Students should be guided in research of their topics on the Internet and/or in the
library.
2. Students should adhere to a time frame in which to speak, (recommended starting
with 2 – 3 minutes, and progressing to longer lengths of time as the semester
progresses.)
3. Students should be informed about how their presentations will be graded.
Aspects to include are:
Content and preparation
Delivery (clarity, eye contact, volume, and use of visuals)
Communicative ability (grammar and vocabulary choices)
Organization of the ideas
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Although being grammatically accurate is important, students should not be
expected to speak in grammatically perfect sentences or to have perfect
pronunciation. However, they should be expected to be comprehensible to a
sympathetic native speaker.
4. Students should create visual aids, including posters and/or PowerPoint
demonstrations for use with their presentations as needed.
Final Exam:
The final exam and optional mid-term should test students’ listening comprehension and
speaking abilities. The final could be a paired presentation with one student arguing the
pros and the other the cons of a controversial issue. The exam will also usually include
a listening comprehension test.
ESOL 0349 Grading Formula
Presentations
Listening Quizzes
Attendance/Participation
Final Exam
40%
30%
5%
25%
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CALENDAR CONVERSATION ESOL 0349-Spring 2011
ESOL 0349- Advanced-Intermediate Conversation for Foreign Students
(This calendar may change to meet the needs of the class)
Important Dates:
Jan. 19
Classes begin; drop/add/swap ($15.00 fee)
Jan. 19
Last day to drop/add/swap
Feb. 21
Presidents Day Holiday-NO CLASSES
March 14-20 Spring Break-NO CLASSES
April 21
Last Day for Administrative/Student Withdrawals-4:30 p.m.
April 22-24
(Friday-Sunday) Easter Holiday-NO CLASSES
May 8
Instruction Ends
May 9-13
Final Exams
May 9
Final Exam
May 20
Grades available
Introduction to course. Personal Interview/Classmate Introduction
Week 1
Unit 1-Sociology: Names
1/19
Unit 2 –Linguistics: Global English
Week 2
1/24 & 26 Introduction to note-taking and note-taking strategies
Unit 3-Psychology: Phobia
Week 3
Listening Quiz #1
1/31 &
2/2
Presentation 1
Week 4
2/7 & 9
Unit 4 Culinary Arts: Owning a Successful Restaurant
Week 5
2/14 & 16 Listening Quiz #2
Unit 5 Education: How We Each Learn
Week 6
Listening Quiz #3
2/23
Unit 6 History: The Silk Road
Week 7
Listening Quiz #4
2/28 &
3/2
Unit 7 – Business: Team-Building
Week 8
Listening Quiz #5
3/7 & 9
Presentation 2 (PowerPoint)
Week 9
3/21 & 23
Unit 8 – Architecture: Frank Gehry
Week 10
3/28 & 30 Listening Quiz #6
Unit 9 – Public Health
Week 11
Listening Quiz #7
4/4 & 6
Unit 10-Media Studies: Principles of Journalism
Week 12
4/11 & 13 Listening Quiz #8
Unit 11- Biology: DNA Testing
Week 13
4/18 & 20 Listening Quiz #9
Presentation #3 (Student choice of PowerPoint or not)
Week 14
4/25 & 27
Unit 12- Public Administration: Risk Management
Week 15
Listening Quiz #10
5/2 & 4
FINAL EXAM
Week 16
5/9
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ESOL 0349- Advanced-Intermediate Conversation for Foreign Students
PRESENTATIONS
(Note: Your teacher may prefer to give you topics from Contemporary Topics 2)
PRESENTATION 1- This presentation must be 2-3 minutes. Choose one of the
following two topics.
Topic 1-The education system in your country compared
to the education system in the United States.
(e.g. number of years of study, books, teaching
methods, hours of classes, exams)
or
Topic 2- Your lifestyle in your country compared to your
lifestyle in the United States.(e.g. shopping,
transportation, free time activities, studying)
PRESENTATION 2 – Topic: How to Do Something or about Something. (power
point)-3-5 minutes
1. Teach us how to do something (except cook a particular
dish)
or
2. Be a teacher. Teach us about a particular subject such
as something about art, economics, history, poetry,
music, fashion and so on)
PRESENTATION 3 -Topic: A World Problem and Its Solution(s) (power point)-5
minutes
Think of a problem in the world or your country (social,
environmental, or medical). Explain why it is problem and offer a
possible solution.