Leek LSN 6 // Spring 2010
_______________North Seattle Community College_______________________
Arts, Humanities, and Adult Basic Education
COURSE SYLLABUS
Listening, Speaking, and Note Taking Level 6
Our class will meet Monday through Thursday, from 2:30 to 4:50
Our classroom is CC 3460; most Wednesdays we will work in the computer lab (IB 3409)
 The quarter begins on April 5 and ends on June 11 (The end of the quarter celebration is on this
day! Please plan to be there!) Please schedule travel plans with this end date in mind.
We will not have class on Thurs, April 22 (but you will have work to do) or on Mon, May 31.
INSTRUCTOR:
Marcie Leek
Phone: 528-4573
E-Mail: mleek@sccd.ctc.edu
Office: IB 3411A
Office hours: by appointment
Website: http://facweb.northseattle.edu/mleek/
REQUIRED TEXT: Please buy this book at our bookstore on campus. You need the book and the
computer code that comes with the books we have here. It causes great difficulty in a
class if students don’t all have their L/S book at the same time – ordering from the Internet
invariably brings complications and lots of time without a book. It’s not worth it!
NorthStar 5 Listening and Speaking, 3rd Edition with My NorthStar Lab (computer
code) by Sherry Preiss
REQUIRED MATERIALS: Please bring these things to class every day:
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8 ½ X 11 3-hole, loose-leaf paper
Pen or pencil and eraser
Your textbook
You also need:
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An activated NetID (so you can use the computers in the lab and on campus)
a 3-ring binder (to keep your notes and handouts organized)
COURSE OBJECTIVES: In this class, you will spend a lot of time interacting with others (your
classmates as well as Americans) and becoming comfortable expressing yourself in English. You
will also create and give oral presentations, often with PowerPoint support. Last but not least, you
will practice taking notes while listening to more detailed lectures, and transferring lecture notes to
detailed outlines.
Leek LSN 6 // Spring 2010
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS:
What you can expect from this class if you participate actively in class, on projects, and on homework:
 You can expect your confidence in spoken interactions to increase.
 You can expect your listening skills (academic, broadcast, and social) to grow.
 You can expect to learn how to listen to a lecture and take notes.
 You can expect to learn how to organize notes and presentations using an outline.
 You can expect your presentation skills to blossom.
 You can expect to “clean up” some of those nagging pronunciation problems you might still have.
 You can expect to learn more about NSCC and about being a college student here.
What you can expect from me:
 I will create an environment in the classroom where you feel safe to make mistakes, ask questions,
learn, and grow.
 I will do my best to find ways to help you improve your listening, speaking, note-taking, and
pronunciation skills.
 I will provide materials that are interesting, stimulating, and helpful!
 I will always be honest with you.
 I will treat you respectfully.
 I am here to help you! I love teaching and I love the idea of helping you in your last steps to prepare
for college. Please talk to me if you need help – I am always willing to listen and offer suggestions if
you ask for them. My door is open to you.
What I expect of you:
 I expect you to ask me questions if you don’t understand something.
 I expect you to treat your classmates with kindness and respect. We are all learning and we have
different strengths and weaknesses (me, too!).
 I expect you to act like a mature and responsible college student. (This doesn’t mean I don’t want to
have fun. Fun and laughter are important parts of any class. Mature, responsible college students can
have fun and be conscientious!)
 I expect you to come to class, on time, every day. If you miss class for any reason, I expect an email or
a conversation about your absence. Many absences will most likely result in a failing grade because of
the nature of your big projects this quarter (more on that below).
 I expect you to sincerely want to improve your listening and speaking skills so that you will be ready
for college. This will probably take a LOT of effort on your part!
Special notes:
 IF YOU MISS EIGHT CLASSES DURING THIS QUARTER, YOU WILL BE IN DANGER
OF GOING OUT OF STATUS. You will also most likely fail this class. Please be careful!!!
 Turn off your cell phone before class begins so that the class will not be disrupted. You may not use
your cell phone as a dictionary. You may not text during class. If you text during the class, I will ask
you for your phone and keep it until we leave for the day.
 Speak English only in this classroom. Even on the break.
 Always do your own work. If you and a friend have the same answers on your homework, you will
both receive zeroes.
 Make a friend in the class and ask for that person’s phone number/email address. If you are absent,
call your new friend and find out what you missed in class.
 Ask questions! Please, please, please. If you don’t understand something, please ask me during class
or after class. If you don’t ask questions, I think that you understand me. I always welcome questions.
They help me know what to teach you.
Leek LSN 6 // Spring 2010
DON’T:
o Arrive late. If a pattern of late arrivals starts to happen during the first week, I will lock the door at
2:30 and you won’t be able to come in until the break. Missing the first half of class will hurt your
grade because you will miss a lot of information.
o Talk in class while your teacher is teaching, or while your classmates are speaking. This is very, very
impolite. If you talk in class repeatedly, I will ask you to leave.
o Sleep in class. If you sleep in class, I will ask you to leave.
o Eat or drink in class. Please eat and drink before class or on your break.
o Chew gum in class. It’s impossible to practice speaking and pronunciation if you have gum in your
mouth!
GRADES: Your grade for this class will be based on attendance; class participation and preparedness;
homework; speaking assignments; and scores on quizzes, tests, and/or presentations.
PROJECTS: You will have at least two very big projects in this class. Your grades on these projects will
come from several weeks’ worth of activities and assignments. If you miss class, you will start a domino effect
that might jeopardize your success in a given project. These projects will be the bulk of your “speaking” grade.
Please be aware of how important the projects are to your success in this class!
NOTE: There are no “make-up” quizzes, tests, presentations, speaking, or pronunciation assignments. If you
miss one (or more) of these, you will receive a zero. If you miss more than one test and your average is not
above 75% in each subject, you will probably fail this class.
An Important Note: You need to receive a grade of 75% in each subject in order to pass this class. This
means 75% or higher in Listening/Notetaking and 75% or higher in Speaking. Missed quizzes, speaking
assignments, pronunciation quizzes, project pieces, or homework will hurt your score, and they might even
cause you to fail this class. It is very, very important that you understand this!
Another Important Note: If IEP students fail a class one time, they will be placed on probation. If they fail it
two times, they will be out of status and they will have to return to their countries.
A Note on Plagiarism
Do you know what plagiarism is? Plagiarism is when a writer or presenter uses words that are not
his or her own words. In some cultures, it is an honor to use other writers’ words – especially if they
are wise words. However, in colleges in the United States, plagiarism is a kind of cheating. It is a big
problem in the U.S. Many students try to plagiarize. They:
 Ask a friend to write their homework for them.
 Ask a Loft tutor to write their homework for them.
 Copy other students’ homework or papers.
 Copy papers, or parts of papers, from the Internet.
 Copy information from books or the Internet and put it in their papers or presentations.
These are some of the kinds of plagiarism. Don’t do these things! It is very important that you
understand that you can not plagiarize. It is completely against the rules. If you are caught
plagiarizing, some schools will expel you! Your teachers are very smart. They will know if you have
plagiarized, and you will have to deal with the consequences. Please, do your own work.