Welcome to San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus
Syllabus
Linguistics 550 (Schedule # 60026)
Theory & Practice Teaching English as a Second Language
Spring 2015
Instructor: Susana Enriquez, B.A. M.P.A.
Office Hours: By appointment. Please email me to make arrangements and meet at the Brawley
Campus.
Email: senriquez@mail.sdsu.edu
When e-mailing the Subject should start with “Ling.550” otherwise it will not be read. Please
sign your e-mails with your full name.
Day
Time
Room
Units
Thursday
07:25 p.m. – 10:05 p.m. (Please be considerate of others: do not enter or exit
once class is in session—wait till the break. Thank you!)
LA-01(Calexico)
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Please do not interrupt class proceedings: keep all necessary exchanges with other students
to a whisper. Please turn off your cell phones during class.
According to a study conducted by Carrie B. Fried from Winona State University:
“Students who use laptops in class spent considerable time multitasking and
laptop use posed a significant distraction to both users and fellow students”
(www.sciencedirect.com) Note*the use of laptops is not allowed in the
classroom during lecture or practicum.
About the nature of a syllabus:
Note that a syllabus is a living document, not etched in stone. As the term develops, changes
may have to be made as suitable and necessary.
Special Accommodations:
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it
is your responsibility to contact Student Affair Services or your adviser to avoid
any delay in the receipt of your accommodations. Please note that
accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations based upon
disability cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is
appreciated
Prerequisite: Linguistics 420 or 520.
Prerequisite must be fulfilled before taking this course.
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Course Description (quoted from SDSU General Catalog, www.sdsu.edu)
The nature of language learning; evaluation of techniques and materials for the teaching of
English as a second language.
Required Textbook – 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners.(4TH Edition)
Authors: Adrienne L. Herrell and Michael L. Jordan Publisher: Pearson
Objectives
The goals for this course are:
1. To investigate and learn historical/current developments regarding specific theories of
second language learning.
2. Demonstrate awareness of the linguistic and affective needs of English language learners
when selecting ESL methods and strategies for teaching.
3. Apply theoretical knowledge of second language learning in curricular design, pedagogy
and classroom dynamics by the active presentation of strategies for teaching English
language learners.
4. To develop the ability to establish links between principles and instruction of Second
Language Acquisition in order to apply them to teaching practices.
Learning outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain and apply different methods of language teaching to enhance instruction for
planning effective classroom lessons;
2. Develop strategies for supporting student involvement to enhance success of English
learners in the classroom;
3. Understand how to integrate the 4 language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and
writing) into generating dynamic strategies for teaching English as a Second language;
4. Apply approaches for building vocabulary and fluency in Second language teaching;
5. Develop strategies for building comprehension through the application of active learning
approaches and the assessment of students’ understanding and progress.
Instructional Activities for the semester (follow the Semester Calendar for this course,
please):
1) Each student will be responsible for reading the assigned material and come to class
ready to actively participate in discussions (see Semester Calendar for topics and dates).
Class participation in the form of active involvement in in-class discussion is required in
order to earn the 20 points for participation. If you are absent, you cannot participate.
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2) Students will present 2 Teaching Strategies from 50 Strategies for Teaching English
Language Learners. Be prepared to select/plan your presentations since a calendar
for presentations will be made available during class on Jan 29th. (Individual)
Students will select an ESL strategy from the textbook and demonstrate its use in a
content area classroom.
Hand-out format sample can be found in Blackboard under “course documents.”
A rubric is provided in Blackboard for this assignment.
3) (5) Video Responses-Reflections. Students will view assigned video segments from the
DVD provided in your textbook 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners.
Students will respond to the specific questions related to the video. You can find these
questions in the specific page numbers for each video segment. Refer to the semester
calendar for specific videos and due dates.
4) Students will submit (2) Article/Journal Analyses related to Second Language
Learning/Teaching. After reading the Article/Journal, students will answer the following
questions (paper at least 4 pages long):
1. What is the central argument of the Journal?
2. What is the evidence presented to support the argument?
3. What further questions does this paper raise?
4. Conclusion/Reflection
5) Final Exam: ESL Teaching Portfolio. Students will assemble a portfolio with specific
materials to include from the semester. Separate instructions will be provided in detail to
prepare this final evaluation.
All written work will be typed using Word, 12 pt. font, double-spaced, with a title and
appropriate bibliographic citation(s). Your name and the course information should
appear on the left-top part of the first page. Please proof-read your work before you turn
it in. Points will be taken off for mechanical errors.
PLAGIARISM may result in expulsion from the university: make sure your written
assignments consist of your own original thoughts and statements, not a collage from other
sources. When citing from another source, it is best to summarize the information rather than
quote verbatim.
Attendance: Students are expected to come to class having read the assigned material and
engage in activities in the classroom. Attendance is mandatory; if you have a compelling reason
to be absent, be ready to present hard evidence to justify your absence (hospital/doctor/obituary).
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If you are absent the day of your presentation due to a catastrophic event, and the calendar does
not allow the rescheduling of your presentation, you may be given an alternative assignment to
fulfill this requirement upon presentation of evidence to justify your absence.
Late work: Life often gets in the way of your studies. To accommodate this, students in this class
have 3 Late Passes (LP) exclusively for written work (three separate assignments), with the
exception of the Final Exam and Teaching Strategy presentations. To use a LP, students need to
notify me prior to the deadline in the Semester Calendar via e-mail, stating in the RE: “Late Pass
for [explain the assignment] due [state when it’s due].”
Students don’t need to explain the reason why the assignment is late. Approved LPs will have to
turn in their assignment before the next class meeting to avoid a 5 points penalty per day late.
If students neglect to use a LP, late assignments will get a penalty of 5 points per day late.
Method of Instruction
The primary form of the course will be workshop/seminar. The instructor will lecture on specific
topics when necessary but will more often coordinate discussion and guide collaborative
relationships among all course participants. In-class activities will be combined with out of class
preparation. The instructor's role will be that of a facilitator of discussion and guide.
Please note: There will be no extra-credit assignments and no make-ups for missed
work/reflections/assignments. All work is due as shown on the Ling. 550 Calendar.
Method of Evaluation –Grading Summary
DVD Video Response from textbook
30
(5 x 6 points each)
ESL Teaching Strategies Presentations from
textbook (2) 25 pts. each
50 points
Article/Journal Analyses (2 x 15 points ea.)
30 points
Class participation/attendance
20 points
Final Exam-Teaching ESL Portfolio
70 points
Total Points
200 points
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Grading Scale and formula
Your final grade is based on your completion of the course requirements detailed above and
determined by the sum of all the points during the semester using the grading scale listed below.
A= 180-200
B+=171-179
B=160-170
C+=151-159
C=140-150
D+=131-139
D=120-130
F=below 119 and
below
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