SYLLABUS
American University of Central Asia
New Generation Academy
English for Academic Purposes (Intermediate) Syllabus:
Reading & Writing and Listening & Speaking
Fall 2015
Course code: Prep 031/Prep 021, ID: 2837/2832
Course Name:
English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
Reading & Writing and Listening & Speaking
Class & Level:
4A - Intermediate
Credit Hours:
12 Total (6 - Reading & Writing, 6 - Listening and Speaking)
Meeting Times: Wednesdays 9:00-11:35am & Fridays 1:10-3:45pm
Instructor:
Sztrimbely, Alessandra (Ally)
Phone No:
0550-75-0213
E-mail:
Sztrimbely_a@auca.kg (preferred mode of communication)
Office hours:
By appointment, Room 415
I. Course description
This course is intended to prepare non-native English speakers for life in the academic world.
The aim of this course is to assist students in developing their listening, speaking, reading and
writing skills in the English language. The course focuses on working with academic texts and
teaches how to develop a strong vocabulary, take notes, participate in discussions, conduct
research, and report and present the findings. Working both alone and in groups, students will
perform various creative and active tasks to allow them to increasingly refine their language
and communication skills, developing the ability to comprehend and interpret texts,
conversations and lectures on various topics and aspects of life, as well as to express their own
ideas verbally and in writing in increasingly complex and sophisticated language.
II. Textbook and materials
Core Texts (on reserve for students under the Professor’s name at the library):
Tess Ferree, Kim Sanabria, NorthStar 4: Listening and Speaking, 3rd ed., PearsonLongman, 2009.
Andrew K English, Laura Monahon English, NorthStar 4: Reading and Writing, 3rd ed.,
Pearson-Longman, 2009.
Supplementary Texts:
Additional materials will either be provided in class as a handout or online on the
Moodle e-course on a weekly basis.
III. Outcomes & Objectives
After having taken this course, students should be able to:
1. Understand extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships
are only implied; understand television programs and films without too much effort; fairly
easily understand formal lectures on more advanced topics.
2. Read for both main ideas and details; understand factual and literary texts as well as
specialized articles and longer technical instructions; be able to classify, organize and
synthesize information from these texts; and support answers with information from the
text.
3. Express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for
expressions; use language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes;
formulate abstract ideas and opinions and relate these to those of other speakers.
4. Express themselves in clear, well-structured text; express points of view at some length;
write about complex subjects in a letter, an essay or a report, highlighting what they
consider to be the important issues.
IV. Grading
Students will receive two grades, one for the 6 credit EAP Reading & Writing course and one for
the 6 credit EAP Listening & Speaking course.
For each 6 credit course (R&W and L&S), grades will be given based on:
Type of activity
Worth
1
Participation
20%
2
Unit Tests (5 x 4%)
20%
3
Major Assignments (4 x 5%)
20%
4
Homework, Minor Assignments & In-Class Assessments
20%
6
Exam
20%
TOTAL
100%
A+
97-100%
C+
74-76%
A
94-96%
C
68-73%
A-
90-93%
C-
64-67%
B+
86-89%
D+
60-63%
B
80-85%
D
54-59%
B-
77-79%
D-
50-53%
F
< 50%
V. Course Expectations
We will strive to build a community where everyone is respected and accepted. Although you
may not always agree with your classmates, it is important to recognize that people hold
different opinions and world views and come from different backgrounds. In all of your
communication, please be tactful and polite.
Online Access
Each student should have access to the Internet and must register for the Moodle e-course in
the first week of classes. All class-related email communication will be done through the
Moodle platform.
Attendance
You are expected to attend all classes as your final grade includes participation. Being regularly
late or passive affects your final grade. It is your responsibility to notify the professor if you are
going to miss a class. This can be done in person or via phone or email (email is preferred). 6
unexcused absences will result in an F for the course.
Participation
It is not enough to just attend classes; you are expected to actively participate in activities, both
online and in class: asking questions in English, answering othering students’ questions, and
expressing your viewpoints in discussions. All of this together makes up your grade for
participation/classroom activities. All subjects occurring in the course of this program are to be
discussed in English only.
In-Class Assessments
In-class assessments can take the form of achievement tests and/or quizzes on additional
supplementary material covered in class. Not all in-class assessments will count for marks
(some may be for practice) and students will be notified when marks will be counted. Students
will most likely be given at least one class notice in advance of an upcoming assessment, but
the professor reserves the right to give pop quizzes that count for marks should she deem them
necessary.
Homework & Minor Assignments
Homework will be assigned on the day of class but will not necessarily be marked as it will be
mostly used to give students additional practice. Students will be informed of upcoming
marked assignments in advance and these will be posted on the Moodle e-course. All
assignments must be submitted by the due date. Late work will not be accepted without an
excellent reason and discussion with the professor in advance. Work can be submitted
electronically (preferred) or printed out and brought to class. If you do not understand a
homework assignment, you can get clarification from your professor, tutor or another student.
The Moodle site will have the submission box for your assignments.
Major Assignments
There will be for unit assignments over the course of the fall term, these will be major
assignments combining listening, speaking, reading and writing skills and will take place at the
end of Units 1, 2, 3 and 4. These assignments will have multiple components; some parts may
be done in groups and some individually. You will be marked separately on the reading, writing,
listening and speaking portions of the assignments and these will be combined to make up your
Listening and Speaking, and Reading and Writing marks. Specific marking rubrics will be handed
out/put up on Moodle for each assignment.
Unit Tests
Unit tests will take place at the end of each unit. They can cover both material from the text
book and supplementary materials, but will most commonly be connected to the text book
material. There will be five of these over the course of the semester, and they will cover
reading, writing, listening and speaking. These marks will be combined so that each unit test is
worth 4% of your Listening and Speaking, and 4% of your Reading and Writing marks.
Final Exam
The final exam will take place during the AUCA exam period and will cover the material covered
in class throughout the term. It will be worth 20% of students’ marks in the course.
Cell Phones
All cell phones (including the professor’s) will be turned off or set to “silent” for the duration of
the class.
Personal Issues
If you have any problems concerning the course material or the classroom instruction, you are
encouraged to discuss it with your professor or your advisor during “office hours” (by
appointment). Please feel free to email with questions at any time, allowing 24hrs for response.
Academic Honesty
Cheating or plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. All work submitted by a student must
represent her/his own ideas, concepts, and current understanding. Any content that is
referenced or has small amounts of material quoted should be cited using APA format. Images
or other media used in projects should be original, used with permission, or cited come from
public domain. You will find resources for the APA style on our Moodle course site.
VI. Lesson Schedule*
This course is 15 weeks long. Homework assignments and deadlines will be given in class and
posted on the Moodle e- course page.
Week/Dates
Topics to be covered
Weeks 1 -3
Course introduction
02/09 | 04/09
Unit 1: Media
09/09 | 11/09
L&S p. 1-20, R&W p.1-24
16/09 |18/09
Unit 1 Test
Weeks 4-6
Unit 2: Overcoming Obstacles
23/09 |
Assignment #1
30/09 | 02/10
L&S p. 21-40, R&W p.25-46
07/10 | 09/10
Unit 2 Test
Weeks 7-9
Unit 3: Medicine
14/10 | 16/10
Assignment #2
21/10 | 23/10
L&S p. 41-62, R&W p.47-61
28/10 | 30/10
Unit 3 Test
Weeks 10-12
Unit 4: Animal Intelligence
4/11 | 6/11
Assignment #3
11/11
L&S p. 63-82, R&W p.85-90
(shortday) |
Unit 4 Test
13/11
18/11 | 20/11
Week 13-15
Unit 5: Longevity
25/11 |
Assignment #4
2/12 | 4/12
L&S p. 83-102, R&W p.91-114
9/12 | 11/12
Unit 5 Test
Review
Week 16
Legend:
Final Exam
L&S: NorthStar Listening and Speaking, Level 4
R&W: NorthStar Reading and Writing Level 4
* This schedule is subject to adjustments and changes.