UNIVERSITY OF NARIÑO
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER
LEVEL I UNDERGRADUATE
CREDITS: 4 / WEEK
TOTAL CREDITS: 64
NUMBER OF HOURS: 6 HOURS A WEEK
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS PER SEMESTER: 96
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Syllabus of this course combines language input (Grammar, Vocabulary and Everyday English) with on
the different skills: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing.
Grammar: The language that students are exposed to and the language they are motivated to produce is
related to the use of: to be, present simple, past simple through different exercises and activities.
Everyday English: It covers three main areas: survival skills, functions and language for special occasions.
Skills work: It’s realistic, that is, it is not only related to the student’s linguistic abilities but also challenging and
interesting.
Reading and Listening: They allow students develop different skills and a good pronunciation.
Speaking: Speaking activities enable students to speak, make conversation, be sociable, and function in the
target language. There are many repetition exercises. Many speaking activities are personalized. Students
are invited to relate the material in the Student Book to themselves, their lives, their families and experiences.
Writing: Students complete a number of practical tasks in class and others can be assigned as homework.
COURSE OBJECTIVE
To provide students with clear basis that will allow them to communicate using basic information and
structures. This will be done through varied and motivating activities that will be used throughout the course.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- get to know each other and the teacher, and the teacher gets to know them by learning in an easy going and
friendly classroom atmosphere.
- be exposed to language in a natural context through fluency activities: reading and listening exercises.
- learn about work and jobs by practicing the third person singular of the Present Simple in context.
- practice and personalize the use of all other persons of the Present Simple tense in activities related to free
time and leisure.
- describe places, such as, rooms of the house, the classroom, etc.
- practice the use of can / can’t for skills and abilities and to practice some past tenses: the Past of can (ability)
and the Past Simple of the verb to be.
- talk about the past by using both regular and irregular forms of the Past Simple: question and negative
forms.
METHODOLOGY
A combination of the best of traditional methods with more recent approaches will be done to make the
learning of English stimulating, motivating and effective, by exposing students to a variety of challenging and
interesting types of text and encouraging them to produce accurate and level – appropriate language, and to
bring their own personal experiences and feelings to the learning context.
A traditional approach: Basic grammatical structures for this level are presented, practiced, explained and
tested in simple way. There are pre-communicative exercises to provide controlled practice and to get
students’ confidence by using English. Students learn new words in each unit.
A current approach: Real-life situations are rehearsed in the classroom, with role plays, situational activities,
authentic material, etc. Students acquire new language items by seeing them and using them in
communicative activities.
Effective teaching: The units provide a balanced, cohesive timetable for the presentation, practice, and
personalization of target language in a variety of exercise types, relevant vocabulary work, and practical
everyday situational English.
Effective learning: The contents of the book for level 1, as well as unit openers, headings, instructions,
explanations guide students with maximum understanding and involvement.
COURSE MATERIAL
AMERICAN HEADWAY - BOOK 1A (Units 1 – 7)
GRADING INFORMATION AND CRITERIA
The students will be evaluated through written and oral exams and different activities such as workshops,
debates, reading comprehension activities, guides, assigned readings and oral presentations. When an
evaluation is missed the grade will be zero (0.0) except for those who had a health problem and present the
corresponding medical excuse. For this reason any evaluation or graded activity has to be programmed in
advance so that everybody knows when it will take place.
The final grade for the course is established as follows:
Class work
40%
Personal Work
10%
Midterms (oral and written)
30%
Final Test (oral and written)
20%
GOALS OF EACH UNIT:
Unit 1: Hello everybody!
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To be able to use the verb to be in all its singular and plural forms as well as the
possessive adjectives, counties and nationalities, and the numbers from 1 to 20 in different activities.
Unit 2: Meeting people
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To be able to use the verb to be in questions and negatives, as well as the possessive
of the names (’s), opposites, members of the family and vocabulary related to be in a café.
Unit 3: The world of work
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To be able to use the third person singular of the Present Simple (he/she/it) in
questions and negatives, as well as, jobs and the question: What time is it?
Unit 4: Hello everybody!
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To be able to use all of other persons of the Present Simple tense, as well as leisure
activities and social expressions in different exercises and situations.
Unit 5: Where do you live?
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To be able to use there is/ there are, prepositions, some/ any, this/ that, furniture and
directions in different activities.
Unit 6: Can you speak English?
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To be able to use the present (can / can’t) and the past of can (for ability): could /
couldn’t and the past of the verb to be: was / were as well as to learn some words that sound the same and to
practice the situation: on the phone.
Unit 7: Then and now
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To be able to use the both regular and irregular verbs of the Past simple, as well as to
learn and practice with silent letters and vocabulary for special occasions in different activities.
CLASS CONTENT
SCHEDULE
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
IN-CLASS
PERSONAL WORK
WB. P. 1-3
Unit 1
GRAMMAR:
Verb to be: am / is / are, I’m from Korea.
He’s a doctor. P. 2, P. 5
Possessive Adjectives: my, your, his, her.
P. 2, P.3
VOCABULARY:
Countries: Mexico, Japan. P. 3, P.4
SKILLS WORK
Reading and Writing: Introducing yourself. P. 5
Unit 1
WB. P. 4-5
VOCABULARY:
Using a bilingual dictionary. P. 6
Everyday objects: a key, a newspaper. P. 6
Plural Nouns: bags, apples. P.6
SKILLS WORK
Listening and Speaking: The alphabet song. P.
6
EVERYDAY ENGLISH:
Telephone numbers. P. 7
How are you? See you then. P. 7
TEST
Unit 2
WB. P. 6-8
GRAMMAR:
Verb to be.
Questions and negatives:
What’s her first name? P. 8
She isn’t married. P. 9
Negatives and short answers:
No, she isn’t. P. 8
Possessive (’s)
Patrick’s daughter. P.10
VOCABULARY:
The Family: mother, uncle P. 10 - 11
Unit 2
WB. P. 9-10
VOCABULARY:
Opposite adjectives: old - young. P. 12
Food and drink: hamburger and French fries,
tea, coffee. P. 14
SKILLS WORK
Reading and listening: A letter from America.
P. 12
EVERYDAY ENGLISH:
In a café: Prices. P. 14
How much is it? P. 15
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Can I have…?
TEST
Unit 3
GRAMMAR:
Present simple 1: he/she/it . P. 16
She works 16 hours a day. P. 16
Questions and negatives:
Does he speak Chinese? No, he doesn’t. P. 18
VOCABULARY:
Verbs: help, make, pump P. 20
SKILLS WORK
Reading: Seamus McSporran – the man with
thirteen jobs. P. 20
Unit 3
SKILLS WORK
Listening and speaking: Seamus’s day. P. 21
VOCABULARY:
Jobs: A pilot flies planes. P. 22
EVERYDAY ENGLISH
What time is it? It’s a quarter after five. It’s
about six o’ clock. P. 23
TEST
Unit 4
GRAMMAR:
Present simple 1: I/you/we/they .
I go to the gym. We don’t go out on Friday
evenings. Why do you like your job? P. 25
SKILLS WORK
Speaking: A questionnaire: How do you live? P.
27
Reading and listening: Three people talk about
their favorite season. P. 28
Unit 4
SKILLS WORK
Speaking: What’s your favorite season? P.
29. Leisure activities. P. 30
VOCABULARY
Leisure activities: dancing, skiing. P. 30
EVERYDAY ENGLISH:
Social expressions:
I’m sorry.
Excuse
me. Pardon? P. 31
TEST
Unit 5
GRAMMAR:
There is / are:
There’s a book on the table. P. 32
How many...?
How many books are there? P. 32
Prepositions of place:
In front of the sofa. P. 32
Some and any:
WB. P. 11- 14
WB. P. 15
WRITING:
Personal
pronouns and possessive
adjectives. WB. P. 16
Rewriting a text. WB. P.
16
WB. P. 17-19
WB. P. 20
WRITING: An informal
letter. A letter to a pen
pal. WB. P. 21
WB. P. 22-25
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
There are some cups. There aren’t any plates.
P. 34
This, that, these, those
This is the kitchen. What’s in these cabinets? P.
34
VOCABULARY
Rooms: living room, kitchen. P. 32
Household items: armchair, lamp, cabinet,
dishwasher. P. 32
What’s in your bag? Letter, bus ticket, cell
phone. P. 35
SKILLS
Speaking and listening: What are the differences
between the two pictures? P. 33
Unit 5
VOCABULARY
Parts of a plane: cockpit, steps. P. 36
Places: movie, theater, bank. P. 39
SKILLS WORK
Reading and speaking: At home on a plane. P.
36
Listening and speaking: Homes around the
world. P. 38
EVERYDAY ENGLISH:
Is there a post office near here? Yes, it’s over
there. P. 39
TEST
Unit 6
GRAMMAR
Can / can’t: I can ski really well. She can’t
speak Japanese. P. 40
Was / were: Where were you last night? P. 42
Could: I could swim when I was five. P. 42
Was born: He was born in Brooklyn. P. 43
VOCABULARY
Countries and languages: China, Chinese. P. 40
Verbs: translate, check, laugh. P. 41
SKILLS WORK
Speaking: Questionnaire: What can you do?
P. 41.
Unit 6
VOCABULARY
Words that sound the same: I, eye; no, know.
P. 46
SKILLS WORK
Reading and speaking: Super kids. P. 44
EVERYDAY ENGLISH:
On the phone. Directory Assistance. P. 46. Can
I speak to Gina, please? I’ll get her. P. 47
WB. P. 26
WRITING: Linking words:
and,
so,
but,
because. WB. P. 27
Describing where you
live. WB. P. 27
WB. P. 28 – 30
WRITING:
Formal letters 1
A letter of application
job. WB. P. 32
WB. P. 31
WRITING:
Formal letters 1
A letter of application
job. WB. P. 32
TEST
Unit 7
WB. P. 33- 35
GRAMMAR
Past Simple 1
Regular Verbs: She started work when she was
Week 14
eight. P. 48.
Irregular verbs: He left home in 1993. P. 50
Time expressions: last night, yesterday
morning. P. 51.
VOCABULARY
Verbs: earn, marry, die. P. 49
Verbs: see, leave, become. P. 50
SKILLS WORK
Speaking: What did you do at the end of the 20th
century? P. 50
When did it happen? P. 51
Unit 7
VOCABULARY
Spelling and silent letters: white, listen. P. 54
SKILLS WORK
Reading and speaking: Two famous firsts:
George Washington and Nelson Mandela. P. 52
EVERYDAY ENGLISH:
Special occasions:
Thanksgiving.
Happy
birthday! P. 55
WB. P. 36
WRITING:
Writing
a
paragraph describing a
vacation. WB. P. 36 - 37
TEST
COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES:
Communicative activities to support and reinforce the syllabus, as well as grammar exercises, reading, writing,
speaking, listening activities, exercises of vocabulary, games, songs, contests, etc.
Student Resources:
http://a4esl.org/ (Activities for ESL)
http:// www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml
http:// www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
http://tapestry.heinle.com
www.ohiou.edu/esl/english/grammar/activities.html
www.eslwonderland.com/activities/index.htm
iteslj.org/c/games.html
Required Readings from:
Active listening building skills for understanding. Cambridge University Press
American Shine. (for teens) 1. 2. Garton, Judy. Mexico. 2002
Elementary A. Move Up. Student’s book. Practice book. Greenall Simon. Heinemann. 2000
English Grammar in use. Murphy, Raymond, Cambridge University Press 1998
Starter. Move Up. Student’s book. Practice book. Greenall Simon. Heinemann. 2000
Tapestry Listening and Speaking 1. Rebecca. L. Oxford. Series Editor.