Course syllabus for Dictionary Skills
1. Faculty member information:
Name of faculty member: Ms. Ola Alarjani
Office number: 1.301.37
Office Hours: Sunday 12:40- 1:20
Monday 12:40-1:20
Tuesday 10:00-11:00
Wednesday 12:40- 1:20
* Send me an email before coming to my office.
Email:
ola.alarjani@gmail.com
2. Course overview and general information:
College / Department: College of Languages and Interpretation, English Department
Course Name and code: Dictionary Skills (ENGL 181D)
Number of credit hours: 3
Program or programs that offer this course: English Department.
Year/course level: Level 2, year 1.
Section: 2E16
2E7
Prerequisites for this course: None
Current requirements for this course: None
Meeting time and place: Sunday 11:00- 1:20 – room: 1.408
Monday 11:00- 1:20 – room: 1.408
Tuesday 11:00- 1:20 – room: 0.610
Wednesday 11:00- 1:20 – room: 0.610
3. Objectives of the course:
Students should be able to make sentences of varying types (affirmative, negative ,
questions) using different verb tenses (simple present, simple past, present continuous, past
continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, future, future progressive, future
perfect) using different linguistic elements (nouns and pronouns). They should also be able to
differentiate between noun, adjective and adverb clauses and know the different uses of these
clauses. Students should also be familiar with gerunds and infinitives and their different uses.
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4.
Week
Course description: The schedule is subject to change depending on class progress.
Date
Topic
5\4
Introduction Class
Chapter 1: Basic concepts and
terms + Dictionary Guide
Week 1
25\1\2015
Week 2
12\4
1\2\2015
Week 3
19\4
8\2\2015
Week 4
26\4
15\2\2015
Week 5
3\5
22\2\2015
Chapter 2 (Pt 1): General
Monolingual English
Dictionaries
Chapter 2 (Pt 2) General
Monolingual English
Dictionaries
Chapter 2 (Pt 3) General
Monolingual English
Dictionaries
Chapter 2 (Pt 4) General
Monolingual English
Dictionaries
Chapter 2 (Pt 5) General
Monolingual English
Dictionaries
Chapter 2 (Pt 6) General
Monolingual English
Dictionaries
Chapter 3 (Pt 1) Monolingual
Dictionaries II: Arabic
Dictionaries
Chapter 3 (Pt 2) Monolingual
Dictionaries II: Arabic
Dictionaries
Activity
Students
participation
and
discussion
Exercises and
group work
Class
discussion
and
individual
and group
exercises
Intended
learning
outcomes
Knowing
general
concepts about
dictionaries
Assessment
methods
Practicing
using the
English
monolingual
dictionary by
making use of
dictionary
symbols
Direct
questions,
monitoring
communication
in group work,
and speed of
performance
Direct
questions
Practicing
QUIZ 1+
Direct
using the
questions,
Arabic
monitoring
monolingual
dictionary and communication
understanding in group work,
and speed of
the differences
performance
between the
Quiz: apply
English and the
knowledge
Arabic
acquired in
monolingual
2
Week 6
10\5
1\3\2015
Week 7
17\5
8\3\2015
Week 8
24\5
15\3\2015
20\3\2015
28\3\2015
Week 9
Week 10
dictionary
chapter 2
Check for
understanding
of informative
details, direct
questions,
monitoring
communication
in group work,
and speed of
performance
MIDTERM 1+
Check for
understanding
of informative
details, direct
questions,
monitoring
communication
in group work,
and speed of
performance
Check their
background
knowledge m
their ability to
find
equivalents for
collocation
Chapter 4 (Pt 1) Generalpurpose Bilingual Dictionaries I
(English-Arabic)
Chapter 4 (Pt 2) Generalpurpose Bilingual Dictionaries I
(English-Arabic)
Class
discussion
and
individual
and group
exercises
Learning about
the bilingual
dictionaries
and how to use
them
Chapter 5 (Pt 1) Generalpurpose Dictionaries II:
Bilingual Dictionaries (ArabicEnglish)
Chapter 5 (Pt 2) Generalpurpose Dictionaries II:
Bilingual Dictionaries (ArabicEnglish)
Class
discussion
and
individual
and group
exercises
Noticing
differences
between the
bilingual
dictionaries the
are from
(ArabicEnglish) and
(English –
Arabic)
Chapter 6 Specialized
Dictionaries I: Dictionaries of
Collocations
Class
discussion
and
individual
and group
exercises
Understanding
collocations
and finding
their
equivalents
Class
discussion
and group
exercises
Getting to
know
Thesaurus and
activators and
how they are
used
Understanding
idioms, how to
locate them in
the dictionary
and know their
meanings
Spring Break
Chapter 7 Specialized
Dictionaries II: Thesauruses and
9\6
Activators
Chapter 8 (Pt 1) Specialized
29\3\2015
dictionaries III: Dictionaries of
idioms and phrasal verbs
Chapter 8 (Pt 2) Specialized
dictionaries III: Dictionaries of
16\6
idioms and phrasal verbs
Chapter
8 (Pt 3) Specialized
5\4\2015
dictionaries III: Dictionaries of
idioms and phrasal verbs
Class
discussion
and
individual
and group
exercises
Direct
questions and
discussion
QUIZ 2+
Check their
background
knowledge m
their ability to
find
3
Week 11
23\6
12\4\2015
Week 12
3\7
19\4\2015
Week 13
Chapter 9 Specialized
Dictionaries IV: Etymology
Dictionaries, Encyclopedic
Dictionaries, Dictionaries of
Neologisms, Dictionaries of
Biographies and Atlases,
Dictionaries of Abbreviations
Chapter 10 specialized
dictionaries V: Dictionaries of
slang, common errors, and
usage
Chapter 11 (Pt 1) Specialized
Dictionaries VI: Dictionaries of
Terminology
Chapter 11 (Pt 2) Specialized
Dictionaries VI: Dictionaries of
Terminology
Class
discussion
and
participation
Learning about
more
specialized
dictionaries,
their purposes
and some
examples
Class
discussion
and
participation
Introducing
students to
terms from
various fields
and their
equivalents
Chapter 11 (Pt 3) Specialized
Dictionaries VI: Dictionaries of
Terminology
Class
discussion
and
participation
Learning about
electronic
dictionaries,
how they are
different from
traditional
ones, how they
are used, and
some examples
of electronic
dictionaries.
7/7
26/4/2015
Week 14
14/7
Chapter 12 Electronic
dictionaries
3/5/2015
Week 15
Week 16
21/7
10/5/2015
equivalents for
idioms
Direct
questions
MIDTERM 2
+ Direct
questions and
check their
ability in
finding
equivalents for
certain terms
Direct
questions
QUIZ 3+
Applying their
knowledge
through written
exams
Review
FINALS
4
5. Books and references:
Course material compiled by the instructor and posted on the course webpage. + Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Edition, 2009.
- Recommended References:
1.
Enani, M.M. Dictionaries for the Translator.
2.
Different types of dictionaries:
3.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
4.
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
5.
Collins English Dictionary
6.
American Heritage College Dictionary
7.
‫عربي‬-‫)المورد الحديث (إنجليزي‬
8.
‫إنجليزي‬-‫)المورد (عربي‬
9.
‫لسان العرب‬
10.
‫ مجمع اللغة العربية‬،‫الوسيط‬
11.
‫القاموس المحيط‬
12.
Roget's thesaurus
13.
Webster's dictionary and thesaurus
14.
Cambridge dictionary of American idioms
15.
Oxford dictionary of slang
16.
Oxford dictionary of collocations
Online Dictionaries:
•
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
•
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/askoxfordredirect
•
http://www.6abib.com/prog/ma_qr.php (d.l)
•
http://www.ibtesama.com/vb/showthread-t_10097.html (d.l)
5. Assessment methods and the division of grades:
Assessment method Assessment Week
(Write an essay - test a collective project - a
final test ...)
Midterm 1
Week 7
20
Grade
Percentage from
overall grade
Comments
%20
On Monday
Midterm 2
Week 12
20
%20
On Monday
Quiz 1
Week 5
5
%5
On Sunday
Quiz 2
Week 10
5
%5
On Sunday
Quiz 3
Week 14
5
%5
On Sunday
Participation
All weeks
5
%5
40
%40
Final
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7. Instructions:
Attendance and participation:
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Attending class is obligatory. Depending on seriousness, there are acceptable excuses.
Participation in class is expected during class discussions and exercises.
Always come ON time. Coming on time is part of the attendance. If a student arrives
after attendance has been taken, it is her responsibility to alert the instructor AFTER
class. She will be recorded Late.
Coming late to the class for FOUR times will be considered absence for two hours.
If a student is absent she must hand in her excuse within 7 days. The department must
sign her excuse.
If a student is absent she is required to ask her classmates about what was given and if
she has to submit anything the next class.
According to university policy, students will be denied entry to the final exam if the
proportion of absences from lectures exceeds 25% of the credited hours.
If your total absence from lectures reaches 15% you will receive a first warning, and
if it reaches 21% you will receive a second warning.
If the student’s absences reach 15% or 21% and she is not in class to sign the
warning, the teacher (me) will sign it for her.
Every time a student participates in class she gets a ¼.
Assignments:
All assignments should follow the following criteria:
 Typed on a computer and brought to class.
 They must be typed in black ink only.
 Use Times or Times New Roman and the size of the writing should be 12.
 Put your name, ID, subject, your teacher’s name and the due date on the upper left
side of the paper.
 If a student forgets her assignment at home she can send it via email on the same day
she is supposed to hand it before 10:00 P.M. She must also bring a hard copy next
class or else it wont be counted.
 If the student does not have Internet connection she must contact me or let her friend
contact me BEFORE 10:00 P.M.
 NO assignments will be corrected if it violates the above-mentioned instructions.
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Very important to remember:
 NO make-ups for midterms unless you have a medical excuse for not being there and
a note from a public hospital. If you do, you will be examined on week 15 on the
WHOLE curriculum. If you miss any midterm without an excuse you will receive a
zero grade.
 Absolutely NO make-ups of any quiz.
 No Make-ups of ANY of the assignments.
 Any plagiarized work will receive a ZERO.
 Using your mobile phone in class will make you lose a ¼ from your total mark.
 Mobiles MUST be silent or turned off in class. Otherwise, you will be recorded
absent.
 Wearing your Abayah in class is prohibited and you will be marked as absent if you
do so.
 Study hard and revise for every class. You may be asked about the previous session.
 A student is obligated to remain the entire class period waiting for an instructor to
enter the classroom.
 Check the instructor’s website and your e-mails regularly.
 In all exams and quizzes, please follow these instructions: Check your spelling,
punctuation and grammar, do not give 2 answers (or both will be marked wrong) ,
and write your answer as it is required in the question. Do not write more
information, it will not be counted.
 There might be some changes in the distribution of chapters among weeks due to
certain circumstances such as changes in dates of final exams or giving some chapters
more or less time depending on your understanding and performance.
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