Course Title:
Advanced Listening and Speaking for Nonnative Speakers of English
English 073
Course Description:
Last course in a three-part series of academic
speaking and listening courses, it provides
practice in complex communication tasks,
including oral presentations, with emphasis
on sentence intonation and word stress. It
continues the study of grammar begun in
English 071 and 072, and prepares the student
for note-taking, discussion and advanced
reading skills necessary for college work.
Prerequisite:
Engl 072 or placement; Engl 082/092 or Engl
083/093 placement
Schedule:
3-0-3
Course Writers:
Steve Jones, Lyn Buchheit, Linda Fellag,
Girija Nagaswami, Suzanne Vernon
Course Facilitator:
Barbara Spadaro
Date:
November 17, 2006
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A. Course Description
English 073 is an academically oriented speaking and listening course for students of English
as a second language. This course gives students final preparation for using English orally in
academic settings, including college-level courses. The last course in a three-part series of
academic speaking and listening courses, it provides practice in complex communication tasks,
including oral presentations, with emphasis on sentence intonation and word stress. It
continues the study of grammar begun in English 071 and 072, and prepares the student for
note-taking, discussion and advanced reading skills necessary for college work. The course is
designed for students who have placement scores indicating they are slightly below the level
needed for success in college level courses, or who have passed the previous course in the
sequence, English 072.
B. Rationale
.
English 073 requires revision in light of a refocusing of the priorities of the ESL program in a
more clearly academic direction. Although preparing students to use the English language in
academic settings has always been an important goal of this course, introducing students to the
specific oral communication skills necessary in college classes has begun to take precedence
over the teaching of advanced skills in everyday oral communication. The purpose of this
revision is to place English 073 on a par with the ESL reading and writing courses in terms of
academic rigor.
This refocusing stems from three changes in the teaching of oral communication. One of these
changes is the growing emphasis on the role of vocabulary. Current research indicates that
certain words have high impact in an academic setting. These words and phrases have been
identified in corpus studies such as the Academic Word List (AWL). The Academic Word List
was developed at the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria
University of Wellington, New Zealand. The list contains 570 word families which were
selected according to principles outlined below. The list does not include words that are in the
most frequent 2000 words of English. The AWL was primarily made so that it could be used by
teachers as part of a program preparing learners for tertiary level study or used by students
working alone to learn the words most needed to study at tertiary institutions. The Academic
Word List replaces the University Word List.” (Retrieved 3/1/2006 from
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/)
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The AWL was specifically designed so that it could be used by teachers to prepare students for
college-level study. Teachers may also want to formally teach the most common idioms in
English, identified in another corpus study published by Dilin Liu in TESOL Quarterly, Winter
2003.
A second change is the need to expand the ways in which current computer technology is used
in this course. Technology is currently used in two primary ways in English 073. One is to
provide material for oral communication that is basic to the course content. Examples include
listening material recorded on CD or audiotape; in addition, speaking and listening courses
require that students produce and record examples of speech. Another use of technology is to
provide material that is supplementary to the core material of courses. This includes audio and
video material that is used outside of class for practice or expansion of new skills and
knowledge. Increasingly, this material is accessed through web sites that are designed as
supplements to basic course materials. In addition, exercises must be created and archived here
at the College using digital technology.
A third important factor that English 073 must address is the development of skills for language
learning and academic study that students need when they reach the college level. To support
this development, the revised English 073 emphasizes oral communication skills that students
must have to succeed as full participants in college-level courses, including receptive skills
(related to comprehension of the course content), productive skills (of speaking in class),
interpersonal speaking skills (needed outside the classroom), and the meta-skills of negotiating
comprehension in various settings. The course is also designed to help students become adept
in speaking and listening situations beyond school, including those at work and in civic
participation.
English 073 is the last oral communication course ESL students take before they continue on
with their academic career. Thus, the course must be rich in content, introducing students to a
broad knowledge of syntax, vocabulary, morphology, and pronunciation. As language learning
cannot be complete simply because the course sequence has come to an end, this course must
also focus on the analytical meta-skills students will use for future learning.
C. Course Structure and Goals
English 073 provides students with practice in the skills needed for speaking and/or listening
and provides an opportunity for them to continue the work begun in English 072 in several key
knowledge areas.
Speaking skills include those which will enable the student to:
 communicate academic information on a variety of topics;.
 produce coherent stretches of discourse;
 use communicative strategies to negotiate and receive comprehensible input;
 be understood by native speakers, to the extent that pronunciation does not interfere with
comprehension.
Listening skills include those which will enable the student to:
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 have sufficient comprehension to be able to participate in conversations with native
speakers without the need to resort to extensive “foreigner talk” (that is, a slow rate of speech,
repetition, paraphrase, and grammatical simplification);
 gather sufficient information from lectures in content areas, as well as other academic
interactions, to succeed on tests of content knowledge and other assessments.
The specific knowledge areas that support these skills include:
Sound system. An adequate ability to use the English sound system includes the ability to
comprehensibly produce all-English sound segments in connected discourse, the ability to use
and distinguish word stress, and the ability to use and distinguish meaning-changing intonation,
such as for yes/no questions.
Vocabulary. Lexical knowledge in the course includes the meanings and forms of academic
vocabulary, whose membership is well defined in corpus studies such as the Academic Word
List. Knowledge of vocabulary includes knowledge of changes in form of words in response to
their grammatical context.
Grammatical structures. Adequate grammatical competence consists of the ability to
distinguish time (present, past, future) and aspect (simple, continuous, perfect) for verb forms,
passive and active structures, number for nouns and noun phrases (including the distinction
between count and non-count nouns), and word order within clauses (e.g., subject-verb-object,
question word orders) and within phrases (e.g., article, adjective, noun).
Discourse features. An adequate use of discourse features comprises the ability to use and
understand discourse markers that introduce a new topic; to paraphrase; to enumerate a set of
points; to show contrast; to use an example; to show cause and effect. Competence in this area
also includes the ability to use and understand markers used in the structure of lectures,
including those that anticipate the main subparts of a lecture and those that signal more and less
important information.
D. Classroom activities.
The course consists of integrated speaking and listening activities, which take place both inside
and outside the classroom. Methods, activities, and materials for this course are based on two
basic assumptions about learning spoken language: 1) that the bulk of the basic language
competence of the learner is not learned consciously through knowledge of rules, but is
acquired through the exposure to and the use of language in meaningful contexts., and 2) that
students can consciously learn rules and other elements of language such as vocabulary through
explicit instruction, and the knowledge used in this way can be used to improve accuracy in
listening and speaking.
The English 073 classroom makes use of a student-centered approach as much as possible,
encouraging students to be responsible for their own learning and to work together to solve
problems. Collaboration is encouraged as students use conversational strategies to restructure,
discover, and create meaning, with the instructor as facilitator. The setting for learning in
English 073 may be outside the actual classroom itself, as the student completes interviews,
seeks information about a specific topic, or gathers information in order to give oral
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presentations or reports. Any authentic or realistic setting which provides opportunities to meet
the goals of the course is valued as a laboratory for the English 073 student. This could include
attending lectures across the college curriculum, attending plays and other public events, or
visiting career counseling offices. Although this course focuses primarily on speaking and
listening, these activities are supported by reading and writing assignments.
Listening Tasks:
As part of their work for the course, students will:
 build on the work done in English 071 and 072 by listening to longer authentic spoken
“live” or recorded passages of speech. These passages might come from textbook materials
containing lectures or other examples of academic speech; they may be provided by guest
speakers in class; or students may be asked to visit the lecture classes in other disciplines;
 listen to and take appropriate notes on academic lectures or other forms of presentation in
various disciplines;
 work in groups in the analysis of information, in preparation for tests or presentations;
 gather information in settings outside of class through interviews and note-taking.
Speaking Tasks:
As part of their work for the course, students will:
 present in-class or recorded formal and informal talks (summaries, case studies, persuasive
presentations) on academic topics;
 work with fellow students in the preparation of group speaking tasks, including group
problem-solving and discussion.
Combined Listening and Speaking Tasks:
Appropriate tasks that combine speaking and listening skills include:
 participating in class discussions to summarize readings and give opinions about topics
raised in classes;
 participating in role-plays, such as job interviews;
 reflecting in writing on tasks performed in class, summarizing listening or speaking
activities, and/or expanding notes from lectures into compositions;
 giving presentations, participating in panel discussions, debates, and other academic
speaking situations.
E.
Sample Assignments
Speaking assignments.
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One important type of speaking assignment in the course centers on extemporaneous use of
language in a setting which is focused on communicating information. This “communicative”
type of activity allows students to develop their ability to produce language that is fluent and
accurate. Since English 073 is an advanced course, the content of these speaking assignments
should normally focus on academic topics, including those that relate to disciplines students
will be studying in their future college-level work.
In the example that follows (Activity I), students have previously read and listened to material
about basic principles taught in a marketing course, and are asked to discuss those principles in
relation to specific examples. This discussion takes place in a small group, in which students
share responses, negotiate comprehension and agreement, and prepare to report their responses.
This activity follows listening and reading activities in which students have become familiar
with concepts in an academic discipline, in this case marketing. The assignment calls for
students to learn, practice, and demonstrate ability to use academic vocabulary and to
distinguish general from specific points:
Activity I
The table below shows information about a number of e-marketing companies. The
table lists a type of company, a product offered by the company, and information about
how the company can use the Internet to distribute, promote, and price the product.
Work with a partner. Discuss the information in the chart, and mark of examples of how
each type of company can use the Internet for the product listed. When you are
finished, report your discussion to the class.
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Type of
company
Can use the
Internet to:
Product
distribute
promote
*
*
*
automobile
company
price
car
music
company
*
music CD
clothing
company
*
car repair
service
clothing
car
maintenance
florist
flower
arrangement
s
airline
plane tickets
magazine
publisher
news
magazine
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
An example of a student response in this activity could be:
“I think car companies could use the Internet to promote their product. For example, a web site
could show photos and videos of cars and features. But they could not really use the Internet to
lower their prices. We read in the book that car companies can’t lower their prices because of
competition.”
Assessment of students’ ability in the skill areas connected to this type of activity can be done
in various ways. It is possible for teachers to make informal assessments of students as they
carry out their work in these assignments, either within their small groups or as they report on
their discussions more formally. This informal assessment can help in making decisions about
which points need more work in the course, and also in making broad assessments of individual
students.
Other, more formal forms of assessment can be done by means of “culminating” assignments
that are planned in advance, and in which students follow a formal organizational structure that
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includes an introduction, the presentation of main points and examples, and so on. The activity
below is an example of an assignment that can be used as a formal assessment.
Activity II.--Case study. In this assignment, you will discuss a simple e-business case
study. First, read the information in the two cases, and choose one of the cases. Then,
prepare a short talk about how you think the business in that case will perform.
Discuss the case in terms of how well the business can distribute, promote, and price
its product. Make notes for your talk. In your notes, you can record information that
relates to marketing elements, answering questions such as, “Do you think the
business will be able to use the Internet to distribute the product? If so, how? Will the
business be able to promote the product?” You can organize the notes for your talk
like this:
Company
Product
Distribute?
Promote?
Price?
Case 1. Ebooks is an Internet bookseller. The company maintains a web site that
allows customers to search for books by title, subject, and author. The site also allows
customers to read short passages from books they are interested in. The web site has
an on-line order form, which allows customers to order books at any time. The books
are shipped when the order is received. The company does not have any stores
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besides the web site, so it has only bought one building that is used to handle all of its
business all over the United States.
Case 2. National Motors is a car manufacturer. It maintains a web site that shows
new models of cars. The web site is advertised in magazines that likely car buyers
read, such as Street and Road, Car News, etc. Customers can see a picture of a car in
any color or style by using the web site. The site also allows the customer to compare
information about the various models of cars made by National Motors. The company
does not use the site to take orders for cars. Customers must come to a retail store to
take the cars for a drive, to discuss the payment for the car, etc.
An example of a student response for this assignment could begin like this:
“This is a case study of Ebooks, an online bookseller. In this study, we will evaluate
whether Ebooks is able to promote, distribute, and price its product on the Internet.
First of all, we think Ebooks can be very successful in using the Internet for
promotion…”
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In addition to participation in extemporaneous communicative situations, students are also
prepared in the course to carry out planned formal presentations to a group. Projects of this
type are often carried out in various steps, including planning, researching, organizing, and
practicing, all of which take place before presenting a formal talk to a group.
In the type of example that follows, students may begin by assessing key elements of the
speaking situation in which they will present their talk. This might include narrowing a subject
to focus on a manageable topic, identifying the purpose of the talk (such as informing vs.
persuading), etc. Planning for the presentation is best done in by dividing each aspect of the
talk into a separate task (such as choosing and narrowing a topic, gathering important
information, organizing an introduction, etc. Activities carried out within these small groups
often include brainstorming, making lists diagrams, outlines, etc.
Activity III. Prepare a formal presentation to your class about the topic you have
discussed in class. Your topic might be about your view on a controversial topic, or it
might be an informative talk about a topic you have knowledge about. Examples of
possible topics include social issues such as crime, marriage and family, the
environment, education, health care, violence, etc., and topics within academic
disciplines such as history, geography, mathematics, computer science, etc. Your
presentation should include each of the following elements:
An introduction. This should include an element that attracts your listeners’ attention
to the topic, and a preview of the key points of your talk.
The body of your talk. This is made up of an ordered list of the most important points
in your talk, as well as examples, facts, anecdotes, or other information that supports
your main points.
A conclusion. This includes giving a signal that the presenatation will end,
concluding comments, an invitation to ask questions, etc.
The evaluation of formal talks can be done through the administration of a checklist assessment
of important elements that should be included in a formal talk. It is important that students be
aware of those elements that are included in the assessment in advance. The following is an
example of a type of evaluation checklist that could be used for an assignment like Activity III
above.
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1. Summary of the
lecture
Content:
Key points in the
presentation are clearly
presented
Examples and facts
support key points
OK
Needs
work
Example(s)
Organization:
Introduction: attracted
interest and previewed
main points
Conclusion: signal of the
end of the talk, summary
of the main points, etc.
Vocabulary:
-Used academic
vocabulary appropriately
Speaking Grammar:
Correct use of basic
sentence structure
Correct choice and form
of verb tenses
Correct use of
singular/plural in nouns
Pronunciation
Comprehensible
pronunciation of
segments
Correct use of syllable
stress
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Listening Assignments
Listening assignments in the course include both “global” listening for meaning and “discrete”
listening for vocabulary, stress patterns, intonation, and grammatical endings.
The following exercise is an example of a listening activity related to global comprehension. In
this example, students practice the note-taking skills they have practiced earlier in the course,
and then use their notes in other activities that include comparing what they heard with
classmates, asking questions of their teacher for clarification, taking a content test, and so on.
Activity IV. Now you will listen to a lecture and make notes that will help you
remember what you heard.
The outline below has a list of important questions about the lecture you will
hear. Review these questions with your classmates before you listen. Make sure you
understand the questions, even if you do not know the answer. Then, while you are
listening, try to write answers to the questions. When you are finished with this activity,
you will have a good set of notes about the lecture.
“Good morning. Today, we’re working in the chapter on culture. I want to discuss some
important ideas from this chapter so that you can get working on some case studies.
First, let’s start with some definitions. I don’t need you to memorize any specific definitions,
but you should have a good understanding of a few basic concepts.
OK, how about society? This is important since we’re studying sociology, right? Let’s say
that society consists of people interacting with each other as citizens of a country or members
of another complex group. So a society is a complex group and inside the group there are
interactions among people. Correct?
Another important idea is culture. Let’s say that culture consists of objects, that is, physical
things that people make, and also values and other characteristics that people acquire as
members of society.
Now usually we divide culture in two parts. Objects make up material culture. These include
every kind of thing made by people, including clothing, houses, weapons, food, etc. Societies
also have a non-material culture. This includes things that are not physical objects. Nonmaterial culture includes knowledge and beliefs, norms and values, and signs and language.”
What is the topic of the lecture?
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_______________________________________________________________
What is the definition of society?
_______________________________________________________________
What is the definition of culture?
_______________________________________________________________
What is material culture?
_______________________________________________________________
What is non-material culture?
_______________________________________________________________
What are some of the parts of non-material culture?
_______________________________________________________________
Assessment of global listening skills can be accomplished by the administration of tests that
require the same global skills that are practiced in activities such as those above. Students listen
to formal talks, take notes, and then demonstrate their comprehension by answering questions
about content.
Another form of listening assessment measures the students’ knowledge of the individual
language elements that are taught in the course. Activity IV below is an example.
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Activity V. For number 1-7, write what you hear. For number 8-15, answer the
questions about academic vocabulary.
1. A value is a concept about what is good or important.
2. Culture consists of both material and non-material aspects.
3. The students interpreted her silence as disagreement.
4. Most people recognize a difference in status between teachers and their
students.
5. Cultures vary in the importance they place on different values.
6. We can make an inference about values by observing behavior.
7. People who value equality often do not place a value on creating a hierarchy.
8. In no. 1, what is the stress pattern for the AWL word you wrote?
9. In no. 2, what is the stress pattern for the AWL word you wrote?
10. In no. 6, what is the stress pattern for the AWL word you wrote?
11. Explain
how the temperature can vary with the seasons.
12. What is an example of an ethnic group that you belong to?
13. What are some types of social interaction?
14. If you place a high value on individualism, what would be an example of your
behavior?
15. If you place a high value on self-fulfillment, what would be an example of your
behavior?
F. List of required and optional materials
The texts listed below emphasize the acquisition of listening and speaking skills needed for
success in college level courses. Future texts selected for this course should also emphasize
listening and speaking in academic settings.
Beglar, D. and M. Murray (2005). Contemporary Topics 3, 2nd ed. White Plains: Pearson
Longman.
This text and recorded material provides instruction in academic skills connected with
listening to lectures, especially taking notes.
Jones, S. (2006). College Oral Communication 4 Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
This text and recorded material provides instruction in both speaking and listening tasks
related to a range of academic disciplines.
Lim, P. and W. Smalzer (1994). Noteworthy : Listening and Notetaking Skills, 2nd ed. New York:
Heinle and Heinle.
This text and recorded material provides instruction in note-taking on academic lectures.
Mathews, C. (1994). Speaking Solutions: Interaction, Presentation, Listening, and
Pronunciation Skills. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
This text focuses on speaking and interpersonal skills that advanced speakers use in
academic settings, including problem-solving, debating, making a formal presentation, etc.
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Richards, J. (1998). New Interchange 3, Student Book/CD and Workbook Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
This text provides listening and discussion on high-interest topics.
Supplementary material for the course is described below:
1. http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
This site gives explanations and examples of all English segments. Students can hear
examples of the sound and a word that contains the sound. In order to use the site, students
should know a system for describing sounds in terms of points and manners of articulation;
that is, students must begin to master articulatory phonetics. This system is taught in some of
our materials, particularly for English 078.
2. http://elt.thomson.com/cgitelt/course_products_wp.pl?fid=H2S&discipline_number=301&series_id=1000000012
This is the site for Grammar in Context, a grammar textbook that is used in many ESL
reading/writing courses. The site includes audio material for the assessment of oral
comprehension of some of the grammatical topics taught in English 073.
Other useful sites include http://eslus.com/LESSONS/PRONUNCI/PRONUNCI.HTM and
http://www.soundsofenglish.org/index.html; and http://eleaston.com.
The ESL program also maintains a web site of reviewed listening and speaking resources at:
http://faculty.ccp.edu/faculty/sjones/Pronsites.htm
G. Library Resources and Bibliography.
All of the resources mentioned below are helpful for the faculty to properly prepare for and
effectively teach this course. English Department faculty will work with the Library Liaison in
their area to request these and other materials as needed.
Byrd, Patricia. (2006). Essentials of Teaching Academic Vocabulary. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
Ellis, R. (1997) Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Krashen, S. D, and T. D. Terrell (1990). The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the
Classroom. London: Janus Book Pub/Alemany Press.
Murphy, J. (2006). Essentials of Teaching Oral Communication. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
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H. Computer Literacy and Technological Resources.
The courses in the ESL speaking and listening sequence make use of computer technology to
enhance language learning. However, it is important to note that technology serves to
supplement and/or support the overarching language teaching goals of this course, which are
based on face to face interaction. At present, ESL teachers encourage students who need
intensive practice to use the Language Listening Lab to utilize web-based, CD/ROM, and
audio-taped material (exercises in speaking and listening texts, teacher-made listening material,
and recording of student speaking assignments). Teachers also make use of video cameras,
video players, audio players, and other forms of technology to supplement or enhance class
activities and/or provide feedback to students. Other resources used include materials available
from the College’s Audio Visual department, including materials related to public speaking (for
example, materials showing job interviews) and commercially prepared materials (such as
video recordings on conflict resolution. Ideally, students should have access to software for
playing and recording examples of speech; in addition, they should have access to the Internet
by means of a desktop computer that is equipped with sound capability. Many students have
access to these things at home; however, those who are provided access through the Language
Listening Lab, where instructors will provide help as needed in finding web sites, selecting
links, and playing audio files.
The recent addition of eight networked computer stations with sound capability to our Lab
currently allows us these upgraded capabilities:

access to CD/ROM tutorial programs that serve as supplements to our courses;

access to the Internet, including sites for listening to speech;

separate spaces for students who are making recordings and for those who are listening
to recorded material;

a program of software piloting and review by interested faculty members, leading to
recommendations for purchase.
I. Student Assessment.
Assessment of speaking and listening proficiency in 073 depends on a variety of measures, not
just in-class tests and exams. It is not a totally quantitative process, so it allows for some
interpretation of what is best for each student. However, there are also standardized expectations
for passing the course. (See Course Structure and Goals on page 3). Also, it is reasonable for
teachers to weigh the performance of students closer to the end of the semester differently from
their performance at the beginning of the course.
Student assessment begins during the first week of the semester with a diagnostic listening test.
New students can be moved to a lower level, or placed out of the course, at this point based on
the results of this assessment. A continuing student who has passed 072 cannot be moved to a
lower level even if English 073 seems inappropriate. Therefore, the teacher will have to work
with that student either to fill in the gaps in background.
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Final exam performance is one factor among others in deciding a student’s grade. The classroom
instructor makes the final decision about whether each student is ready to pass the course by
using a semester-long evaluation of that student’s performance, with an eye both to consistent
improvement and the student’s level at the end of the semester.
Students’ speaking skill and listening comprehension will be measured by their performance on
oral or written discrete point listening tests and on their ability to capture the main points and
details of college lectures on written and oral tests. In addition, their ability to speak
comprehensibly with grammatically accurate English, adequate pronunciation, and adequate
control of academic vocabulary will be demonstrated by graded in-class presentations (longer
than in English 072) on topics related to lectures, readings or peer discussion. Student must
also be able to answer extemporaneously questions from class members about such
presentations. Students’ ability to use basic social language rules, such as for greetings,
partings, beginning and ending conversations, giving advice, agreeing and disagreeing, giving
directives, and participating in academic “service” encounters will be measured through graded
and ungraded classroom activities such as role-playing and discussion. Their comprehension in
conversations with classmates, teachers, and other native speakers on both academic and
everyday topics will be assessed (through paraphrasing, clarification, etc.) by one-on-one
interviews or examinations with the instructors, as well as by teacher observation over the
course of the semester.
There are three grades for the course, P (pass), MP (making progress), and F
(failing). In order to receive a passing (P) grade, a student must have a passing grade on most of
the recorded talks and listening tests and must complete all of the assigned work. In order to
pass the course, at the end of the course you must pass the final listening exam. The grade of MP
is given to students who do the work for the class but have not
passed the majority of assignments. The grade of F is given to students who do not meet the
attendance requirements, or who do not complete the class assignments or tests.
J. Course Assessment.
ESL faculty members engage each semester in curriculum discussion and refer to the course
documents to assess the course. Syllabi and assignments are constructed and assessed using
information contained in the current course documents. Course reviews are carried out by
committees that meet every several years to determine whether revision is necessary. Faculty
also complete annual course evaluations using the English Department’s course evaluation
form. (See Appendix.)
K. Sample syllabus.
English 073
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Instructor:
Office:
Room BR-23J
Contact:
215 751-8000
Office Hours: MWF 12:30-1:30; TR 11-1
Course Description: English 073 is an advanced, academically oriented speaking and
listening course for students of English as a second language. This course gives students
final preparation for using English orally in academic settings, including college-level
courses. The course in a three-part series of academic speaking and listening courses, it
provides practice in complex communication tasks, including oral presentations, with
emphasis on sentence intonation and word stress. It continues the study of grammar begun
in English 071 and 072, and prepares the student for note-taking, discussion and advanced
reading skills necessary for college work.
Required Text and Materials:
College Oral Communication Book 4, by S. Jones, published by Houghton-Mifflin.
This textbook comes with a CD which you can use at home or in the College’s listening lab in
MR-5. In addition, you will see and listen to computer-based material in class or in the
listening lab. A web site containing extra material, including practice quizzes is available at
the following website:
http://college.hmco.com/esl/eas/college_oral_communication_4/1e/students/index.html
Resources. Some listening material, as well as equipment for making recordings, is available in
the Language Listening Lab in MR-5, near the Rotunda in the Mint Building. The hours of the
lab are posted on the lab door.
The Central Learning Lab, B-1-28, provides occasional workshops and discussion groups for
ESL students. Most students would benefit from participating in these. I will make occasional
announcements about these events during the semester.
The work for this course assumes that students are familiar with the grammar concepts and terms
appropriate for advanced students. You may wish to consult a grammar textbook or reference
book used in your reading and writing course to help you with the work for this course.
Also, in assigning the work for this course, I assume that students know the material taught in
English 072, the intermediate speaking and listening course, whether you have taken that course
or not. If you would like help reviewing that material, I can provide you with texts, a 072 course
description, etc. A website containing basic information about English pronunciation is at:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
Course Goals and Activities:
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Goals:
The activities in this course are designed to help you learn more about the following speaking
and listening skills:
 pronunciation skills, including:
 knowledge of the individual sounds in the English sound system,
 recognizing and using correct stress on syllables;
 recognizing and correctly using changes in sounds and stress in various forms of
academic vocabulary
 using the appropriate speaking style for different social situations;
 participating in an academic conversation, including expressing opinions, asking for
clarification, respectfully disagreeing;
 making a group decision or recommendation;
 making an oral presentation to an audience, with notes.
Speaking activities include:
 participating in small group and large group discussions on academic topics; participating in
communication and pronunciation practice in class;
 preparing audiotapes or other recordings, to be handed in as homework assignments; these
talks will be on topics discussed in class. These tapes will be returned to you with oral or
written comments on content, organization, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation;
 making short oral reports to the class about work done in class;
 making a formal presentation to the class on an academic topic.
Listening activities include:
 practicing the skills that are necessary to participate in group discussions, lectures, and other
academic speech, including work on pronunciation, academic vocabulary, grammar related to
oral language;
 listening to lectures given "live" in class and preparing for tests on the contents of these
lectures;
 listening to oral presentations by classmates;
Assignments
The material for the course is divided into six units. We will spend about two weeks doing the
work for each unit. For each unit, you will have a similar set of basic assignments and activities
to complete:



Discuss the content of the material related to a college course. Sometimes, this discussion
will be based on reading that you will be asked to do.
Study the meaning and form of academic vocabulary that you are likely to meet in college
courses.
Study material that describes listening and speaking strategies that successful students use in
academic courses. Sometimes this includes classroom activities in listening and speaking.
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


Listen to longer examples of lectures, conversations, or discussions that are like the ones you
will hear in an academic course, and then take notes or do other activities that are designed to
help you understand and remember what you have heard.
Participate in speaking activities that include group discussions, oral presentations to the
whole class, etc.
Take tests, including tests in listening, in which you take notes and answer questions about
what you have heard, and in speaking, in which you make tape recordings about the topics
related to the unit.
Grades:
To measure your development in speaking and listening comprehension you will take oral and
written quizzes and tests. These tests will show how well you are able to understand what you
hear and to capture the main points and details of college lectures and other examples of
academic speech. In addition, you will do an oral presentation as well as other types of less
formal speaking activities in class.
There are three grades for the course, P (pass), MP (making progress), and F
(failing). In order to receive a passing (P) grade, you must have a passing grade on the majority
of the speaking assignments and listening tests, and must complete all of the assigned work. In
order to pass the course, at the end of the course you must pass the final listening exam. The
grade of MP is given to students who do the work for the class but have not passed the majority
of assignments. The grade of F is given to students who do not meet the attendance
requirements, or who do not complete the class assignments or tests.
The following breakdown describes how each type of assignment contributes to your overall
grade. In addition to successfully completing the types of assessments listed below, you must
pass the final exam:
Speaking assessments:
Formal presentation: 25%
Short speaking assignments: 75%
Listening assessments:
Midterm listening test: 25%
Short listening tests: 75%
Class rules: College rules require that you be dropped from the course if you miss the
equivalent of more than two weeks worth of classes. There are exceptions for illness and other
emergencies.
Assignments will not be accepted after their due dates unless illness or other emergencies have
kept you away from class.
During class all of us must follow basic English rules for having conversations. This means that
when the teacher or a class member is addressing the whole group, other class members should
not talk to each other.
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During tests, class members may not speak to each other about any topic. If there are questions
about the test or if there are other problems, you should speak to me.
If you have a disability that will affect your work in class, please visit the Center on Disability to
discuss the best way to meet your needs. If you already have documentation from the Center
recommending accommodations, please present it to me at the end of the first class. I am happy
to work with you to meet your needs.
Office hours: I am available to meet students to review assignments or to discuss any other
topic during my office hours. If these times are not convenient for you, we can arrange a time
that is better. To make sure that I am free during the time you want to see me, make an
appointment with me before or after class.
Weekly Schedule of Topics
Week 1-2.
Unit 1. History.
Interaction focus: interacting in class
Recognize syllable stress in academic vocabulary
Recognize advanced time expressions
Work as a member of a group on an academic task
Summarize the main points of a lecture
Prepare and present a short report in front of the class
Week 3-4. Unit 2. Psychology.
Interaction focus: maintaining a conversation
Recognize and take notes on cause and effect expressions
Recognize and understand past participles used as adjectives
Compare and clarify lecture notes with classmates
Speak with cause and effect expressions
Ask questions for clarification during a lecture
Prepare for a lecture test
Week 5-6, Unit 3. E-commerce.
Interaction focus: Speaking to a group
Recognize examples in a lecture
Understand information about class assignments
Summarize information from a chart
Summarize a case study
Choose a topic for an oral presentation
Week 7. Midterm listening exam.
(Oral presentations will begin after the midterm.)
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Week 8-9 Unit 4. Sociology.
Interaction focus: making a group decision
Recognize and produce word forms in a word family
Summarize quantitative information from a chart
Make a group decision based on values
Use academic social rules for politeness
Week 10-11. Unit 5. Science.
Interaction focus: Developing a presentation
Recognize and understand passive voice
Summarize a laboratory investigation: describing steps in a process
Summarize data from a chart
Week 12-13. Unit 6. Literature.
Interaction focus: Taking a stand on an issue
Take notes on a class handout
Understand paraphrases
Respond to arguments: agreeing and disagreeing
Persuade an audience about issues, claims, and evidence
Week 14. Review
Week 15. Final listening exam.
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