Essex County College
ESL – 080
Intermediate Grammar
John Hills
Room 1110 (Bilingual Dept., Red Area)
(973) 877 – 3227
(973) 877 – 3450 (Department Secretary)
Office Hours: M,T,Th: 11:40 –1:00
E-mail: Hills@essex.edu
Required Books:
Grammar in Context 2, Fifth Edition, by Sandra Elbaum
Required Materials:
An English to English dictionary
Pens, pencils, erasers, and anything else you will need for writing
Course Description:
ESL 080 is a four and a half credit course that accompanies ESL 095, an
intermediate reading and writing course for students whose first language is not
English. This course is for students who need to understand basic English
grammatical structures for effective communication and self-error analysis and
correction. The grammatical structures will be presented on a natural context
through informative, high-interest readings, meaningful discussions and followup writing exercises.
Course Objectives:
At the end of the course, you will be able to:

be familiar with the terminology of the basic English grammatical structures studied in class:
primarily with present, past, and future verb tenses.

understand the rules of grammar and their use in correct speaking and writing.

apply the rules of grammar for error analysis and correction.

understand the difference between communicating in speech and writing.

identify and analyze grammatical structures in the context of assigned readings and writing
exercises.
Grading System:
Attendance/ Participation,
Homework
25%
Tests
50%
In-class compositions, quizzes
25%
Class Rules:
1.
All cell phones must be turned off during class time! Students will be asked to leave the class
if their phones continue to go off during class. This will be counted as an absence.
2.
Regular attendance is crucial to success in this class and will be reflected in your grade. If you are
absent more than 10% (five class sessions) you will not pass the class.
To be very clear, if you
are absent, whether excused or unexcused, you are still absent and therefore participation cannot
be made up. In-class compositions cannot be made-up.
3.
Since our classes are short, it is extremely important that everyone arrive on time. Late arrivals,
even justified, are disruptive for the class. If you arrive after attendance has been taken, you are
late. Three times late are equal to one absence.
Please keep in mind that if you leave the class
early it is also considered a lateness or absence.
4.
Homework is extremely important to your progress in this course, as reflected by the grading
policy. I recommend that you exchange phone numbers with at least two other students in the
class so that missed in-class or homework assignments can be made-up if absent.
5.
Once class begins, English is the only language to be spoken, including in group work.
6.
If you are having difficulties of any kind, I encourage you to come and see me, either in my office
or after class. Do not wait until it is too late.
Week 1:
Course Orientation; Syllabus; Writing sample; Introductions
Weeks 2 & 3:
Basic sentence order, , present and present continuous
Week 4:
Test #1; In-class composition #1; Revision exercises; Future Tense
Weeks 5 & 6:
Past and Past Continuous
Week 7:
Test #2; In-class composition #2; Revision exercises
Weeks 8 & 9:
Singular and Plural Forms; Nouns and Pronouns
Week 10:
Nouns and Pronouns; Test #3; Revision Exercises
Weeks 11 & 12: Adjectives; Comparative and Superlative
Week 13:
In-class composition #3; Revision exercises; Sentence Structure revision
Week 14:
Test #4; Sentence structure; Revision exercise
Week 15:
REVIEW FOR FINAL EXAM
Week 16:
Last Day of Classes
Grades Due to Registrar
Weekly Schedule subject to change.