Essex County College
ESL – 095
Intermediate Grammar/Conversation
Required Books:
John Hills
Room 1110 (Bilingual Dept., Red Area)
(973) 877 – 3227
(973) 877 – 3450 (Department Secretary)
Office Hours: MTR – 11:40-1:00
E-mail: Hills@essex.edu
Beyond Tue Stories, by Sandra Heyer
The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho
Required Materials:
A loose-leaf binder for all class assignments, including freewriting, double-entry
reading journal, and writing portfolio.
An English to English dictionary
Pens, pencils, erasers, and anything else you will need for writing
Course Description:
This is an intermediate reading and writing course for students whose first
language is not English. The goal of this course is to increase each student’s
fluency in English, especially when it comes to reading and writing. Students in
this course will read two novels written in authentic English, and write about
and discuss them. Each student will complete a writing project over the course
of the semester. This project will include finished pieces of writing which the
student will have revised of content, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Course Requirements:
1.
Final Writing Project – Near the end of the semester, each student will submit a writing project that
includes seven or eight compositions that the student has written, revised, and edited during the
semester.
2.
Mid-Term and Final Exam – There will be two in-class composition exams, at the middle and the
end of the semester. These are departmental exams and they will be read and graded by two
instructors in the Bilingual Department. These exams and the final writing project comprise 60% of
the final grade. Students must attain a score of 3.75 in their compositions to move on to the next level
in the ESL program.
3.
Reading Journal (Double-entry journal) – Each student is required to read completely each of the
two books assigned for this class. Every reading assignment must be accompanied by an entry in the
students reading journal which will include passages from the reading assignment and the student's
opinions, feelings, and ideas.
4.
Quizzes and Tests – We will have occasional quizzes and tests on the readings and vocabulary.
Students are required to maintain a section of their binder for new vocabulary from our texts and
discussions. The instructor will announce all quizzes and tests ahead of time.
5.
Homework – These assignments will be written on the blackboard at the end of each class and will
be due the next class unless otherwise noted. If you should be absent for any reason, you are
expected to bring all homework assignments to the next class you attend. Each student should have
the phone number of three other students who they may call for the assignments. The instructor will
check homework on a daily basis and lack of homework could seriously affect your grade.
6.
Class Participation – All students must attend and participate in all class activities. Extensive
absences will result in failing the class.
Grading System:
Final Exam
25%
Mid-term
10%
Final Writing Project
25%
Reading Journal
20%
Quizzes, Tests,
Homework/Class Participation
20%
N.B.: Students must achieve a score of at least 3.75 by the final writing exam to be able to pass to the next
level of ESL.
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.
Homework will be checked every class. Being absent is no excuse for not having your homework. If
you should be absent, call a classmate for the assignment. Lack of homework will lower your grade.
Excessive absences will lower your grade. Being absent ten or more times will result in a failing grade
for the course (five or more times for evening classes).
3.
Coming in late to class is very disruptive. If a student is continually late for class, that student will be
referred to a counselor. If you should come late because of an emergency, enter the room quietly;
some seats near the door will be reserved for this situation. Being late three times equals one absence.
4.
Once class begins, English is the only language to be spoken.
5.
Because our classes are large, a lot of work will be done in groups. All students must cooperate to
ensure that we use these group situations wisely, and that all discussions within these groups are in
English.