Northern Virginia Community College
Loudoun Campus
ESL 042
Reading II
Instructor:
Days and Times:
Room:
Deborah Rice
MW 7:00 – 9:20 PM
LR102
Office Hours:
E-mail:
MW 6:30 – 7:00 PM and by appointment
drice@nvcc.edu
Required texts:
 Langan, John. Ten Steps to Improving College Reading Skills, 5th Ed.
 Longman Advanced Dictionary of American English
 Nist, Sherrie L. and Carole Mohr. Improving Vocabulary Skills, Short Version, 4th
Ed.
 Tyler, Anne. Digging to America
Course Description:
ESL 042 is designed to help ESL students improve their reading
comprehension and vocabulary development. This class seeks to enable each student to develop
effective reading skills in order to function adequately in college courses.
Course Goals and Objectives:
Using reading materials appropriate for the level of
instruction, including both fiction and non-fiction, students will be able to:
 demonstrate increased word power by successfully using context clues, the dictionary,
and their knowledge of word parts
 recognize main ideas, differentiate main ideas from major and minor supporting details in
written materials
 relate new information to prior knowledge
 make predictions about the content of materials they are given to read
 distinguish between facts and opinions
 make inferences
 evaluate arguments
 summarize text
 paraphrase information
 write clear, well-paraphrased summaries in class under time pressure
 understand literary and language elements used in novels
 respond in writing to readings in a thoughtful, logical manner
Course Requirements: You are responsible for ALL assignments, both out-of-class and in-.
Out-of-class assignments will be typed, double-spaced, and use MLA format. If you miss an
assignment, it is your responsibility to find out about it and to complete it on time. NO LATE
WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. No exceptions.
POLICIES
Plagiarism and Academic Honesty Policy: Plagiarism is the uncredited use of somebody else‟s
idea as your own or to use ideas without giving credit to the source. It can be deliberate with the
intent to steal another person‟s idea and deceive the teacher or it can be unintentional. The ESL
Department takes matters of plagiarism very seriously. The department‟s policy regarding
plagiarism is set forth as follows:
1st offense: Student receives a zero for the assignment. The student may redo it for learning
purposes but not for a grade. Student may fail the class. However, if the student‟s first offense is
on the midterm or final, the student WILL fail the class.
2nd offense: Student fails the class and may have a documented meeting with the Assistant Dean.
Academic honesty is expected of all students. Cheating is not tolerated at this college or any
other American college or university. You should not cheat; you should not look like you are
cheating; and you should not help anyone else to cheat. Students who cheat could receive a
failing grade on the test or assignments, fail the course, or even be dismissed from the class or
the college. See “Ethics of the American Classroom” in the 2009-2011 NVCC Student
Handbook: Student Conduct, Rights, and Responsibilities, Section VI, Academic Dishonesty.
Attendance Policy: In order to achieve the important goals set for this course and to meet the
NVCC attendance requirements, students need a minimum of 85% attendance (a maximum of 3)
absences) for a full grade. If a student is more than 10 minutes late, or has to leave more than ten
minutes early, he/she will be counted as tardy. Three tardies equal one absence. If a student
misses more than 30 minutes of class, he/she will be counted absent. If a student should miss
eight (8) classes in a row, he/she will be automatically withdrawn from the class. Students who
miss more than three classes may receive an unsatisfactory grade (U). If a student misses a
test, an explanation must be given, and the professor will discuss possible make-up times/dates.
Financial Aid:
If you are receiving financial aid for NOVA courses, please note these important changes to the
financial aid policies for 2011-12 semesters: Starting now, all those receiving financial aid for
NOVA classes “must, at a minimum, receive satisfactory grades in 67% of cumulative
credits attempted.” If your cumulative grades are not satisfactory for one semester (lower than
67% passing), you will be put on “Financial Aid Warning Status,” which means you will have
one semester to raise your grades above 67% success. If you do not, you will be put on
“Financial Aid Suspension Status,” which means you will have to pay for all NOVA courses
yourself until your grades meet or exceed the required 67% standard. This policy change is of
great importance to new ESL students for two reasons: First, because this requirement is
cumulative, it is much easier to fall below the 67% of cumulative credits since new students do
not have many completed credits. Second, our ESL courses are 5 credits each (and ESL 20 is 10
credits); therefore, it is much easier to fall below the required 67% passing requirement even with
only one failing grade. In short, the benefit of financial aid now requires academic
excellence for all participants. Please speak to your professor or a financial aid counselor if you
have any questions about the above. (see http://www.nvcc.edu/current-students/paying-forcollege/financial-assistance/docs/125301.pdf)
Cell Phones:
All cell phones are to be turned off during the class! If you have an emergency, please see me in
advance.
Grades:
Class grades will be based on a 100-point system; a passing grade for this class requires a
minimum of a 75% cumulative average AND the student MUST pass each of the reading,
vocabulary, summary, and novel sections of the course. Student has met the course requirements
if:
 Every reading test was passed with an average of 75% or higher
 Every vocabulary test was passed with an average of 75% or higher. Midterm and final
exams will count double
 Every summary – both in-class and out-of-class – received a passing grade. Summary
grading rubrics will be distributed with each assignment
 All „Reader Response‟ entries were completed satisfactorily
 Library Research Project were completed satisfactorily
 Attendance, homework, and class participation were satisfactory
Grade definitions:
S = Satisfactory
R = Re-enroll
The student has completed all course assignments successfully
and can move to the next level.
The student is making satisfactory progress toward meeting
the course requirements but needs more time to complete
them. The student must register for 042 again.
U = Unsatisfactory The student has excessive absences and/or work is
unacceptable or incomplete. The student must take 042 again.
W = Withdraw:
Student has either withdrawn voluntarily or has been
withdrawn by the teacher.
Please note the following College Policies that affect you:
 Students are expected to follow Information Student/Patron Ethics Agreement as posted in
computer areas and academic integrity standards as set down in the Student Handbook.
 Northern Virginia Community College is a place for learning and growing. You should feel
safe and comfortable anywhere on this campus. In order to meet this objective, you should:
let your instructor, his/her supervisor, the Dean of Students or Provost know if an unsafe,
unwelcome or uncomfortable situation arises that interferes with the learning process.
 Inform the instructor within the first two weeks of classes if you have special needs or a
disability that may affect your performance in class. Accommodations, as specified by
college policy, will be made for students who have a signed disability form from the
counselor.
In the event of hazardous weather conditions, please listen to the television and radio
stations to determine if the campus is closing early or has been closed (see the attached
“How to Interpret Closing Announcements”). You may also check the nvcc.edu page for
up-to-date school closure information.
Important Dates
Classes Begin
Labor Day Holiday (no classes)
Last day to drop w/ tuition refund
Non-instructional days (no classes)
Last day to drop w/ no grade penalty
Non-instructional day (no classes)
Thanksgiving Holiday (no classes)
Last week of classes
Final exam week
August 22
September 5
September 8
October 10-11
October 31
November 23
November 24-27
December 5-12
December 13-19
Assignments
All reading and vocabulary exercises are to be completed by the beginning of class on the
specified day. Please bring your textbooks to class each day.
Week
Reading Skills/Assignments
Vocabulary
Weeks 1 – 4
Introduction/ Pretest
Pretest
Chapter 1 (10 Steps)
Chapters 1 – 5
Introduction to Summarizing/Paraphrasing
Reading
Selections from
10 Steps
&
Chapter 1 Test
Unit 1 Review
Summary #1 TBA
Unit 1 Test
Assorted Short
Readings
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Test
In-class Summary #1
Chapter 3
Weeks 5 – 8
Summary #2 TBA
Chapter 3 Test
Chapters 6 – 10
Selections from
10 Steps
Chapter 4
In-class Summary #2
Unit 2 Review
Chapter 4 Test
Unit 2 Test
Summary #3 TBA
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 Test
Summary #4 TBA
Midterm In-class Summary
Midterm Reading Skills Test
MIDTERM CONFERENCES
&
Assorted Short
Readings
Weeks 9 – 12
Chapter 6
Introduction to Response Writing
Chapters 11 – 15
Reader Response #1
(5 People)
Unit 3 Review
Chapter 6 Test
Unit 3 Test
5 People
Ch 1
Chapter quiz
5 People
Ch 2
Chapter quiz,
Chapter 7
5 People
Ch 3
Chapter Quiz
Chapter 7 Test
Reader Response #2
Weeks 13 – 16
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Test
Chapters 16 – 20
5 People
Ch 4
Chapter quiz
Unit 4 Review
5 People
Ch 5
Chapter quiz,
Chapter 9
Reader Response #3
Chapter 9 Test
Chapter 10
Final Exam
Chapter 10 Test
Reader Response #4
Combined Skills: Final Exam
Final Summary
FINAL CONFERENCES
5 People
Ch 6
Chapter quiz
Library
Research
Project
Final Exam
This schedule is subject to change
Valuable resources for students:
To use the following resources, you need to go to the Computer Lab to get a special log-in.
The following items are available on the desktops of the computers in the computer labs:
FEG (Fundamentals of English Grammar): A great resource for exercises in specific
grammar topics.
UUEG (Understanding and Using English Grammar): A more advanced resource for the
same topics – and more – covered in FEG.
www.townsendpress.net contains exercises from the reading and vocabulary texts.