INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF GRAND-BASSAM University Preparatory Program UPP0324A – Oral Communication – Advance Level Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00pm-5:20am R03 Syllabus for January Semester I. Instructor Information: A. Name: Ms. Lorie Mattox B. Email: mattox.l@iugb.edu.ci C. Office location: 121 D. Office hours: By arrangement only II. Course information A. Number of Class Hours per week: 3 B. Number of Credits: 0 C. Articulation: GSU/UH/UAB: N/A D. Course Prerequisites: IUGB Entrance Test E. Computer Skills Prerequisites (CSP): 1, 6, 7 F. Course Description: Students develop basic oral presentation skills appropriate for low intermediate learners. They will practice speaking accurately and fluently through planned speeches, impromptu speeches, class discussions, speaking games, and debates in order to prepare for both classroom situations and the TOEFL oral questions. Pronunciation problems and common grammar errors will be addressed as they arise. III. Guiding Principles: The learning outcomes and objectives of this course are supported by the following guiding principles: Communication (Oral and Written) Collaboration Critical Thinking Contemporary Issues (if appropriate) Quantitative Skills (if appropriate) Technology Problem Solving IV. Learning Objectives: At the end of the course, students should be able to: A. Make an effective oral presentation, averaging 3 or more on the IUGB speaking placement rubric B. Pronounce high frequency words correctly C. Speak using basic intonation, stress, and rhythm D. Express themselves in simple, complex, and compound sentences E. Greet people of authority, friends, and strangers appropriately F. Apologize, make excuses, complain, express agreement and disagreement G. Use some of the most common American idiomatic expressions in conversation H. Avoid global and patchwork plagiarism in presentations 1 V. Recommended Texts Sweeny, Simon. English for Business Communication (Student’s Book). London: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print. VI. Additional Materials / Bibliography Miller, Sue F. Targeting Pronunciation: Communicating Clearly in English (with CD). Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Print. VII. Methodology Used: Various student-centered approaches with activities that encourage student involvement, motivation, and interest. Students are encouraged to actively participate in the course. VIII. Presentations: Students are required to deliver six presentations. Two weeks before the presentations are due, the instructor will cover the type of speech student will give. Students should write out their speech, but they will be graded on the presentation only. The class will complete peer evaluations for some of the presentations. IX. Discussion Forums (7): Students are required to visit the Discussion Forum regularly; 2 relevant, brief or longer, comments per cycle (one early, one later) would be optimal. Each topic is open for 2 weeks and each relates to course topics or the presentations. Students will be assigned a topic and will generate questions for discussion. Students may post a response about the question or respond to another person’s posting. This should be viewed as an on-line discussion in which persons can post opinions, describe personal experiences, and pose questions just like during an in-class discussion. Candidates will be required to post at least 2 times per topic. Students will be penalized for “lumping” all Blog visits on one day late in a topic cycle. See Appendix A. X. Small Talk Recordings: Students are required to record 10 conversations with other students or assigned speakers. The conversations will target the specific pronunciation skill focused on during class. Students will evaluate their recordings afterwards to determine how well they met the specific pronunciation skill. See Appendix B. XI. E-Portfolio: Through the semester students should place the following documents and audio/video files in a Google Site student portfolio (see Appendix C). After setting up your personal site the 1st week, share the site with your instructor. Each assignment demonstrates understanding and mastery of the learning objectives. A. 1 Peer Evaluation on a presentation (student’s choice) B. 2 written Presentations (student’s choice) C. 3 recordings of Presentations (student’s choice) D. 4 Discussion Forums: (student’s choice) E. 5 recorded Small Talks with student’s self evaluation F. E-Portfolio assessment: at the end of the semester, students should record themselves verbally explaining why they chose the particular items for their e-portfolio. Explain how these items helped improve his or her speaking skills and affirmed/changed their views of speaking English. This assignment should be posted during the 13th week. XII. Assessments and Project Description A. Frequency B. Weighting of different assessments Total=100% 2 C. Types and expectations E-Portfolios 15% Discussion Forums and Small Talk Recordings 15% Presentations 20% Midterm 20% Final 30% IUGB Grading Scale Letter Grade Credit A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CD F K V W WF I XIII. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NO YES NO NO NO NO Quality Grading Scale (In Percentage) Points 4.30 97-100 4.00 93-96 3.70 90-92 3.30 87-89 3.00 83-86 2.70 80-82 2.30 77-79 2.00 73-76 1.70 70-72 1.00 59.5-69 0.00 <59.5 0.00 Credit by Exam Pass/Fail 0.00 Audit 0.00 Withdrawal 0.00 Failing withdrawal 0.00 Check with faculty General Policies Students are expected to follow all published IUGB rules and regulations. The instructor reserves the right to modify the outline and/or the assignments as deemed necessary to meet certain needs or situations that will arise during the semester. Students with Special Needs or Disabilities: Please let the instructor know if you have any special needs and need specific accommodations. Attendance Policy Attendance is NOT optional. Students are expected to attend each class meeting and be on time. Students who have unexcused absences for more than 20% of course meetings will fail the course. Students may be marked absent if they are ten minutes late, create a disruption, leave class without permission, leave class early or for extended periods of time, or take part in forbidden classroom behavior (such as texting, instant messaging, accessing websites unrelated to class work). 3 Submission of assignments All assignments for the course are to be completed and submitted on time in order to receive full credit. Late assignments could incur the loss of 10 pts per day. If an assignment will be late, please notify the instructor and work out a new submission time. Make-up policy Missed work can be made up, only if the absence is excused. You might not be able to make up some small assignments, for example, those involving group works. Academic Integrity Students are encouraged to assist each other in mastering the concepts and skills covered in the course. However, an individual assignment, group project, a quiz or an exam submitted by a student fulfilling the requirements of this course must be the result of that student’s personal effort, and not copied from another work or performed by anyone else. Any student who cheats, plagiarizes, or performs any other act of academic dishonesty is guilty of academic misconduct. Any academic misconduct in this course will be dealt with according to IUGB’s academic misconduct policy and will result in an automatic “F” for the assignment. A repeated offense will result in course failure and be reported to the UPP director. If you have any questions about what might be considered plagiarism, please ask your instructor, librarian, or writing lab tutor. Classroom conduct Respect of instructors and fellow students is very important. Use of cell phones, I-pods, etc is strictly prohibited during class unless they are being used legitimately for a class assignment. No text messaging during class! Phones should be turned OFF during the class period. Improper use of electronic devices will lower your class participation grade or cause you to be marked absent. Students who are dressed in a distracting manner will be asked to leave class and be marked absent. Assistance with course This may be arranged either directly with the instructor, or through the Advisory Process XIV. Faculty Biographical information As a Texan, I understand the importance of hard work, encouragement and pride. In school, I’ve always worked hard to not only make good grades but to apply and test the things I’ve learned. After graduating with a BA in English, specializing in Technical Writing, I had the opportunity to work in Ghana and Zambia producing a variety of publications, including literacy materials. I then returned to the US to work in a publishing house. Also around this time I started teaching a community conversational English class and learned the importance of encouragement. Learning a new language is a stressful exercise, and I constantly reminded my students this was a feasible task. This eventually led to my decision to work on my MA in Education focusing on adult ESL. After graduation, I taught part-time and had the opportunity to see many of my students enter the work force or university as their English levels improved. I see my students as future world leaders and have a deep sense of pride in all that will be accomplished. I look forward to seeing these same qualities in you, your hard work to master English, encouraging each other on this journey and pride in 4 yourself as you accomplish this task. I believe that each of you will have an important part in the future. XV. Course Outline Class Homework WEEK 1 Day 1 Intro to course Small talk (discussion forum & small talk recordings) Discussion Forum 1: What do you want to get out of this course? EBC Reading: p. 6-7 Eye Contact Prepare All About Me presentation Day 2 All About Me Presentations EBC: Unit 1 Building a relationship Welcomes Small talk WEEK 2 Day 3 TP1: Improving your Pronunciation Day 4 EBC: Unit 2 Culture and entertainment Impromptu Speech overview Small Talk recording 1 EBC Reading: p. 14-15 The Impact of Culture on Business Discussion Forum 2: What kinds of social activities in Abidjan could be appropriate ways to entertaining visitors from other countries? WEEK 3 Day 5 TP2: Pronunciation Basics Receive Impromptu Speech topic Day 6 Impromptu Speech presentation Small Talk recording 2 Prepare Impromptu Speech presentation WEEK 4 Day 7 TP3: Stress Syllables and Speaking Clearly Day 8 EBC: Unit 3 Could I leave a message? Personal Narrative overview Small Talk recording 3 EBC Activity: p. 25 Preparing to make a telephone call #3 Discussion Forum 3: discuss the implications of the cartoon on p. 29 The secretarial barrier. Tell if you have dealt with a secretary or if you’ve had to be the secretary. Prepare Personal Narrative presentation 5 WEEK 5 Day 9 TP4: Intonation Patterns Small Talk recording 4 Prepare Personal Narrative presentation Day 10 Personal Narrative presentation WEEK 6 Day 11 TP5: Speech Rhythm Small Talk recording 5 COC Reading: p. 35 Telephoning across cultures #2 & 3 Day 12 EBC: Unit 4 Good to hear from you again! Discussion Forum 4: Discuss the importance of following up an informative telephone call with an email? WEEK 7 Midterm Review/Midterm WEEK 8 Day 15 TP6: Vowels & speech music Small Talk recording 6 COC Reading: p. 64-66 Using visual aids: general principles # 1, 2, 3 & 4 Day 16 EBC: Unit 7 Image, impact and making an impression Demonstration Speech overview Discussion Forum 5: Tell about a time when a visual aid malfunctioned or did not suit the presentation. How did you feel as an observer? How would you have handled the situation? Prepare Demonstration Speech presentation (pairs) WEEK 9 Day 17 TP7: The melody of speech Small Talk recording 7 Prepare Demonstration Speech presentation (pairs) Day 18 Demonstration Speech presentation W E E K 10 Day 15 Spring Break (Mon & Tues) No Class Mon & Tues EBC Reading: p. 103-104 The structure of decision making #1, 2 & 3 Day 16 EBC: Unit 11 Sorry to interrupt, but… Persuasive Speech overview Discussion Forum 6: Think of a decisionmaking meeting that you participated in recently, and identify a structure to the 6 decision-making process. Prepare Persuasive Speech presentation W E E K 11 Day 17 TP8: Speech pathway Small Talk recording 8 Prepare Persuasive Speech presentation Day 18 Persuasive Speech presentation W E E K 12 Day 19 TP9: Important Endings Day 20 EBC: Unit 14 Getting what you can Informative Speech overview Small Talk recording 9 EBC Reading: p. 132-134 Bargaining and making concessions #1 & 2 Discussion Forum 7: Think about a recent personal bargaining experience in a nonbusiness situation. What principles can you apply from that experience to a business situation? Prepare Informative Speech presentation (groups) W E E K 13 Day 21 TP10: More vowels and consonants Small Talk recording 10 Prepare Informative Speech presentation (groups) Day 22 Informative Speech presentation (groups) E-Portfolio assessment W E E K 14 Review W E E K 15 Day 25 Final 7 Appendix A: Discussion Forums After beginning a new topic in class, the instructor will post a class discussion question on Edu2.0. Students will have two weeks to provide a response to the question and at least one comment to another student’s response. Students may need to wait until the second week to post a comment to another student’s response. Students are encouraged to comment more than once as an opportunity to practice writing in English. Under this class in Edu2.0, click on Forums in the left hand menu. The instructor will begin a thread with a question or statement that students will respond to. Student responses need to be well thought out, substantial, and cover the topic. Once students have responded, be sure to click the Subscribe button to receive alerts to postings to your response. Appendix B: Small Talk recordings Students need to locate a voice-recording program or app for recording Small Talks. The program needs to have the ability to mail the recording to student’s email address and e-portfolios. Most smart phones come with a program. Apps can be found for Android or Apple tablets. Computer programs can also be found. A good free program is Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net). 8 Appendix C: E-Portfolios E-portfolios are electronic folders showcasing a student’s best work. It is an effective tool to allow students to self-monitor their progress over the semester. In this course, you will create an eportfolio though Google Sites. This will allow you to access your portfolio along with your IUGB gmail account. Directions for creating a Google Sites e-portfolio: 1. Sign into your IUGB gmail account, but don’t select Mail. 2. Click on the symbol ( ) and choose Sites from the pull down menu. 3. Click on Create in the left hand menu. 4. Use your name in the Name Your Site box (ex: Aly Gbane) 5. Under Select a Template to Use, choose a Blank Template or Browse the Gallery for More. 6. Once you have selected your template, click Create. This will provide you the first page of your e-portfolio. You should create an introduction for yourself on the main page. Then create your table of contents for the left hand side menu. Your table of contents should include the title of this course UPP0224 and any other courses where instructors ask students to create a Google Sites e-portfolio. Typing text for the introduction: 1. Click on the pencil image or Edit Page (s) button. 2. Click on the text box and begin typing your introduction information. 3. When you are finished, click on Save. This provides your home page. To add, delete, copy or move pages, click on the “gear” image or More Actions button. To share e-portfolio with others: 1. Click on the “gear” image or More Actions button. 2. Select Sharing and Permissions. 3. In the Invite People box, type my email address (mattox.l@iugb.edu.ci). You can only add addresses that end in @iugb.edu.ci. 4. Click Send. An invitation will be sent to all the email addresses you entered. They will need to accept your invitation before they can access your site. The above three steps need to be completed by Week 2! This is just the basic information about setting up a site. You will need to take the time to play with the site to see what it does and how to personalize it to your tastes. Have fun! 9 Appendix D: Reflection Journal Worksheet Reflection Journal Worksheet Keeping a journal about your speaking and listening experiences will increase your awareness about your own pronunciation and provide a record of your progress.* SAMPLE JOURNAL ONE Goal: To improve word stress Reflection: In class this week, I noticed that the rubber band helped me a lot to lengthen the stressed syllable. I decided to write down some words that I use at work: publicity, marketing, agreement, feasibility study, and sustained growth. I marked the stressed syllables. I made a real effort to stretch out the stressed syllables using my rubber band. Then I made up sentences with the words and recorded them. When I listened, it sounded better, but I made another recording anyway. I tried to say those words more correctly at work and was thinking about my speech when I said them. SAMPLE JOURNAL TWO Goal: To improve my ability to describe events and pick out the important words Reflection: I took a series of photos at my sister’s wedding and decided to put them in the order of what happened so I could tell the story of her wedding. Then I began to tell the story. I tried to stress the focus word in each sentence and use pauses. The kind of practice was very helpful. I taped myself telling the story about the wedding. Then I found some other pictures I had taken of some places we went this summer, and I did the same thing. JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT 1. Keep a weekly journal related to your speech. Your journal should reflect your personal goals, interests, and experiences. Choose an activity that you are interested in. Sample listening activities: listening to students or the instructor in class listening to conversations, news, or interview programs on TV or the radio, or to the speech of neighbors or friends taping and listening several times to your favorite TV program Sample speaking activities: picking out words that you say frequently at work emphasizing the stressed syllables practicing your pronunciation in social situations (making plans, talking at a party, inviting a friend for a movie) talking in the community (getting information, shopping) recording your speech, listening for corrections, and re-taping it Sample goals: to lengthen stressed syllables, to listen for pauses and focus words, to say final “ed” and “s”, to pause more, or to use more speech melody 2. Write your journal entry on your computer. Describe in your own words what happened and how it helped you. How successful was it? 3. Send a copy of your journal to your instructor by e-mail---either in a letter or as an attachment. Print out your copy each week and bring it to class. We will spend a few minutes in class talking about the journals and what happened. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 10 Appendix E: Talk Times and Small Talk Worksheet Talk Times and Small Talk Worksheet 1. Talk Times Targets. Write the targets you plan for each Talk Times activity. Examples: Monday-word stress. Friday-focus. 2. Situation. Write where you were and whom you were talking to. Examples: at work-John, at a market-clerk, at the movies-person in line. 3. Notes. Describe your plan, what you said, and what happened when you said it. 4. Comfort level. Rate 1-10. 1=least comfortable 10-most comfortable. DayTalk Times Targets Situation Where and with whom? Notes Describe your plan and what happened Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 Comfort Level 1-10 12 STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET Name _______________________________________________________________________ Preferred Name for Class (only pick ONE) _________________________________________ Cell #___________________________ Residence: Bassam _________ IUGB E-mail______________________________ Abidjan _________ Other ________________________ EDUCATION: How much experience do you have in using English? ___________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ How much English did you have in school? __________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ LANGUAGES AND CULTURES: Your first language(s) - native language or mother tongue: ______________________________ What other languages do you know and how (where and when) did you learn them:___________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Travel Abroad: _________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Study/work/life experiences in other countries: ________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 13