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Upon completion of this course students will be able to:
1. Identify the main idea and supporting details in fiction and non-fiction reading selections
2. Use a variety of strategies to determine the meaning of new words and phrases
3. Use level-appropriate pre-writing skills to brainstorm and organize ideas on a topic or theme covered in class
4. Use a variety of verb tenses, grammatical structures and conventions of writing and punctuation in an organized paragraph
5. Fill out complex forms related to personal, vocational and/or academic needs
6. Initiate a level appropriate conversation in informal and/or academic or professional settings including making "small-talk" and conducting interviews with an employer, medical provider, community resource or school official
7. Articulate academic, vocational and personal goals and steps needed to achieve these goals
8. Use appropriate pronunciation, intonation and word stress to communicate more effectively in conversations at work, school and in the community
9. Demonstrate culturally appropriate behaviors, both in class and out
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A. Listening and Speaking Skills
1. Practice speaking and listening skills needed in the community and/or in professional or academic settings, using level appropriate grammar
a. making an appointment with a counselor and/or instructor
b. requesting and/or clarifying information
c. stating vocational and/or academic goals
d. interview skills
2. Topics and vocabulary development related to personal, academic, professional and cultural life that may include community or school-related issues, co-workers and/or friends, work, housing, community resources and culturally appropriate differences and similarities using level appropriate grammar.
3. Pronunciation Skills
a. word stress and syllabication
b. sound/spelling patterns
c. intonation in questions and statements (content words and function words)
d. recognize and produce problematic vowel and consonant sounds (final -ed, etc.)
e. phonemic awareness (voiced/unvoiced consonants)
B. Reading Skills
1. Skimming, scanning and predicting
2. Identification of main ideas and supporting details in selections of fiction and non-fiction
3. Reading narratives and authentic materials (e.g., schedules, financial aid information, brochures)
4. Vocabulary building strategies including the use of contextual clues and word analysis (prefixes and suffixes) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words
5. Spelling patterns
C. Writing Skills
1. Process writing including brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising, editing.
2. Paragraphs consisting of a main idea, supporting details and a conclusion on topics related to personal experiences, work, vocational goals, responses to literature and/or other writing prompts.
3. Authentic forms, applications and reading materials related to school, work and the community.
4. Verb tenses and language structures needed to write a paragraph and/or multiple paragraphs on topics related to themes in literature, academic goals and pursuits, school, and/or community concerns may include:
a. present perfect
b. present perfect continuous
c. simple and continuous past, present and future tenses
d. modals
e. pronouns (subject, object, possessive)
f. adjectives (descriptive, demonstrative, possessive)
g. time phrases
h. transitions (first, second, then, finally)
i. question formation
D. Academic Skills
1. Language of group work
2. Organizational skills
3. Study skills, including note-taking
4. Vocabulary needed to communicate with academic personnel
5. Setting academic, professional and personal goals
E. Cultural Skills
1. Formal and informal speech including conversational norms used in various contexts; i.e., making small talk, participating in interviews, talking with friends, teachers and employers.
2. Reading and writing activities related to culture; i.e., neighborhood issues, culturally appropriate relations in the workplace, social roles and customs.
3. Culturally appropriate skills including discussion of cultural similarities and differences, cultural differences at work, nonverbal communication, appropriate distance, eye contact and other gestures.
F. Vocational Skills
Topics May Include:
1. Interview skills, including articulating job skills and abilities
2. Applications and resumes
3. Job search skills
4. Signs and warnings
5. Problem solving at work, including reporting an accident and/or a dangerous situation
and/or negotiating a schedule.
6. Giving and following directions, both orally and in writing.
7. Asking for clarification and/or checking for understanding
8. Requesting and offering assistance
9. Knowing your rights at work
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This course will emphasize student-centered activities designed to develop reading, writing and speaking/listening skills. The following represent the types of assignments that may be included:
A. In-class work:
1. Vocabulary building exercises
2. Pair and group activities
3. Role plays, mock interviews and problem-solving activities in small groups
4. Writing paragraphs
5. Surveys and interviews
6. Discussion of and response to readings on a variety of themes related to literature, articles and/or academic or vocational pursuits.
7. Objective exams and quizzes
8. Listening activities
9. Dictation
10. Use of technology such as the Internet, ESL websites and software to improve reading, listening, vocabulary, spelling, conversation and pronunciation skills.
B. Homework:
1. Surveys and interviews
2. Reading exercises
3. Grammar exercises
4. Request information from school and community resources
5. Individual recordings using voicemail
6. Listening to TV and radio programs in English
7. Journals and short writings
8. Vocabulary logs
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All About the USA - Level 1 or 2 by Milada Broukal, Pearson, 2007
Weaving it Together 1 by Milada Broukal, Heinle & Heinle, 2009
Oxford Picture Dictionary by Norma Shapiro, Oxford University Press, 2008
English in Action - Level 3 by Foley & Neblett, Heinle & Heinle, 2010
Ventures 3 by K. Lynn Savage, (Ed.), Cambridge University Press, 2008
Instructor prepared materials