SRJC Course Outlines

12/21/2025 10:22:15 AMEMLS 707 Course Outline as of Fall 2026

Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION

Discipline and Nbr:  EMLS 707Title:  NC HI INTERMEDIATE ENG  
Full Title:  Noncredit High-Intermediate English
Last Reviewed:10/27/2025

UnitsCourse Hours per Week Nbr of WeeksCourse Hours Total
Maximum0Lecture Scheduled5.0017.5 max.Lecture Scheduled87.50
Minimum0Lab Scheduled08 min.Lab Scheduled0
 Contact DHR0 Contact DHR0
 Contact Total5.00 Contact Total87.50
 
 Non-contact DHR0 Non-contact DHR Total0

 Total Out of Class Hours:  175.00Total Student Learning Hours: 262.50 

Title 5 Category:  Non-Credit
Grading:  Non-Credit Course
Repeatability:  27 - Exempt From Repeat Provisions
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  EMLS 715

Catalog Description:
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In this course, students will develop language skills in English to function independently in cross-cultural everyday situations. This class is for noncredit, high-intermediate English language learners.
 
Interested students are encouraged to take the Noncredit EMLS Placement Assessment.
 

Prerequisites/Corequisites:


Recommended Preparation:
Course Completion of EMLS 705 (EMLS 714 or ESL 714) OR Qualifying Score on Noncredit EMLS Placement Assessment

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description: Untitled document
In this course, students will develop language skills in English to function independently in cross-cultural everyday situations. This class is for noncredit, high-intermediate English language learners.
 
Interested students are encouraged to take the Noncredit EMLS Placement Assessment.
 
(Non-Credit Course)

Prerequisites:
Recommended:Course Completion of EMLS 705 (EMLS 714 or ESL 714) OR Qualifying Score on Noncredit EMLS Placement Assessment
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:
Repeatability:27 - Exempt From Repeat Provisions

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:Effective:Inactive:
 Area:
 
CSU GE:Transfer Area Effective:Inactive:
 
IGETC:Transfer Area Effective:Inactive:
 
CSU Transfer:Effective:Inactive:
 
UC Transfer:Effective:Inactive:
 
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Certificate Applicable Course



COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
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1. Apply level-appropriate reading and writing skills to function independently in personal, academic, and vocational settings.
2. Demonstrate level-appropriate listening and speaking skills needed to communicate in a variety of real-life settings.
3. Employ appropriate critical thinking and level-appropriate study skills needed in academic environments.
 

Objectives: Untitled document
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Identify a main idea and supporting details that an author or a speaker makes.
2. Use reading strategies to determine the meaning of new words in familiar contexts.
3. Utilize level-appropriate key words and phrases in oral communications and spoken and written texts.
4. Employ a growing range of academic and content specific vocabulary and grammar to participate in conversations and written exchanges in familiar contexts.
5. Use the writing process to construct organized paragraphs utilizing conventions of writing on familiar topics.
6. Initiate and conduct level-appropriate conversations in informal and/or academic or professional settings.
7. Communicate information in speaking and writing  about familiar texts, topics, events, and experiences.
8. Express opinions or feelings about a variety of familiar topics, experiences, or events.
9. Use clear pronunciation to communicate more effectively in familiar contexts.  
10. Articulate academic, vocational, and personal goals and steps needed to achieve them.
11. Carry out individual or shared research project(s).     
12. Demonstrate level-appropriate academic and study skills required in school settings.
13. Use digital technology to complete real-world tasks.

Topics and Scope
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I. Vocabulary
    A. Comprehend and produce content-specific and general academic vocabulary
    B. Utilize vocabulary-building strategies including the use of contextual clues and simple word analysis (prefixes, suffixes, and parts of speech) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words
    C. Understand common phrasal verbs
    D. Use a learner's dictionary to develop vocabulary
    E. Build usage of synonyms, antonyms, and other descriptive language
    F. Recognize and produce common spelling patterns
II. Reading
    A. Employ pre-reading skills including skimming, scanning, and predicting
    B. Use text features (e.g., tables of contents, headings, captions, subheadings, bold print, maps, and charts) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently
    C. Read and analyze multi-paragraph narratives and authentic materials (e.g., web pages, calendars, charts, forms, ads, emergency alerts, emails, and prescriptions)
    D. Identify main ideas and supporting details in accessible fiction and nonfiction reading passages from diverse cultures and backgrounds
    E. Identify purpose, point of view, and audience for level-appropriate printed materials
    F. Refer to evidence in a reading passage to support text analysis
    G. Employ critical thinking skills to infer meaning and tone in reading passages
    H. Compare and contrast information from printed and digital sources
    I. Use context to recognize the meaning of new words, phrases, and formulaic expressions in spoken and written texts about familiar topics, experiences, or events
    J. Recognize common digital icons, symbols, and abbreviations in the context of learned themes
    K. Conduct short research project(s) that build knowledge about a topic
III. Writing
    A. Use level-appropriate language to compose a written text related to school, healthcare, workplace, or community, such as:
         1. Compose an email
         2. Describe experiences or events, including sequencing and/or cause and effect
         3. Fill out authentic forms
         4. Describe directions in writing
    B. Employ process writing including brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing a paragraph on a familiar topic
    C. Compose 1-2  paragraphs consisting of a main idea and clarifying details on familiar topics in various genres, such as:
         1. Narrative
         2. Comparison/contrast
         3. Informative/explanatory
         4. Opinion piece
         5. Goals and steps
    D. Use correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation
    E. Understand common editing symbols and apply them to revisions
IV. Grammar
    A. Review and use frequently occurring, level-appropriate language structures, such as:
         1. Parts of speech
         2. Simple present
         3. Present continuous
         4. Simple past
         5. Past continuous
         6. Future tense
         7. Modals (ability, possibility, probability, requests, prohibition)
         8. There is/there are
         9. Articles
         10. Pronouns (subject, object, possessive, demonstrative)
         11. Prepositions of location and time
         12. Compound sentences, including sentence connectors
         13. Adjectives (descriptive, demonstrative, possessive)
         14. Time and transition phrases
         15. Question formation
         16. Comparatives and superlatives
         17. Contractions
V. Speaking and Listening
    A. Ask, understand, and respond to questions
    B. Give a reason for an opinion
    C. Ask for clarification
    D. Request and offer assistance
    E. Recount information from experience or from a provided source
    F. Show awareness of and employ differences between informal and formal language
    G. Use level-appropriate language to initiate and conduct a conversation at school, in healthcare settings, the workplace, or the community
    H. Use level-appropriate language to report on a text or topic or tell a story with relevant facts and details
    I. Deliver short oral presentations incorporating technology with targeted support
    J. Use clear pronunciation to communicate in interactions at work, school, and in the community
    K. Recognize and produce problematic vowel and consonant sounds and corresponding spelling patterns (final -ed, contractions, etc.)
    L. Demonstrate phonemic awareness of voiced and unvoiced consonants and minimal pairs
    M. Use appropriate syllable stress in common multisyllabic words
    N. Apply intonation correctly in questions and statements, and stress content words and function words appropriately
    O. Understand nonverbal communication including distance, eye contact, and gestures
    P. Give and follow directions, both orally and in writing
VI. Study Skills
    A. Identify and set personal, educational, and professional goals for learning English
    B. Follow SRJC standards of student conduct
    C. Use appropriate language of group work
    D. Employ vocabulary and conversational norms used to agree, disagree, express opinions, elicit information, and interrupt appropriately
    E. Collaborate with peers from diverse cultures and backgrounds
    F. Use organizational skills (organizing study materials, using time management strategies, planning for due dates, using appropriate learning platforms, etc.)
    G. Demonstrate effective independent study strategies (e.g., review of class material, note-taking, homework completion, etc.)
    H. Apply test-taking strategies
    I. Meet with a counselor and make an educational plan
VII. Level-Appropriate Integrated Language Skills for Real-Life Settings, such as:
    A. Health Needs
         1. Appointments
         2. Symptoms and health needs
         3. Patient forms
         4. Dialogues and emails
         5. Well-being, natural remedies, cultural traditions, holistic approaches to physical and mental health
    B. Educational Settings
         1. Absences
         2. Applications and registration forms
         3. Study strategies
         4. Educational goals
         5. Emails to the instructor, counselor, etc.
         6. Navigation of the SRJC website
    C. Employment
         1. Job skills and routines
         2. Essential (soft) skills
         3. Work schedules
         4. Interviews
         5. Workers' rights
         6. Career goals
         7. Emergency and safety protocols and warnings
         8. Applications and other job-related forms
         9. Job searching skills
         10. Problem solving at work, including reporting an accident and/or a dangerous situation
         11. Communication, including calling in sick or emailing
         12. Negotiating a schedule and/or salary
    D. Community
         1. Community services and resources
         2. Information requests
         3. Cultural differences and similarities
         4. Knowing your rights
         5. Listen to and gather information from guest speakers
         6. Identify problems and solutions (community mapping)

Assignments:
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1. Written Assignments Will Result in a Minimum of 1,500 Words, such as:
    a. Written descriptions of routines, goals, and real-life situations
    b. Grammar exercises
    c. Collaborative writing
    d. Brainstorming, revising, and editing level-appropriate texts
    e. Paragraphs
    f. Journals and other informal writings
    g. Surveys and interviews
    h. Vocabulary logs
    i. Level-appropriate written homework
    j. Emails, including appropriate format and register
2. Shared Research Project(s)
3. Problem Solving Assignments, such as:
    a. Vocabulary building exercises
    b. Decoding frequently used prefixes and suffixes
    c. Reading-based questions
    d. Cloze activities and dictations
    e. Sentence revision and editing, including content, grammar, and mechanics
    f. Basic research using the internet
    g. Critical reading, such as reading apprenticeship practices
4. Skill Demonstrations, such as:
    a. Role plays
    b. Surveys and interviews
    c. Individual audio and/or video recordings using technology
    d. Use of digital technology to complete real-world tasks
    e. Use of software to improve reading, listening, vocabulary, spelling, conversation, and pronunciation skills
    f. Requesting information from school and community resources
    g. Response to texts
    h. Listening, speaking, and pronunciation exercises
    i. English Language (EL) Civics assessments
5. Examination Assignments, such as:
    a. Informal assessments
    b. Vocabulary quizzes
    c. Grammar quizzes
    d. Unit quizzes
    e. Exams
    f. CASAS(Comprehensive Adult Student Assessement Systems) reading test
6. Additional Assignments as Assigned by Instructor May Include:
    a. Attendance and participation
    b. Individual and small-group oral presentations incorporating technology
    c. Tutorial hours (EMLS 770)
    d. Reporting on outside English-learning resources

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.
Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.Writing
20 - 40%
Writing assignments
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.Problem Solving
20 - 40%
Problem solving assignments; shared research project(s)
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.Skill Demonstrations
20 - 40%
Skills demonstration assignments
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.Exams
10 - 30%
Assessments
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.Other Category
5 - 20%
Additional assignments if assigned


Representative Textbooks and Materials:
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EMLS 707 Reader
English in Action, Level 3. 3rd edition. Foley, Barbara and Neblett, Elizabeth. Cengage. 2018. (classic).
Burlington English Low Intermediate Level
Stand Out 3. 4th ed. Jenkins, Rob and Johnson, Staci. National Geographic. 2023
Ventures 3. 3rd ed. Bitterlin, Gretchen and Johnson, Dennis and Price, Donna. Cambridge University Press. 2018. (classic).
Instructor prepared materials             
Other approved materials, such as the online publication "The Change Agent"

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