Course Outline

Spring 2005

ESL 05 English as a Second Language: Reading I

 

Instructor: Susan Boland                                                 Office: Pungo (F) 120

Email:sboland@tcc.edu                                          Phone:822-7286

www.tcc.edu//faculty/webpages/SBoland                      Office Hours: MWF 2-4  TR 12-3                                         

 

 

Textbooks and other required materials:

Mosaic I Reading     Wegmann & Knezevic

Building  Vocabulary Skills Short Version/Third Edition  Sherrie L. Nist/Carole Mohr

Longman Advanced American English Dictionary

Notebook

 

Students must understand  that used books  which  have been written in will NOT BE ACCEPTABLE FOR CLASS. Students who come to class with a book that has been written in w ill be asked to return to the bookstore to buy another clean copy. 

 

Course Prerequisites: Satisfactory grade in ESL 02 or Placement Test.

 

Course Description: ESL 05 is designed for students who need additional practice in   English language use and reading strategies in order to meet the challenge of  college-level reading requirements.

 

Course Objectives:  At the end of this course, students will have learned reading strategies which will bring an otherwise difficult reading within their reach.  Students will understand how to define a new vocabulary word using both context clues and grammatical clues. Students will be able to identify the main idea of a paragraph, and see that the writer has used other ideas to support the main idea. Students will see when a writer has inferred an idea, used a fact, or stated his/her opinion.  Students will be able to write a summary of a short reading.   In ESL 05, students will receive instruction on test-taking strategies. Students will have ample practice of these test-taking strategies which will be very helpful in the classes which ESL 05 students must take to reach the goals they have set for themselves. .

 

Course Content: Class time will be spent in a variety of activities.  For example, we will  work in the reading textbook, review homework assignments, and complete exercises in the vocabulary workbook. We will also watch videos that give more information on a topic we have been studying.  Students will also complete an out-of-class reading assignment, and meet with their instructor during her office hours to discuss these readings.  

 

 

Method of Evaluation:  Students will have weekly quizzes on the material in the reading text, a midterm exam and a final exam. Both of these exams will be based on the material in the weekly quizzes. There will also be four tests based on the material we study in the vocabulary text   Each oral book review assignment counts as one test grade. The exam dates, the dates of the vocabulary tests, and the dates that the oral book reviews are due are on the Course Schedule by week.  If a student is absent for a quiz, test, or exam, it is the student’s responsibility to arrange with the instructor a suitable time to make it up. If the student fails to do this, the student will receive a 0 as a grade for the missed test.

 

Students are responsible for being aware of the policies, procedures, and student responsibilities contained within the current edition of the Tidewater Community College Catalog and Student handbook. Students  should familiarize themselves with the College’s policies regarding academic misconduct and inclement weather policies found in the Student handbook section of the catalogue.

 

Plagiarism is the intentional or accidental use of another person’s words or ideas as your own. Cheating involves copying another person’s homework, looking at another person’s exam, test, or quiz, or using unauthorized notes while taking a quiz, exam, test or writing an in-class writing assignment. Students who cheat or plagiarize will receive a failure in the class.

 

Attendance: If you miss more than 20% of scheduled class time, you will receive a U. Arriving late (after roll has been taken) is considered one-half an absence.  Students are responsible for all work missed due to an absence.  When you are absent, you should contact your instructor at sboland@tcc.edu  to find out what was missed and/or assigned.

 

Learning Resources: Students will be encouraged through out the semester to use the resources available in the Learning Resource Center.  The Language Lab on the second floor of the Bayside building is especially helpful for ESL students. Furthermore, there are numerous websites, such as www.usingEnglish.com , which students will find very helpful.

 

Special Needs: If you have special needs because of a documented disability or medical condition, please  feel free to discuss this with your instructor during her office  hours.

 

Final Grade: To receive an S (Satisfactory) in this class, students must maintain an 80% average on all quizzes, tests, and exams. If a student does not meet the above criteria, the student will receive a grade of R (Re-Enroll) or U (Unsatisfactory).

 

 

 


 

Course Outline

 

 

Students should note that on Mondays and Wednesdays we will be working in the text MOSAIC 1. For example, during Week Two we will be reading Living in the USA on Monday, and then moving on to the second reading in that chapter, My Country, on Wednesday.  On Fridays, we will be working in the  Building Vocabulary Skills text.

 

 

Week One   Introduction to Course   Diagnostic Test         

                    Introduction to the Four-at-a-Time Method  for Vocabulary Development

                    Oral Book Review Assignment  I

                    Building Vocabulary Skills (BVC) Chapter 1

 

 

Week Two    Living in the USA           My Country                  BVC Chapter 2

 

 

Week Three  How To Read Faster     Mark Twain                 BVC Chapters 3,4

 

 

Week Four   Who’s Taking Care of the Children                   70 Brides for 7 Foreigners         

                                                                                                BVC Chapter 5

 

 

Week Five    Eat Like  Peasant, Feel Like a King                  Here Come the Tourists!

                                                                                               BVC Test ( Chapters 1-5)

 

 

Week Six     Wired World Leaves Millions Out of the Loop        Tracks to the Future

                                                                                                   BVC Chapters 6,7

 

 

Week Seven    Take a Chance on Pizza                                  The Luncheon 

                        Oral Book Review I                                      BVC Chapters 8,9

                        Select Book  for Oral Book Review  II

 

 

Week Eight    Midterm Exam            BVC Chapter 10          BVC Test (Chapters 6-10)

 

 

Spring Break    March 7 – 12, 2005

 

 

 

 

Week Nine        Confucius                  Beating The Odds           BVC Chapters 11, 12

 

 

Week Ten       The Guggenheim     If You Invent the Story…   BVC Chapters 13, 14

 

 

Week Eleven    Ethnocentrism        A Clean Well Lit Place       BVC  Chapter 15

 

 

Week Twelve     Soapy Smith Eye Witness      BVC Test  (Chapters 11-15)

 

 

Week Thirteen    Touch the Earth     Migration and Homing   BVC Chapters 16,17

 

 

Week Fourteen    Three Days to See        Good Friends, Dogs, Sons, and Others  

                              Oral Book Review II                                   BVC Chapters 18, 19

 

 

Week Fifteen        Susanna and the Shepherd                                  BVC Chapter 20

 

 

Week Sixteen    Final Exam   / BVC  Test   Chapters 16- 20