Course Syllabus

ESL 0975 Level 4 Conversation

Course Description

This eight-week course is designed to give ESL students at the advanced level practice using English. They will improve their use of the language through small group work, problem solving activities, information gap activities, and roleplaying. The ratio of students to tutor is four-to-one.

Justification

The ESL Department at Snow College houses the intensive ESL program. The four-level program provides instruction for students at Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 (elementary through exit levels). This course is a core course for Level 4. It is a prerequisite for entry into fully-matriculated coursework at Snow College. Placement in ESL 0975 through the ESL department placement exam or successful completion of ESL 0970 with a B (85%) or better.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to communicate more fluently in English rather than focusing on error correction. Students will know appropriate vocabulary for various communicative and cultural situations in the academic setting and for current events. Course activities will improve their listening and speaking skills. They will have an increased confidence when talking with native speakers outside the ESL classroom because of exposure to native speakers through class activities.

Course Content

A typical instruction approach will be the introduction of information via student-tutor oral presentation. Students will then be given an opportunity to practice the new information, that include cultural topics, in small groups with their peers and student-tutors. Cooperative learning techniques are used extensively with students' various cultural and religious identities, backgrounds, and constraints in mind.At a minimum, the following level 4 language areas will be introduced:• Vocabulary: proverbs, slang, current events, etc. • Explanation: giving opinion, persuasion skills, etc. • Discussion: maintaining conversation, asking questions, defending position, etc. • Culture: current events, expletives and gestures, holidays, etc. • Interviews: interviewing famous people in history and current event news makers, etc. • Roleplaying: presentations of news items found in newspapers, on the Internet, etc.