Advanced Listening, Speaking, and Note-taking Skills for Internationals
ESL 435 – 4 undergraduate credits – Spring 2016
Class Sessions
- Fridays 12-3:20 p.m. in Curtin 219
- Each student also has five individual conferences throughout the semester with the instructor
Course Prerequisites
This course is open tointernational graduate-levelstudents and undergraduate students of junior or senior standingwho want to focus on improving listening, speaking, and note-taking skills at an advanced level. Other undergraduate students should consider taking ESL 135 or 145.
Course Description
ESL 435 assumes that students already have an advanced control of English. The course aims to refine advanced students’ overall English language control through extensive work in listening and speaking. Classroom activities will focus on a combination of individual presentations, small group discussions, and language exercises which are designed to improve aural and oral communication skills. Audio and video recordings will frequently be made during the semester for monitoring individual language development and to aid in assessing and improving individual performance. Finally, various note-taking exercises/aspects will also be a fundamental element of the course.
In addition to the classroom meetings, regular individual conferences with the instructor will focus directly on the oral communication needs of each student.
Credit
This is a four-credit course which may be taken for credit/non-credit but may not be audited.
Required Texts
It’s recommended you make your purchases for these two books at uwm.ecampus.com (online) or Neebo (“Panther Bookstore” on3132 N. Downer Ave). When you are ready to purchase, bringyour course syllabus with you so you have the exact name and number of the course and the required books.
Additional Materials
In addition to your textbooks, bring a pen/pencil, notebook, and your class handouts with you each class session. The instructor will post content on D2L and will let you know whether these additional resources should be printed or can be brought in a digital format. Finally, you will be responsible for recording and uploading some audio files, so you will need an audio recording device.
Learning Outcomes
- Overall Language: Students are able to comprehend and respond to a broad range of typical graduate-level instructions, discussions, and note-taking situations. Students have a good command of idiomatic and academic expressions. Students are not expected to perform like “native speakers” but can appropriately comprehend and respond to any graduate course work environment.
- Listening: Students are able to comprehend academic lectures, classroom discussions, and comments of graduate peers.
- Speaking: Students are able to speak clearly with others by being aware of phonetic elements like place and manner of articulation, voiced or unvoiced sounds, etc., as well as standard American English stress patterns and intonation. Moreover, students can work effectively in pairs, small groups, and entire class discussions.
- Note-taking: Students are able to take notes with confidence in any classroom lecture or gleanings from readings, student discussions, etc.
Administrative Drops
Students who do not attend the first class may be administratively dropped from the course to make space for students wishing to add the course.
Attendance Policy
Attending classes and conferences is essential to your success in this course. You will get the most benefit out of each class and conference by coming prepared and on time. Students arriving late or leaving early will receive partial attendance credit for the day. Students missing more than half a period will be marked absent for the day.
Failure to come to class may also negatively affect your participation grade for the class, and students who miss more than two class sessions may not be eligible to have their final portfolio accepted.
If you need to be absent for a religious celebration, you can (and should) go, but alert your instructor in the first three weeks of the class to make alternative arrangements for exams or presentations. More information can be found in the university policy:
D2L
D2L (Desire2Learn) is an online resource that we will use often for this class. You will need to become comfortable using D2L to find extra materials for class, check your attendance and grades, and submit assignments using the Dropbox and Discussions features.
Classroom Behavior
These behaviors, common in the U.S. university environment, will help you and your classmates succeed in this class.
DO:
- Check your UWM email (Office 365) and D2L accountsevery day. Your instructor may communicate important class information with you there.
- Come to class every day on time.
- Communicate with your classmates and teachers in English, even if you share a common language other than English.
DON’T:
- Do not leave during class time unless you have a medical emergency. Leaving the classroom to answer a cell phone call is not acceptable.
- Do not use your cellphone, laptop, tablet, or headphones in class unless your instructor allows you to use them.
- Do not chat with classmates during class time, especially when the instructor or a classmate is speaking.
Homework
Students should expect to do two hours of homework for every one hour in class. As ESL 435 is a four-credit class, you should expect to do at least eight hours of homework out of class each week. Be prepared to manage your time well so you can invest the time you need to be successful in this course.
All homework is required. Some homework will be collected, some will be submitted on D2L, and some is for personal exercise. For most weeks of class, students will be responsible for submitting a homework assignment to D2L. Notice that these small assignments add up to significant portion (20%) of your grade. Late submissions are penalized and may not be submitted after other students have already received feedback and grades on the assignment.
It is against university policy to turn in work done by another person. Consequences for this type of academic dishonesty include failure of a course and expulsion from the university. See the university policy:
Final Portfolio
In the final class session, a listening/speaking task will be given to all students enrolled in the course. This task will constitute your portfolio, whichwill be evaluated by a three-member panel to determine the grade you receive on it.
Final Grades
- D2L assignments (10) = 20%
- Quizzes (listening/note-taking skills) = 20%
- Presentation 1 = 10%
- Class seminar contributions = 10%
- Presentation 2 = 10%
- Portfolio task = 20%
- Attendance and participation = 10%
Additional Information
Take the time to look through these other important UWM policies:
Students with disabilities. Verification of disability, class standards, the policy on the use of alternate materials and test accommodations can be found at the following:
Students called to active military duty. Accommodations for absences due to call-up of reserves to active military duty should be noted.
Discriminatory conduct (such as sexual harassment). Definitions of discrimination. Harassment, abuse of power, and the reporting requirements of discriminatory conduct are found at the following:
Complaint procedures. Students may direct complaints to the head of the academic unit or department in which the complaint occurs. If the complaint allegedly violates a specific university policy, it may be directed to the head of the department or academic unit in which the complaint occurred or to the appropriate university office responsible for enforcing the policy.
Grade appeal procedures. Procedures for student grade appeal appear at the following:
Final examination policy. Policies regarding final examinations can be found at the following:
ESL 435 Tentative Schedule
(last updated 1/28/16; subject to change)
Prepare as HW for the week / Conferences / In-Class1 / (Jan 29)
-Welcome, meet colleagues, class expectations, initial self-evaluation, prepare and present self-introduction
-“Resolutions”
2 / -D2L Assignment #1 (Due Wednesday, Feb 3 at noon)
-D2L HO: Phonetic alphabet
-Complete Student Information Sheet / Conference 1: Diagnostic testing / listen to presentation, set goals / (Feb 5)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Introduction to note-taking
-“Resolutions”
3 / -D2L Assignment #2 (Due Wednesday, Feb. 10 at noon)
-D2L HO: Vowel Overview
-Read FtF p. 7-54 / Conference 1 continued / (Feb 12)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Quiz 1
-Receive overview of Presentation 1
-“Foreign to Familiar”
4 / -D2L Assignment #3 (Due Wednesday, Feb 17 at noon)
-Read FtF p. 55-118
-D2L HO: Consonant overview
-D2L HO: Beginning and Final Consonants; joining final consonants
-Begin to develop a basic idea for Presentation 1 / Conference 2: Review basic pronunciation packets, individual needs practice / (Feb 19)
-Discuss readings+ extra practice
-Discuss Presentation 1 format
-A great presenter
-Complete Presentation 1 goal checklist
-“Foreign to Familiar”
5 / -Read FtF p. 119-128
-PREPARE PRESENTATION 1
-D2L HO: Syllables and Stress in Words: Overview
-D2L Content A/V / Conference 2 continued / (Feb 26)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Individual Presentation 1
-“Foreign to Familiar”
6 / -D2L Assignment #4 (Due Wednesday, Mar 2 at noon)
-Read and practice “Discussion - Useful Phrases” (D2L)
-D2L HO: Rhythm Overview / (Mar 4)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Review presentation/reflection
-Class Seminar (practice)
-“Taboo”
7 / -D2L Assignment #5 (Due Wednesday, Mar 9 at noon)
-D2L HO: Intonation Overview / (Mar 11)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Quiz 2
-“Taboo”
-Receive overview of Presentation 2
Spring Break / (No class on Mar 18)
8 / -Read EM Intro p. 1-5 / notes
-D2L HO: Final Intonation Patterns
- D2L HO: Listing Intonation; rising intonation on question words / Conference 3: Practice rhythm, pronunciation packets (review and new), review presentation / (Mar 25)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-“Educating Milwaukee”
9 / -D2L Assignment #6 (Due Wednesday, Mar 30 at noon)
-Read EM Part 1 p. 9-61 / notes
-D2L HO: Beginning Consonant Clusters
-D2L HO: Final Consonant Clusters; joining final consonants / Conference 3 continued / (Apr 1)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Presentation 2
-“Educating Milwaukee”
10 / -D2L Assignment #7 (Due Wednesday, Apr 6 at noon)
-Read EM Part 2 p. 65-141 / notes
-D2L HO: Predicting Stress; parts of speech and suffixes
-D2L HO: Words Used as Nouns or Verbs; Words with Prepositional Prefixes / Conference 4: individualized exercises, reading through short story, pronunciation review handout / (Apr 8)
-Individual Presentation 2
-Discuss readings + extra practice
- Quiz 3 (In-class video)
-“Educating Milwaukee”
11 / -D2L Assignment #8 (Due Wednesday, Apr 13 at noon)
-Read EM Part 3 p. 145-178 / notes
-Prepare comments on peers’ presentation
-D2L HO: Vowels Followed by /r/ / Conference 4 continued / (Apr 15)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Peer response to Presentation 2
-“Educating Milwaukee”
12 / -D2L Assignment #9 (Due Wednesday, Apr 20 at noon)
-Prepare answers to seminar discussion
- D2L HO: TH sounds / (Apr 22)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
- Seminar on class topics (graded)
-“Algorithms”
13 / -D2L Assignment #10 (Due Wednesday, Apr 27 at noon)
-D2L HO:Primary and Secondary Stress; unstressed syllables; moveable stress
- D2L HO: Stressed and Unstressed Words / Conference 5 / (Apr 29)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Quiz 4
-“Algorithms”
14 / -D2L HO:Thought Groups
-D2L Content A/V / Conference 5 continued / (May 6)
-Discuss readings + extra practice
-Wrap up/class survey
-PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
15 / (Evaluate portfolios)