Community College of Philadelphia
COURSE TITLE: English 098 ESL - Fundamentals of Writing:
Advanced Writing for
Non-native Speakers of English
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The writing component of an integrated pair of courses
which is the last in a series of four pairs of integrated
ESL reading and writing courses. Instruction and
intensive practice in the development of academic
reading and writing skills. Analysis of literary and non-
fiction materials. Extensive practice in the writing
process leading to the five-paragraph essay. Study of advanced grammar. Course is paired and integrated
with English 099 ESL.
(Credit will not be applied toward graduation)
COURSE HOURS: 3-0-3
PREREQUISITE: Pass grade in English 083 and 093 or placement
COREQUISITE: English 099 ESL - Reading Improvement: Advanced Reading for Non-native Speakers of English
COURSE WRITERS: Elaine DiGiovanni, Department of English
Girija Nagaswami , Department of English
PRELIMINARY
CONTRIBUTION BY: Linda Buchheit, Department of English
FACILITATOR: Larry MacKenzie
DATE: March 2, 2001
A. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
English 098 ESL - Fundamentals of Writing: Advanced Writing for Non-native Speakers of English and English 099 ESL - Reading Improvement: Advanced Reading for Non-native Speakers of English operate as if they were one integrated course. They are last in a sequence of four integrated pairs of reading and writing courses. This integrated pair of single semester courses prepares ESL students for English 101 and credit-bearing content courses at the college level. Students analyze theme-based literary and non-fiction materials, developing their critical thinking skills. In response to reading and discussion, through the writing process, they compose essays.
The two courses are taught in two contiguous periods by one instructor.
B. RATIONALE:
English 099 ESL and 098 ESL are designed for continuing ESL students who have passed 083 and 093 and for new ESL students who are enrolled in this pair of courses on the basis of placement test scores. (See placement guidelines in Appendix A of the ESL Curriculum Revision Proposal).
ESL students are required to pass this integrated pair of courses to exit the ESL program and to qualify for English 101 and specific college-level content courses. This pair of courses provides the students with a smooth transition between the ESL program and English 101. At this level, ESL students need exposure to and practice in a wide range of reading and writing experiences to perform and succeed in English 101 and other college-level content courses. To improve their reading comprehension and analytical/critical thinking skills, they will receive extensive exposure to and experience in the theme-based integration of material from non-abridged literary works, expository and journalistic prose, and college-level academic textbooks. Initially, ESL students will respond in writing to individual readings through expository, interpretive, and argumentative essays, summary and paraphrase. Later in the semester, they will synthesize in writing ideas gleaned from several texts. Thus, the students will be exposed to the types of reading and writing tasks characteristic of those required in English 101 and college-level content courses.
Students with documented disabilities are provided specific accommodations on an individual needs basis to enhance access to instruction, assessment and evaluation.
C.1 GOALS:
Building on skills acquired in 083 and 093, this integrated pair of courses will enhance the students’ ability to understand the similarities and differences between listening, speaking, reading, and writing so that all skills reinforce one another. In addition, the integrated pair of courses will emphasize teaching students why they should and how they can become more personally and intellectually involved in their reading and writing. It also aims to bridge the students’ language and knowledge gaps by providing a tightly integrated reading/writing experience.
The goals of English 098 ESL/English 099 ESL are based on several theoretical models. First, Bruner’s tenets (Bruner, J. Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986) in developmental and educational psychology offer two distinct modes of thinking: the expressive/narrative and the logical/scientific leading to two different types of texts. Literature and expository/journalistic prose fall under the expressive narrative mode, while academic textbooks represent the logical/scientific mode. Experience in one may not provide the experience required to comprehend or produce the other; therefore, English 098 ESL/ English 099 ESL offers students experience in reading and writing in both modes (See E.1 Rationale for Required Texts). Second, schema theory posits that comprehension is an interactive process involving the text and the students’ previously acquired knowledge, or background knowledge. The previously acquired knowledge structures are known as schemata (singular is schema). Briefly, schema theory suggests that readers (or listeners) cannot comprehend texts (written or oral) for which they do not have any existing knowledge structure or schema. Accordingly, for reading comprehension, there is a need to build the mental framework necessary for comprehending text structure and content constructs. Third, reading and writing are active processes that require ideas to be revisited, re-evaluated, and revised. Linked to Bruner’s tenets and schema theory, this integrated pair of courses reflects a content-based model of instruction, establishing the means to impart formal knowledge. It is also learner-centered, enabling the students to become motivated, independent, and active learners. Eventually this will lead them to participate and perform successfully within the discourse of academic communities and experience the pleasures of reading and writing.
C.2 OBJECTIVES: INTEGRATED READING AND WRITING:
Specifically we want the students to:
1. Read and comprehend different types of materials, literary works, expository/journalistic prose, and academic textbooks:
· Understand the basic elements of a literary work: narrator, character, setting, plot, theme, conflict, resolution
· Recognize organizational patterns in expository prose and academic textbooks: narration, description, process, classification, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, and argumentation
· Recognize and identify organizational patterns and features of academic textbooks
· Annotate and outline a text
· Transfer information from a visual to a verbal(written) medium and vice versa
· Identify significant ideas
· Summarize the main ideas and important details
· Paraphrase portions of the text
2. Read critically and write effectively:
· Reflect on the reading through analysis and interpretation to develop critical reading skills: distinguish fact from opinion, draw inferences, reach conclusions based on facts, opinions, and inferences
· Evaluate and synthesize ideas
· Incorporate ideas and opinions in their writing assignments
· Further explore and analyze the ideas reflected in their writing
3. Participate in an academic community:
· Ask and answer meaningful questions which contribute to class discussion
· Develop academic discourse skills working in groups
· Critically read and evaluate each other’s writing (peer review): suggest
revisions of content and organization; point out global, local, and/or
mechanical errors
· Evaluate peers’ suggestions and revise and edit own writing accordingly
4. Recognize, know, and use level appropriate grammatical structures:
· Identify and understand the grammatical structures in a text
· Demonstrate the ability to combine, connect, and embed sentences with correct word order to achieve sentence variety
· Use accurately verb tense/time and aspect, the conditional, and parallel structure
· Use word forms accurately and appropriately
5. Expand their reading and writing vocabulary:
· Employ strategies to understand meaning from context
· Use an advanced learners’ English/English dictionary to find the correct definition of a word based on its context, choose the appropriate meaning of a word, and use its correct form in their writing
· Understand subject-specific jargons of academic disciplines
· Use vocabulary from their theme-based reading in writing assignments
6. Write cohesive and coherent five-paragraph essays:
· Understand and use the basic elements of expository text: introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion.
· Choose from and combine rhetorical modes appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
D. PLANNED SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES
D.1 Explanation of Activities and Materials
Given the goals and objectives in C.1 and C.2, the students will be engaged in a content-based, learner-centered course of study. Typically students will collaborate extensively in pre-reading/writing and post reading/writing activities, including brainstorming, discussion, double-entry journals, and the peer review process. In order to present the sequence of activities in context, the material below is more complex than a list of activities and shows a clear integration of reading and writing.
The literary work or works form the thematic center of this integrated pair of courses. Other readings are selected from across academic disciplines to support the themes and content of the literary work(s). These selections include expository and journalistic prose and college academic textbook chapters. One factor that makes this pair of courses so completely integrated is that every reading text and test, all essay topics, and the final reading and writing exams are based on related reading materials within the thematic continuum. The writing component evolves from the reading materials. The novels, plays, and/or short story anthologies and a bulk pack of the longer excerpted materials are purchased by the students. The teacher may sometimes provide the students with handouts of shorter texts under ‘fair use’ copyright laws.
Class discussion begins with the students’ spontaneous responses to the literary work(s). Then, they are guided to understand the basic elements of fiction through instructor generated study questions and double-entry journals. These journals are students’ free responses to the text, where on the left side of the paper they summarize the plot, describe and analyze the main characters, present significant quotations, and ask questions to seek clarifications. On the right side of the paper, they present their interpretations of the characters and events, and connect these to previous class readings or their own life experiences, and ask interpretative questions. Only after appreciating the text, can they relate the controversial issues within the literary work to those in their own lives. Later, they are able to distance themselves to discuss, analyze, interpret, and respond in writing to these issues objectively. (See Appendix for Double-entry Journal).
The emerging themes from the literary work(s) are reinforced through the analysis of expository/journalistic texts. They act as models for essay writing, demonstrating rhetorical patterns and the clear expression of ideas. They also provide the opportunity to teach syntax, grammar, paraphrase, summary writing, and strategies to understand meaning in context, thereby enriching students’ vocabulary.
The content from the literary work(s) and the expository/journalistic texts are connected to relevant chapters from academic textbooks. To comprehend them, students practice skills such as skimming, scanning, ‘study’ reading (annotating, and note-taking), and outlining. They also develop appropriate strategies to understand subject-specific jargon (including recognizing definitions), to make logical inferences, and to interpret charts, graphs, and diagrams. Finally, they anticipate and answer essay test questions. By completing the process of reading, annotating, and outlining an entire academic textbook chapter within a two-week period, they experience a true academic reading load.
The entire experience exposes the students to the three types of reading materials: literary works, expository/journalistic prose, and academic textbooks.
The first few essay topics are based on the students’ personal experiences and /or the novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat. As the course progresses, the essay topics require students to synthesize information from several sources. The last out-of-class essay assignment requires students to create their own topic and glean information from other readings. After each first draft of a composition, they critique each other’s essays following the peer review guidelines (See Appendix). Through the peer review process, which is conducted face-to-face or by online discussion, they learn reader-based and writer-based strategies that aid them in discovering what their readers comprehend or do not comprehend, and students revise and then edit their essays accordingly. Students practice using an advanced learners’ English/English dictionary to understand word meaning in context and word forms. Grammar is taught explicitly and through students’ writing. They practice identifying and correcting global and local errors. Global errors are the more serious type of errors since they can significantly affect the reader’s comprehension of a text. Some examples are errors in verb tenses and verb forms, modals, conditionals, relative, adverbial, and noun clauses, sentence structure, and word order. Local errors are less serious as they often do not significantly affect the comprehension of a text. However, if local errors appear at a high level of frequency, distracting the reader, they could be considered global rather than local. Students are also taught and given practice in achieving sentence variety.
The students take two separate exams for English 098 ESL/English 099 ESL, a reading exam and a writing exam. When the two-hour reading final exam is given during the last week of the semester prior to the writing final exam, follow-up conferences are held with students in the 15th week, about their development as readers. Students are given one long reading or two short readings two class periods prior to the reading exam. These readings are new material and are not discussed in class. Out of class, they are permitted to mark the text and to make margin notes in English only. On the day of the exam they can use their annotated text to answer the test questions. They are also given a new short and related reading that they need to summarize. Each part of the reading exam is worth 50% of the total reading score. (For more details, see H. Student Assessment).
On the last day of class, the readings used for the reading exam and an additional shorter reading are discussed in class in preparation for the two-hour writing final exam. On the day of the exam, essay topics are given based on the three readings and the novel. The students receive a holistic grade of Pass, Making Progress, or Fail. (For more details, see H. Student Assessment).
D.2 Course Content: A Detailed Example with Breath, Eyes, Memory as the Core Literary Work
Themes from the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Neighborhood/Transplanted Neighborhood
Bi-cultural Issues/Immigration
Roles of family members/Intergenerational relationships
Gender Issues/Status of Women/Virginity
Trauma of Rape/Psychological Disorders/Sleep Disorders
Abortion Issues
Part I: Breath, Eyes, Memory (BEM ) Weeks 1-6
BEM: Chapters 1 - 4
· Annotating a text & margin notes
· Double-entry journal
“My Neighborhood” (expository text - description)
· Syntax analysis to discern meaning