To All ESOL 30 Scholars,

Writing Is Powerful

Malcolm X said that “without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.”

But get this. This is the same guy who dropped out of school just after junior high. He got involved in hustling, in prostitution, and in drug dealing. He became a cocaine addict and a burglar. At just 19, he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. It was while he was in prison that his whole life changed.

What happened is that Malcolm became a letter writer. And what he realized is that he couldn’t express what he wanted to convey in the letters that he wrote. He was frustrated by this. He says that “in the street I had been the most articulate hustler out there … But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional.”

So he got a dictionary and he began to copy every entry. It took him a day to do the first page. He would copy it all out and then read back what he had written. He began to remember the words and what they meant. He was fascinated with the knowledge that he was gaining. And over a period of time he finished copying out the whole dictionary. He started to read anything he could get his hands on. He read and read and read. Reading and writing changed his life, and he changed the world.

  • What educational experiences have brought you here?
  • What are you willing to do to educate yourself?

The ESOL 30 Promise
Malcolm X changed the world through his speaking and his writing. ESOL 30 promises to give you the opportunity to empower yourself, like Malcolm X did, through reading and writing. This class is designed to help you succeed in your college career by helping you achieve the reading, study skills, and writing abilities needed. It is also an opportunity for you to engage with the English language through an academic lens. This course promises that you can become a more active, critical reader and writer, a person who enjoys reading and writing, and who feels confident evaluating someone else’s work.

During this semester, we will read, discuss, and write about various topics. This course promises to prepare you for the variety of readings and writing tasks that you will encounter in ESOL 40. This course also promises that you will build important critical thinking, reading, and writing skills.

  • What are factors that might hinder your success in this class?
  • Let’s create a community agreement…

Ways to Fulfill the ESOL 30 Promise

To realize these promises, you must be responsible for your own learning. Here’s how:

  • Be here: Attendance is essential to your success and to the class as a whole. When you are in class, allow yourself to be completely here. Turn off and put away cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices. Do not eat while class is in session; drinking is okay as long as you have a closed container. Attendance will be taken every day. We will assume that your reasons for being absent are valid; however, you may be dropped after three absences (occurring before the drop date). Excessive tardiness, or leaving early will be counted as an absence. It is the student’s responsibility to drop all classes in which he/she is no longer attending. Students who remain enrolled in a class beyond the published withdrawal deadline, as stated in the class schedule, will receive an evaluative letter grade, (a failing grade), in this class. Do not count on the instructors to drop you.
  • Be prepared: Having your homework completed makes you ready to participate effectively in class. You will be able to contribute, teach, and learn from others. Plan on spending at least two hours studying outside of class for each hour you are in the classroom. For this course, that means studying at least six hours a week just for this class.
  • Be organized: Keep your syllabus, notes, and handouts in a binder for easy access and review.
  • Be engaged : We will participate in many discussions and frequently you will work in groups. Students are members of an academic community, with accompanying rights and responsibilities based on honesty, trust, fairness, and mutual respect. You are responsible for your own learning in this course. As a member of this class, you need to be punctual and considerate, and to do all of your work promptly and to the best of your ability. The final grade in this class will be affected by active participation, including attendance.
  • Be open: If at first you think a reading and/or writing are boring or you disagree with a position, keep an open mind. You might surprise yourself! Ask questions…of the professor, the tutor, the counselor, and the other students. When you have an opinion, express it – and be ready to back it up with logical reasons, examples from personal experience, and other evidence.

Note: This class welcomes all. Diversity (based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual orientation) will be celebrated. Respect in actions and words is expected.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion ofESOL 30, the student will be able to:

1. Write compositions and other types of texts for a variety of audiences and purposes on personal and non-personal topics that communicate an understanding of the writing process and written expression in English;

2. Produce and edit texts of 200+ words in a 1-hour timed writing and/or 300+ words in a 2-hour timed writing so that errors, which may be frequent, do not obstruct meaning.

3. Apply knowledge of mechanical and grammatical structures in the production and editing of compositions and other texts to communicate emerging control of fluency and coherence.

4. Read academic and a variety of other texts, some of which have been written for ESL learners, for the purpose of class discussion, critical thinking and writing.

5. Practice critical reasoning in the process of reading and writing English and in class discussion.

6. Employ study skills and work habits necessary for success in further academic and workplace environments.

Policies for Success
You can find important guidelines on academic progress, academic regulations, student rights and responsibilities in the SD City College Catalog.

If you have an unresolved conflict during the class, you must first contact the course instructor in an attempt to resolve the problem. If the results are unsatisfactory, you should next contact the Department Chairperson. If the results are still unsatisfactory, you should contact the School Dean.

Academic Integrity

This class will be conducted in accordance with the college student code of conduct and basic standards of academic honesty. Cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty are not acceptable. Cheating includes copying answers from another student’s work, quiz or exam. Plagiarism involves submitting work (sentences, paragraphs, etc.) written by someone else and claiming that you have written it even if you have changed the words around. Using Internet sources and not giving them credit also counts as plagiarism. If there is any doubt whether or not the work you submit is your own, you will be asked to complete a comparable assignment under the supervision of the instructor.

Late Work Policy

Do all homework and turn it on time. Late assignments WILL NOT be accepted. Do not email assignments unless it has been discussed with the instructor first.

Collaboration

If you are absent or late, please be sure to find out what happened in class and if there was any new information about assignments or changes to the schedule or the assignments. Also, your homework for the next class will be posted at the end of class. You are responsible for completing it and for coming to the next class prepared. Therefore, be sure to get the phone numbers and/or email addresses of at least 4 other students.

1. ______

2. ______

3. ______

4. ______

Special Needs

If you need additional accommodations to be successful in this course, you should discuss options with the instructors during the first two weeks of school.

Course Prerequisites

ESOL 020 and ESOL 021 and ESOL 022, each with a grade of "C" or better, or equivalent, or assessment Skill Levels L30/L30/L30.


Assessing Your Growth in ESOL 30:
A primary goal of our course is that you become a more active, critical reader and writer as well as a person who enjoys reading and who feels confident reading and evaluating someone else’s writing.

Collected Assignments (7 @ 10 pts each) 70

Quizzes (5 @ 20 pts each) 100

Final Quiz 50

Attendance 50

First Draft Essays (4@ 50 pts) 200

Essay Revisions (4@ 25 pts) 100

Final Essay 100

Approximate Total 670 points

(Total number of points may vary)

Collected Assignments
A variety of assignments will be required during the semester. You are responsible for completing all of them whether or not they are collected by the instructor or discussed in class. There will be a total of 7 assignments that will count toward your final grade. Assignment collections will NOT be announced ahead of time. Though there are no make-ups for assignments or quizzes, there will be a few extra credit opportunities.

Quizzes/Final
We will have five quizzes and one final during the semester.Quizzes and tests will be announced ahead of time. Though there are no make-ups for quizzes or tests, there will be a few extra credit opportunities

Internet

Join Box.net for ESOL022: You will need to join Box.net for this class to view and download homework assignments, presentation assignments, etc. You will be asked to create a password in order to join. To join, I will send you an email invitation to “collaborate” in the folders I have created, click on the link provided, create a password and you’re in! The web address is This is an interactive website were you can also email each other, chat, post questions, share learning experiences, and interact with each other outside of the classroom. If you miss a class, this is where you must go and check to see if there are any pending assignments for the following day of class. Everyone in the group will be able to see everything posted, so be respectful to each other and keep the subjects related to this class.

If you need to send me an email (only for me to see), my email address is:

Required Texts & Materials for ESOL 30

  • WORLD OF READING 2 (Baker-Gonzalez, ISBN:0-13-600211-0,PRENTICE HALL/ALLYN & BACON)
  • GRAMMAR SENSE 3 Workbook (Blackwell, ISBN:0-19-436577-8OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC)
  • FOUR (4) 8 ½ x 11” Bluebooks for in-class essays
  • Dictionary (English/English preferable; bilingual acceptable)
  • Folder to keep notes, handouts, and all of your work, especially essays that you will re-submit with revisions
  • Working e-mail address

Extra Credit Possibilities for English 101

  • Work in the EnglishCenter with a tutor (2 points each meeting)
  • Attend a World Cultures or other approved cultural event and write a one-page summary/response (3 points each, 2 max)
  • Maximum extra credit: 20 points total

Instructor: Norma L. Bañuelos Office Hours: by appointment

E-Mail:el: 619-992-7972

Class Meets:M/W7:55-11 AMRoom:C226

Course CRN:77031

Important Dates:

Jan 24 Spring semester begins

Feb 4 Add/Drop deadline

Feb 7 Refund deadline‐enrollment fees and/or non‐resident tuition

Feb 18 Holiday – Abraham Lincoln Day

Feb 21 Holiday – George Washington Day

Feb 28 Last day to file a petition for Credit/No Credit grade option

Apr 1 Withdrawal deadline – No drops accepted after this date

Apr 18‐23 Spring Break

Apr 22 Holiday – Cesar Chavez Day

May 21 End of Spring 2011 Semester

May 27 Deadline for instructors to submit final grades

May 30 Holiday – Memorial Day

May 31 Spring 2011 grades available on e‐Grades

Spring 2011

ESOL 30 Tentative Course Calendar

Week / Monday / Wednesday
Week 1:
1/24-1/26 / Diagnostic Essay (in-class)
Week 2:
1/31-2/2
Week 3:
2/7-2/9 / Due: Essay #1 (at home)
Week 4:
2/14-2/16 / Quiz #1
Week 5:
2/21-2/23 / Due: Essay #1 Revision / Essay #2 (in class)
Week 6:
2/28-3/1 / Quiz #2
Week 7:
3/7-3/9 / Due: Essay #2 Revision
Week 8:
3/14-3/16 / Essay # 3 (Midterm: in class)
Week 9:
3/21-3/23 / Quiz #3
Week 10:
3/28-3/30 / Due: Essay #3 Revision
Week 11:
4/4-4/6 / Quiz #4 & Essay #4 (in class)
Week 12:
4/11-4/13
4/18-4/20 / SPRING BREAK / SPRING BREAK
Week 13:
4/25-4/27 / Due: Essay #4 Revision
Week 14:
5/2-5/4 / Quiz #5 / Grammar Presentations
Week 15:
5/9-5/11 / Essay #5 *(Final: in class)
Week 16:
5/16-5/18 / Final Exam

The instructor has the option of changing the course and calendar.
All changes will be announced during a regularly scheduled class meeting.