Required Text:  Communicating Effectively in English, by P. Porter and M. Grant
   Heinle and Heinle, 1992

Required Materials: One blank VCR tape (videocassette tape)
 
Course Description

 ESL 007 helps students practice and improve listening, speaking, and study skills as needed for functioning successfully in academic, professional, and personal settings.  It assesses students’ oral skills and includes, as needed, practice with pronunciation, rhythm, stress, and intonation.  The course provides exercises, practice, small and large group activities, and oral presentations to help students overcome problems in oral communication.
 The purpose of ESL 007 is to give intermediate or advanced ESL students intense practice in listening and speaking in large and small group situations, as well as practice in giving oral presentations. ESL 007 has been designed to prepare students for the oral communication demands that are normally encountered in an academic class at a college or university. To take this course, you must have competency in the English language as indicated by a placement test score or a teacher recommendation from a previous level or from other college courses.
 
Goals & Objectives

• Students will be able to participate successfully in large and small group discussions after they practice
• expressing their ideas and opinions
• making decisions
• solving problems
• planning presentations
• Students will be able to give formal and informal presentations after they practice
• using the resources available at NVCC to research a topic.
• generating ideas
• focusing on a main idea
• organizing support
• delivering ideas clearly with emphasis on correct pronunciation, stress, rhythm, intonation, and eye contact.
• Students will be able to understand and follow class discussions, presentations, and instructions after they practice
• giving appropriate responses to oral instructions
• conveying different language functions such as agreeing, disagreeing, and asking for clarification

• Attend class regularly. No more than five absences are allowed. No exceptions will be made, except for documented extraordinary circumstances that are beyond the student’s control. This is essential for improving your listening and speaking skills, which is the purpose of this course.  If you miss a class, you are still responsible for the material and must find out what occurred in the class from your classmates, the instructor’s webpage, or the course syllabus.
• Participate in class activities.
• Complete all assignments on time.
• Maintain a passing (75%) average on assignments and presentations.  The assignments, activities, tests and presentations count for 80% of the course grade and the final examination/presentation counts for 20%.

• Students are expected to follow Information Student/Patron Ethics Agreement as posted in computer areas and academic integrity standards as set down in the Student Handbook.
• Northern Virginia Community College is a place for learning and growing.  You should feel safe and comfortable anywhere on this campus.  In order to meet this objective, you should:
• Let your instructor, his/her supervisor, the Dean of Students or Provost know if an unsafe, unwelcome or uncomfortable situation arises that interferes with the learning process.
• Inform the instructor within the first two weeks of classes if you have special needs or a disability that may affect your performance in this class.
• Every person on the campus should be cognizant of the Fire/Emergency Evacuation Procedures.  In case of emergency, please follow the emergency procedure as discussed on the first day of class and as posted in the classroom.

Week 2:      Unit 1-Review Posture and body language
Give Survey Reports: 5 min. per student
Discuss common difficulties

Week 3: Getting Information: Interviews & Conferences
    Formal vs. Informal Communication
Maintaining a conversation.
 
Week 4:   Unit 2 continued
    Students Present interview and conference reports

Week 5:  Unit 3-Discuss Demonstrations and Instructional Speeches
 Homework: Prepare your instructional demonstration.

Week 6: Unit 3 continued-Developing an Instructional Presentation.
    Practice using the library.
    Give Demonstrations: 10 min. each.
 
Week 7:  Demonstrations Continued: 10 min. each.
 
Week 8: ? Spring Break?
 
Week 9:  Unit 4 – Assignments and Activities
 
Week 10: Unit 4 continued– Preparation for group reports
`   Cooperation & Roles

Week 11: Give Group Reports

Week 12:  Unit 5-Assignments and Activities
    Prepare for Problem and Solution speeches

Week 13: Present Problem and Solution Speeches

Week 14: Unit 6-Pursuasive Speaking
 Assignments and Activities Topic approval and preparation for Persuasive speech
 
Week 15: Unit 6 Continued-- Small Group Practice of final persuasive speeches Homework: Prepare and Practice Final Speech

Week 16:  Final speeches and review of course material

*Please Note:  This syllabus is subject to change. All changes will be discussed in class, and you are responsible for knowing about these changes.