English as a Second Language - ESL 80

Course Description

This course for English-language learners is the third in a guided series of ESL reading and vocabulary skills classes. This course, taught in both group and language lab settings, focuses on academic reading and vocabulary development for college success in a new culture. Students will explore and develop higher level strategies to improve reading comprehension and efficiency, academic word power and critical thinking skills.

Prerequisites

(A requirement that must be completed before taking this course.)

Course Competencies

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• Expand critical reading strategies through the addition of higher-level comprehension skills.
• Utilize the three-step critical reading process to include independent use of the question and answer process, highlighting of text and annotation skills.
• Predict the content and author's purpose in paragraphs, visuals, essays and texts.
• Discriminate organizational structure using major writing patterns (focusing on cause/effect), transitions and formats in a variety of texts.
• Differentiate stated main ideas and implied main ideas in paragraphs, essays, visuals and texts.
• Differentiate central point and major evidence within essays or arguments.
• Create valid inferences gleaned from various paragraphs, visuals, essays and texts.
• Classify key information in assorted graphics, charts, illustrations, pictures and videos.
• Synthesize information and opinions from two texts to compare with reader's own opinion.
• Distinguish fact from opinion within paragraphs, essays or arguments.
• Summarize essential elements of an essay or argument.
• Consolidate seminal events while reading a biographical writing.
• Formulate short answer essay responses from reading notes and texts.
• Enhance academic vocabulary base through analysis of word structure, syllable stress and pronunciation with increasing use of a monolingual English dictionary.
• Interpret higher-level academic vocabulary words using context clues with cultural overtones, connotative meanings and collocations within texts and academic word lists.
• Demonstrate use of summary study tools and active review strategies for test preparation.

Course Schedule