English as a Second Language - ESL 110

Course Description

This course for English-language learners is the fourth in a guided series of ESL reading and vocabulary skills classes. This course, taught in group and language lab settings, prepares students to successfully handle the necessary types of college level reading assignments. Students will refine reading comprehension strategies and second language vocabulary development skills using a variety of authentic materials to critically analyze and evaluate argumentative and expository authentic materials. Students will apply culturally appropriate techniques to selected projects and materials, test-taking tasks and textbooks.

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:

• Employ appropriate adaptive critical reading strategies for various types of texts.
• Predict author's purpose, tone and point of view in paragraphs, visuals, essays, arguments and texts.
• Consolidate information using the major organizational patterns.
• Discriminate between stated and implied main ideas and supporting details in paragraphs, essays and texts.
• Analyze central point, major concepts and relevant details in college textbooks, essays and arguments.
• Assess valid inferences in various paragraphs, visuals, essays and texts to draw conclusions.
• Employ appropriate organizational, summative, notational and visual techniques to integrate related information.
• Differentiate fact from opinion in an extended, authentic essay and argument.
• Summarize essential elements of an extended, authentic essay and argument.
• Interpret seminal events while reading an autobiography.
• Critique information and opinions from more than two texts to compare with reader's own opinion.
• Formulate a valid written response to an essay or argument.
• Expand academic vocabulary base through analysis of word structure, appropriate use, syllable stress and pronunciation, with consistent use of a monolingual English dictionary.
• Interpret higher-level academic vocabulary words using advancing context clues with cultural overtones, connotative meanings and collocations within texts and academic word lists.
• Demonstrate appropriate test preparation techniques and test-taking strategies.

Course Schedule