AESL083 Reading Fundamentals for International Students
Department of Language & Literature: American English as a Second Language
- I. Course Number and Title
- AESL083 Reading Fundamentals for International Students
- II. Number of Credits
- 3 credits
- III. Number of Instructional Minutes
- 2250
- IV. Prerequisites
- AESL placement score of 2 or permission of the Department of Language and Literature
- Corequisites
- None
- V. Other Pertinent Information
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This course will not satisfy the general elective category for students who entered their program or study in or after the 2007 Fall semester.
- To meet course objectives, students are expected to spend a minimum of six hours a week completing homework assignments. These six hours are in addition to the three hours class time.
- Students are expected to visit the Tutoring Center as needed.
- Approximately eighty-to-ninety percent of the final grade for the course will be based upon a student's performance on tests, in-class and out-of-class writings, and other written and oral assignments. Class participation and attendance will account for the remaining ten-to-twenty percent of a student's overall grade.
- Transferability is determined by the transfer institution.
- VI. Catalog Course Description
- AESL 083 is a reading course designed for international students who need to learn the fundamentals of reading. It focuses on reading comprehension skills: vocabulary development, including word definitions, word families, common American idioms, and familiarity with American cultural influences.
- VII. Required Course Content and Direction
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Course Learning Goals
Reading: In this AESL course students will be able to
- identify American cultural influences through reading;
- recognize supporting details, and draw inferences;
- read, with instructional support, texts that are written for an audience whose primary language is American English;
- develop the ability to read independently for pleasure to further enhance comprehension and vocabulary development; and;
- advance reading skills to earn a C or better in the course and demonstrate progress by improving their performance on a final proficiency test;
Writing: Students will be able to
- respond orally and in writing to assigned texts and a variety of authentic materials; and
- develop vocabulary for written and oral expression, including the use of collocations, phrasal verbs, and common American idioms.
Academic Integrity: Students will be able to
- identify plagiarism and adhere to the principles of academic integrity.
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Planned Sequence of Topics and/or Learning Activities
Reading/Writing/Vocabulary: Students will
- read texts that promote comprehension, discussion, and written response to American historical events and cultural values;
- read a variety of authentic materials, such as newspapers, magazines, and Internet articles in order to identify main ideas and supporting details;
- read an American novel, biography, or collection of short stories for small group or class discussion, oral presentation, or written responses;
- engage in self-selected free reading written in American English to further enhance comprehension and vocabulary development;
- effectively use a unilingual American English dictionary for ESL learners to define words, identify parts of speech, and improve pronunciation through the accurate interpretation of phonetic script; and
- complete a teacher-prepared plagiarism exercise.
Other learning activities that may include but not be limited to the following: in-class and out-of-class collaborative activities, such as interviews, surveys, and small group or paired discussions.
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Assessment Methods for Course Learning Goals
Students will demonstrate what they have learned through quizzes, including a quiz on plagiarism, in-class and out-of-class writings, oral and written responses to text, presentations, conferences with the instructor, and a final proficiency test.
Students will complete numerous comprehension and vocabulary exercises in their textbooks and/or workbook.
These exercises will be evaluated on a consistent basis.
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Reference, Resource, or Learning Materials to be used by Student:
Departmentally-selected textbooks and/or workbooks. See course syllabus.
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Review/Approval Date - 3/07; New Core 8/2015