ESOL 0353 Advanced Reading Syllabus
2. ESOL 0353 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
ESOL 0353, Advanced Reading, seeks to prepare students for college level academic or workforce study by accomplishing the following objectives:
a. Enable students to read moderate-length texts (2-3,000 words) and decode rhetorical sturctures such as causation, comparison & contrast, definition, classification, and favored vs. unfavored opinions.
b. Give students the opportunity to read extensively from authentic academic sources as well as high-school-level literature and popular publications.
c. Introduce students to a vocabulary of approximately 2,000-3,000 words, taken largely from authentic academic English sources;
d. Develop students' skills in critical research, using the Internet and college libraries.
3. COURSE OUTCOMES:
After taking ESOL 0353, Advanced Reading, the student should:
a. be able to identify correctly the main idea of the major segments of a moderate-lenth academic text, as well as distinguish between thesis and supporting details and arguments in such a text.
b. be able to recognize and use randomly-selected items from an academic word list that reflects an estimated vocabulary size of 3,000 words.
c. be able to find and read several articles from newspapers and magazines on a predetermined theme, as well as to write an accurate summary of their contesnts.
d. Be able to find and read a work of fiction of short to moderate length, and write an accurate precis about the plot and characters in the work, as well as to identify vocabulary which needs to be studied.
e. be able to identify at least 10 written sources form either a library or the Internet that provide useful information about a predetermined topic, as well as to evealuate their usefulness and credibility.
4. GRADE BREAKDOWN:
Your grade will be calculated as follows:
Unit Tests from textbook -- 45%; Vocabulary Work -- 25%; Home/class work -- 10%; Reading Projects -- 20%
5. TEXTBOOKS:
You are required to buy the following textbook for this course:
Making Connections, Second Edition, by Kenneth Packenham. New York: Cambridge University Press.
6. COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1: Unit 1
Week 2: Unit 1 cont.
Week 3: Unit 1 cont
Week 4: Unit 1
Week 5: Unit 1 test
Week 6: Unit 2
Week 7: Unit 2 cont; First reading project due
Week 8: Unit 2
Week 9: Unit 2
Week 10: Unit 2 test
Week 11: Unit 4 Second reading project due
Week 12: Unit 4 cont.
Week 13: Unit 4 cont.
Week 14: Unit 4 cont.
Week 15: Unit 5 test. Final project due; Test practice
Week 16: FINAL EXAMS (no final in this course)
Notice: Students who repeat a course for a third or more times may soon face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor/counselor about opportunies for tutoring/ other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades.
