Houston Community College

Intensive English Program

ESOL 0344: Beginning Grammar

Instructor:  Kalpna Patel

E-mail:  kalpna.patel@hccs.edu

Office hours:  by appointment and after class

Class times:  Monday and Wednesdays 8.30 – 1.20, Room 103

Lab:  Mondays 11.40 -12.30

 

 

Course Description:

ESOL 0344 is an introduction to basic English grammar.  Emphasis is placed on correct verb forms, parts of speech, sentence order, capitalization, and punctuation. 

 

Course Goals:

Beginning Grammar seeks to prepare students for college level academic study or workforce study by accomplishing the following objectives:

  • Introducing students to the essential elements of grammar
  • Strengthening students’ abilities to produce the new grammatical structures in a variety of communicative contexts. 

 

Course Outcomes:

At the end of this course, you should be able to do the following:

  1. use BE to form affirmative and negative statements, yes/no and WH- questions in the simple present, past and future tenses;
  2. use high frequency action verbs to form statements and questions in the simple present, present continuous, simple past and with modals;
  3. use nouns (singular and plural count and non-count and possessive) as subjects and objects;
  4. use personal pronouns (subjective, objective, and possessive) and indefinite pronouns as subjects and objects;
  5. use certain high-frequency verbs such as NEED, WANT, WOULD LIKE; + noun or infinitive;
  6. use THERE and BE in the simple present and past tenses;
  7. use common prepositions of time and place;
  8. use the imperative to make commands and LET’S to make suggestions.

 

Grade Breakdown:
Your grade will be calculated as follows:                           

Unit Tests and Quizzes                     65%                           100-90%           A

Daily Work                                         10%                            89-80%             B

Lab                                                     5%                              79-70%             C

Final Exam                                         20%                            69% or below   IP or F

 

 

 

 

Course Requirements:

  • take at least 4 unit tests which must test for both recognition and production of grammatical structures within a communicative context;
  • complete a lab program consisting of grammar exercises correlated to the grammar presented in their “lecture” classes
  • take a final exam

 

Textbooks:

Focus on Grammar 2, I Schoenberg, (Longman) Third Edition

Focus on Grammar Workbook 2, S Eckstut, (Longman) Third Edition

 

Class Policies:

 

Attendance:  You must attend class regularly. If you miss eight hours or more of class, you may be dropped.  If you must miss a class, please speak to your instructor.

 

Tardiness:  You must be on time for class.  If you are more than 15 minutes late or leave the room for more than 15 minutes, you will be marked “late”.  Three “lates” will count as an absence. 

 

Withdrawals:  The last day students can withdraw or be dropped from a class with a grade of “W” is 3 April, 2008.  Students who have excessive absences after that date will receive the grade that they earn. 

 

Cell Phones:  Please turn off all cell phones and pagers. 

 

Makeup Tests/Homework:  If you are absent during a quiz, test or presentation see your instructor as soon as you return.  Arrangements will be made for makeups on the following class day.  If you are absent, please call a classmate to get the assigned homework. Come to class prepared. 

 

Academic Honesty:  Any form of copying, cheating, or plagiarism will result in a zero for the assignment. 

 

Students with Disabilities:  Students with a learning or physical disability which might affect their performance in class should contact the HCCS disabilities counselor, Dr Becky Hauri at 713-718-7909, FAX 713-718-7781

 

Repeating Classes:  Students who repeat a course three or more times are required to pay an additional $75 tuition fee. 


ESOL 0344:  Beginning Grammar

Weekly Course Outline

 

This syllabus is subject to change to reflect the needs of the class. 

 

Week 1:          Unit 1: The Present of Be: Statements Negatives

                        Unit 2: The Present of Be: Yes/No Questions

Week 2:          Unit 3: The Past of Be

                        Unit 4:  Count Nouns; Proper Nouns

Week 3:          Units 5-7: Descriptive Adjectives, Prepositions of Place, Wh-Questions

Week 4:          Test on Units 1-7

                        Unit 8: Simple Present

Units 9: Yes/No Questions

Week 5:          Units 10-12:  Wh Questions, Prepositions of Time, Possesives

Week 6:          Units 13-16:  Demonstratives, Present Progressive, Questions

Week 7:          Test on Units 8-16

Unit 17:  Imperatives

                        Unit 18:  Can/Could

Week 8:          Unit 19:  Suggestions

                        Unit 20:  Questions

                        Test on Units 17-20

Week 9:          Units 21-22:  Past Tense Statements and Questions

                        Unit 23:  There is/There are

Week 10:       Unit 24:  Subject & Object Pronouns

                        Unit 25:  Count/Noncount Nouns, Articles

                        Unit 26:  Simple Present vs Progressive, Adverbs of Frequency,

Week 11:       Unit 27:  Non-action Verbs

                        Unit 28:  Gerunds and Infinitives

                        Unit 29:  Review of Past Tense

Week 12:       Test on Units 21-29

                        Unit 30:  Be going to

                        Unit 31:  Will

Week 13:       Unit 32:  May/Might

                        Unit 33:  Quantifiers

                        Unit 35:  Possessives

Week 14:       Unit 37:  Would Like

                        Unit 38:  Should, Ought to, Had Better

                        Unit 39:  Have to, Must

Week 15:       Test on Units 30-39

Week 16:       Final Exam Week