Advanced English

Instructor: Wei, Chin-lung

OVERVIEW

Advanced English is a 1-semester, 3-credit, elective course for non-

foreign-language majors. It is concerned with improving and enhancing
learners' abilities in English as a foreign language (EFL). There are 3
prerequisites for taking this course. First, the students should have
passed/waived Freshman English. Second, the students should own a
networked PC/multimedia and do not hate using it. Third, the students should
be active EFL learners. No fooling around is allowed.
One assumption upon which the course rests is that the students should
bring to their roles as advanced EFL learners a strong competence of the full
range of EFL communicative abilities--including listening, speaking, reading,
and writing--resulted from intensive and extensive learning activities. Another
philosophy of the course is that active participation and language-use are
crucial for helpful foreign language learning. The Whole Language Approach
and 4-skill integration strategy are therefore adopted, although intensive
reading and listening are the major activities for the course. Moreover, the
Internet will be comprehensively integrated into this course. Learners'
practice, involvement, and use of the language via face-to-face and the
networked multimedia are heavily required. Learners must change their
passive learning habits/attitudes to being more active participants for this
course.

OBJECTIVES

In very broad behavioral terms, the students who complete this course
should be able to:

1. Comprehend longer talks in English better.

2. Understand the main idea of a complex text in English better.
3. Present or share ideas in oral English more fluently.
4. Produce/compose clear, detailed essays on a wide range of subjects in
English.
5. Explain a viewpoint on a topical issue in English clearly.
6. Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular
interaction with English native speakers quite possible.
7. Understand grammar/sentence structure better.
8. Increase vocabulary comprehensively.
9. Be more aware of foreign cultures.
10. Broaden horizons.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

I. Classroom Activities

1. First 2 periods: (1) Listening Comprehension Quiz (2) Required

Readings

1) Listening Comprehension Quiz

At the beginning of each meeting, one listening-cloze drill will be
selected and design as a listening comprehension quiz (See the Homework
section for further information.) Students are strongly encouraged to preview
and practice the drill on the MOODLE website
(http://eclass.nchu.edu.tw/moodle/) at home before the meeting. Five
comprehension questions will be included for each quiz.

2) Required Readings
Reading activities are designed to guide the learners to applying four skills
to understand the contents. In addition to lecture, listening practice, online
listening cloze, real-time online discussion, duet reading, and oral
paraphrasing are included. The procedures are as follows:
A. Listening Practice (Warm-up/Preview)
At the beginning of the meeting, the instructor plays the voice file of the
lesson once. The students are required to listen carefully and take notes. 2-3
students will be randomly selected to summarize the main idea of the talk.
B. Listening Cloze Practice
Students are required to participate in and finish a listening-cloze practice
for each lesson. They must make a hardcopy of the handouts (downloadable
from eCampus or MOODLE websites) for this task. The voice file will be
played 3 times and the students must listen carefully and fill in the blanks. The
answers to the practice will be given immediately.
C. Lecture/Explanation
The instructor explains the whole lesson paragraph by paragraph.
Questions can be posted for clarification.
D. Duet Reading
Students are required to read aloud together or in groups by following the
talk.
E. Paraphrasing (when available)
Students are required to take turns orally summarizing the main idea and
their reflections to the whole class in English.
2. Last period: Web-based Article Presentation
Students are required to look for a short passage they are interested in
from the Internet (See the following for further explanation) and take turns
presenting the passages by using a projector every week. Before the
presentation, the students should read the article/passage carefully, identify
difficult words, phrases, or sentences, and write down a brief
comment/reflection (more than 10 sentences). It is better to save the
assignment in a personal disk and upload to the e-Campus website. The
students can create any needed hyperlinks or pass handouts for better
presentation.
For a better presentation, the students may follow the directions offered
on many websites such
as http://www.aresearchguide.com/3tips.html or http://www.cs.umd.edu/cla
ss/spring2002/cmsc434-0101/MUIseum/applications/presentationtips.html.
During the presentation, the students must read the passage at least one
time, explain the vocabulary/phrases, summarize the main idea, pose/accept
questions, and present comments/reflections. All the students need to
evaluate each presenter, including themselves, by filling out an evaluation
form (downloadable from eCampus or MOODLE websites.) The following are
the recommended procedures for preparing the task:

1) Open MS Word.
2) Put down your name, student ID#, and department on the upper-left-hand
corner.
3) Identify/decide a theme/topic you're interested in.
4) Open a web browser and look for possible links by keying in (a) keyword(s)
with a search engine (e.g., Google, Yahoo!, etc.).
5) Browse through the websites and assess the possible texts by following
a guideline suggested by Branch et al.
6) Select the passages on a website.
7) Copy the paragraph(s) you picked.
8) Paste the paragraph(s) to your document.
9) Copy the website address.
10) Paste the address (source) to your document.
11) Save the file. (e.g., Wango1.doc)
12) Read the paragraph(s) you picked carefully and identify the difficult/new
words, phrases, or sentences.
13) Type the meaning of the words or phrases in English.
14) Type a short comment/reflection (more than 10 sentences).
15) Save the file on a portable disk and upload it to the e-Campus. [See
a sample work.]
16) Prepare for the presentation.
II. Activities after Class (Homework)

1. Online Discussion: (Required)

Students are required to participate in an online discussion at home. They
should key in the summary of each reading and their reflections on the
discussion board of e-Campus website after class.

2. Listening Practice: (Recommended)

Students are strongly recommended to practice online listening-cloze
drills on http://eclass.nchu.edu.tw/moodle/ website every day. One
drill will be selected for listening comprehension quiz each week. One of the
drills A01-A07 will be chosen for the mid-term exam and drills A08-A14 for
the final exam.

3. Keeping a Learning Blog: (Optional)

Students are encouraged to keep a learning blog in English for this
course. They can make entries of learning reflections on this
website: http://eclass.nchu.edu.tw/moodle/. A bonus grade will be given to
anyone who completes this assignment. The more entries, the better bonus a
student will earn.

EXAMINATIONS

There are mid-term and final exams for this course. The exams will be in
a format of paper-&-pencil. Listening comprehension and cloze dictations will
be included. Drills for listening-log homework will be included into the exams.

EVALUATION CRITERIA for PAPERS, DIGITAL WORKS, &

PERFORMANCES

Written papers, digital works, and performances will be evaluated on the basis
of:

1. Clarity of presentation and development of ideas.

2. Accuracy of information, logic, and consistency of argument.
3. Relevance of criticism, analysis, and rationale.
4. Correct grammar, spelling, and syntax.
5. Appropriate and accurate citations.
6. Punctuality. (Grades will be deducted for late papers.)

EVALUATION OF PARTICIPATION
1. Attendance: Faithful attendance is strongly expected unless the students
are ill or a family/official emergency arises. Email or talk to the instructor
in person about reasons so he can decide whether to excuse an absence.
The students are expected to arrive in class on time. There are many
classes in which essential information is demonstrated and presented,
followed by their practice on communication, so it is critical that they
attend and arrive promptly. Therefore, their grade can be influenced by
attendance. A zero score will be given to the attendance part for being
absent without official permission 3 times or more. A bonus will be given
to the students who are never absent during the whole semester.
2. Frequency and quality of participation in face-to-face and web-based
discussion.
3. Quality of contributions to group work--individual
accountability, promotive interaction, use of clarifying questions,
illustrations, shared information, elaboration of ideas, etc.
4. Quality of presentation, collaboration, and sharing.

GRADING

All written papers, digital works, and performances of the students will
be evaluated on a scale of scores (0-100) or letters (A, B, C, ....). Final grades
will be determined on the basis of numerical equivalence of weighted grades
on the performances. Every student is suggested to keep track of their
performances weekly to correct possible mistakes on grading.

 Attendance 10%
 Listening Comprehension Quiz 15%
 Oral Article Presentation 15%
 Online Discussion 10%
 Mid-Term Examination 25%
 Final Examination 25%
 Learning Blog Entries (Bonus)

Assigned Grade Score Equivalent

A+ 90-above
A 85-89
A- 80-84
B+ 76-79
B 73-75
B- 70-72
C+ 66-69
 C 63-65
C- 60-62
F 0-59

TEXTBOOK/MATERIALS

There is no required textbook for the course. However, the

readings for the course are the materials selected by the instructor. These
materials adopted from the VOA website (www.voanews.com) include talks
and transcripts. Students can download the handouts online and make a
hardcopy for the course.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Week Topic Homework

Introduction to the Course; Movie
1
Theater
Lesson 1; Guidelines for Listening,
2
Speaking, & Writing Skills
3 Lesson 2; Article Presentation
4 Lesson 3; Article Presentation
5 Lesson 4; Article Presentation
6 Lesson 5; Article Presentation
7 Lesson 6; Article Presentation
8 Lesson 7; Article Presentation
9 Mid-term Exam
10 Lesson 8; Article Presentation
11 Lesson 9; Article Presentation
12 Lesson 10; Article Presentation
13 Lesson 11; Article Presentation
14 Lesson 12; Article Presentation
15 Lesson 13; Article Presentation
16 Lesson 14; Article Presentation
17 Review
Registration for the MOODLE course;
Listening Practice: Drill A01
Preparation for Article Presentation
Listening Practice: Drill A02
Listening Practice: Drill A03
Listening Practice: Drill A04
Listening Practice: Drill A05
Listening Practice: Drill A06
Listening Practice: Drill A07
Listening Practice: Drill A08
Listening Practice: Drill A09
Listening Practice: Drill A10
Listening Practice: Drill A11
Listening Practice: Drill A12
Listening Practice: Drill A13
Listening Practice: Drill A14
(Make up)
18 Final Exam

Advanced English Course Syllabus

1. 1. Department of Education Jesús T. Piñero Community School Cidra, Puerto Rico
Advanced English Program Prof. Talía Méndez Hernández Course Syllabus I. General
Information Course Title: 9th Grade Advanced English Credits: One Textbook: Scholastic
Read XL Student Book (Purple) Scholastic Read XL Practice Book (Purple) Writer’s Express
II. Course Description: The underlying theory and instructional model of teaching within the
English Program is Balanced Literacy. This approach provides for essential skills and
strategy instruction within the context of meaningful, relevant, authentic reading, writing, and
oral language activities and routines. As a program, it is important to prepare our students for
the real world and global community. In order to ensure students are ready, functional
literacy instruction will also be provided within the curriculum. III. General Objectives:
Content Standards The English Program provides for the promotion of content standards.
Each content standard promotes various skills depending on the grade level. The material
completed during the academic year integrates the development of each content standard to
accomplish the Program’s vision, mission and learning- focused goals. A.
Listening/Speaking: The student uses the English language to interpret oral input, construct
meaning, interact with confidence both verbally and nonverbally, and express ideas
effectively in a variety of personal, social, and academic contexts. B. Reading: The student
uses reading strategies, literary analysis, and critical thinking skills to construct meaning and
develop an understanding as well as an appreciation of a variety of genres of both fiction and
nonfiction. C. Writing: The student effectively communicates to a variety of audiences in all
forms of writing through the use of the writing process, proper grammar, and age-appropriate
expressive vocabulary. Prof. Talía Méndez Hernández 1 English 9th Grade
2. 2. IV. Specific Objectives The student: L/S.9.1 Listens and responds to a read aloud from a
variety of fiction and nonfiction to analyze character development and setting, to determine
tone, voice, and mood, and to make connections to the text. L/S.9.2 Listens and responds to,
analyzes, gives, and discusses complex instructions; constructs complex sentences and
statements to explain, describe, support, and discuss information; answers and formulates
closed and open-ended questions. L/S.9.3 Uses appropriate language structures to problem
solve, explain a process, and express opinions integrating comparison and contrast
statements; analyzes presentations. L/S.9.4 Uses a variety of language patterns and
structures to explain text, discuss topics and themes; expresses thoughts and opinions to
analyze plot, problem and solution, as well as make predictions and inferences, and draw
conclusions from listening to a variety of texts and multimedia sources. L/S.9.5 Explains the
main idea or topic and important details from learned concepts or readings of a variety of
expository texts; applies sequence of events to discuss and summarize text; compares and
contrasts topics from a variety of texts. R.9.1 Analyzes the text, establishes purpose, states
author’s purpose, and distinguishes between text features. R.9.2 Analyzes context clues,
reference sources, and other vocabulary expansion strategies to assess word meaning using
prior knowledge to relate to new meaning; uses prefixes, suffixes, and root words to
determine the meaning of unfamiliar, multiple-meaning, and compound words. R.9.3
Analyzes characters and traits; explains setting in fiction and nonfiction; distinguishes
between first person, third person, and omniscient point of view. R.9.4 Organizes plot;
establishes cause and effect relationships; makes connections, predictions, inferences,
draws conclusions, and classifies conflicts in narrative, expository, and persuasive texts.
 R.9.5 Distinguishes between fact and opinion in narrative and expository texts; states and
paraphrases main idea and selects important details. R.9.6 Uses elements of poetry and
plays to analyze, interpret, and identify genre, imagery, and figurative language. W.9.1 Uses
transitional words, phrases, and clauses to connect ideas when constructing complex
sentences. W.9.2 Distinguishes appropriate and incorrect grammar structure; applies a
variety of syntactic styles to write. Prof. Talía Méndez Hernández 2 English 9th Grade
3. 3. W.9.3 Applies organizational patterns and the elements of descriptive, narrative,
expository, and persuasive forms of writing to construct a composition. W.9.4 Uses figurative
language; writes different styles of poems. W.9.5 Uses basic editing marks and revising
techniques; uses reference sources to verify information; writes a final draft using the writing
process. Course Content THEMATIC FOCUS – CONCEPTS ASSESSMENT SELECTION
Out of this world • Vocabulary Test Selection: War of the Worlds • Contractions Special
Project: Science Fiction The Martian Broadcast • Cause and Effect Movie Analysis Genre:
Play • Specialized Vocabulary Non-Fiction Article • End Punctuation A World without Limits •
Vocabulary Test Selection: Dreaming Aloud • Suffixes –tion and –sion Oral and Written
Presentation – Growing up Female • Make Inferences Analyzing a Song Genre: Short Story •
Action Words Magazine Article • Simple and Complete Subjects Another Me • Vocabulary
Test Selection: Twins • Synonyms Special Project – Family Tree The Science of Twins •
Compare and Contrast Genre: Photo Essay • Idioms Textbook Selection • Adjectives ending
in –er and –est Real-Life Hero • Vocabulary Test Selection: Eileen Collins • Compound
Words Oral and Written Presentation - Space Exploration • Summarize Biographies Genre:
Profile • Irregular Past-Tense Encyclopedia Entry Verbs • Prepositional Phrases The Real
Me • Vocabulary Test Selection: Broken Chain • Contractions Tin Grin • Analyze Character
Genre: Short Story • Cognates Essay • Irregular Verbs Taking a Stand • Vocabulary Test
Selection: Warriors Don’t Cry • Antonyms Autobiography When the Doors • Draw
Conclusions Movie Analysis: Men of Honor Prof. Talía Méndez Hernández 3 English 9th
Grade
4. 4. Opened at Central High • Time Words Genre: Autobiography • Subject/Pronoun
Newspaper Editorial Agreement Words of Understanding • Vocabulary Test Selection:
Opening Act • Connotation and Poetry Analysis A song and poem by Denotation Jewel •
Cause and Effect Genre: Short Story • Synonyms for Said Poetry/Lyrics • Independent and
Dependent Clauses Trial by Dust • Vocabulary Test Selection: Out of the Dust • Figurative
Langue Oral and Written Presentation – Karen Hesse • Analyze Setting My Hobbies Genre:
Poetry/Nonfiction Article • Descriptive Words Author Profile • Quotation Marks Friendship On
the Ropes • Vocabulary Test Selection: Amigo Brothers • Specialized Vocabulary Oral
Presentation – Free Topic Should Boxing Be • Analyzed Plot Banned? • Action Words
Genre: Short Story • Adjectives Debate Get to Work • Vocabulary Test Selection: Animal
Keeper & • Context Clues Friend • Main Idea Genre: Career Profile • Dialogue • Subject and
Predicate Evaluation Criteria EVALUATION CRITERIA PERCENTAGE (WEIGHT) Partial
Exams 60% Written Presentations 20% Oral Presentations 10% Analyzing Skills 10% Total
100% The following scale has been established by the Department of Education to
determine final grades: • A – 100 – 90 • B – 89 – 80 • C – 79 – 70 • D – 69 – 60 • F – 59 – 0
Prof. Talía Méndez Hernández 4 English 9th Grade
5. 5. Technology in the Classroom Technology integration is essential to the teaching-learning
processes in order to facilitate the explanation, demonstration, and presentation of skills;
provide students with practice in the skills studied; and aid students in planning, creating,
and presenting projects. The following activities are provided sparingly according to unit
lesson design: • PowerPoint presentations • Word processing • Internet Research • Movie
Analysis Academic Integrity As a student at the Jesús T. Piñero School, you are expected to
uphold the values of academic integrity at all times. Academic integrity can be defined, in
one word, as honesty. The principle of academic integrity stretches beyond the limits of a
classroom. Good students are honest with themselves, their teachers, and their community.
The basic principle of academic honesty in the classroom is always to: • submit your own
work on time • never cheat on an exam • respect others • avoid absences • never plagiarize
others work Outside of the classroom: • treat your teachers, peers, and other members of the
academic community with respect • and never damage or devalue school property. If all
students familiarize themselves with the concept of academic integrity, the Jesús T. Piñero
School will continue to be a friendly and happy place to live and learn. (The provided
syllabus contains information pertaining to the concepts and skills to be completed during a
complete academic school year. The material shall be completed depending on time and
material availability. This syllabus may be subject to change.) ©Partial or Full Duplication
Prohibited Prof. Talía Méndez Hernández 5 English 9th Grade