ESOL - Level 4, Low Intermediate

Course Number:
ESOL 40
Transcript Title:
ESOL - Level 4, Low Intermediate
Created:
Aug 10, 2022
Updated:
Jul 11, 2023
Total Credits:
0
Lecture Hours:
50
Lecture / Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0
Satisfies Cultural Literacy requirement:
No
Satisfies General Education requirement:
No
Grading Options
P/NP, Audit
Default Grading Options
P/NP
Repeats available for credit:
0
Prerequisites

CASAS reading score of 211-220

Course Description

Refines skills needed in conversations beyond survival needs. Develops ability to function independently in most familiar situations and use appropriate language in routine social situations. Increases ability to self-monitor effectively when using basic grammatical structure and introduces more complex structures. U.S. cultural values and thinking patterns are introduced through discussions, readings and writing. Prerequisite: CASAS reading score of 211 to 220.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Speak independently so others can understand key information in simple conversations and short narrative explanations or descriptions on familiar topics.
  2. Listen actively to understand main ideas and relevant details from simple narratives, conversations, explanations, and presentations.
  3. Read independently with understanding a range of personal and simplified texts and some simple, every day texts including:  small blocks of simple text, simple tables, graphs and diagrams, and short paragraphs.
  4. Write independently to express meaning a few short paragraphs or simple instructions that are personally relevant or functional to address work and family purposes.

Suggested Outcome Assessment Strategies

Assessments may address the learning outcomes by means of the following:

  1. CASAS Reading Test
  2. Quizzes and informal assessments (as per instructor)
  3. Student presentations and role plays

Course Activities and Design

The determination of teaching strategies used in the delivery of outcomes is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: lecture, small group/forum discussion, flipped classroom, dyads, oral presentation, role play, simulation scenarios, group projects, service learning projects, hands-on lab, peer review/workshops, cooperative learning (jigsaw, fishbowl), inquiry based instruction, differentiated instruction (learning centers), graphic organizers, etc.

Course Content

Include all or most of the following themes:

  • Personal characteristics: physical descriptions and personalities
  • Family Issues
  • Shopping and Consumer Smarts
  • Money Issues
  • Home Issues
  • Community Involvement
  • Problem Solving
  • Job Hunting: Skills, duties, fields of employment
  • Health Issues
  • School Issues: parents and children
  • Food: diet, nutrition, health
  • Preparing for emergencies
  • Conversation Strategies

Include all or most of the following concepts and/or skills: 

Reading:

Strategies

  • Apply prior knowledge of the content and situation, including cultural understanding, to support comprehension
  • Use strategies in combination to pronounce and or/discern the meanings of unfamiliar words in environmental print or simplified texts.
  • Choose from a range of simple comprehension strategies

Analytical and Critical Reading

  • Locate, analyze, and critique stated information and implied messages in a simplified or very simple, functional, informational, or persuasive text.
  • Identify basic literary genres and draw conclusions related to their basic structural elements.
  • Identify, interpret, and/or appreciate an author’s use of language and very simple literary techniques.
  • Connect people/ characters, events, information, or ideas presented in one text with another text and/or in real life to address reading purpose.

Writing

Write a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence

  • Use a model to write paragraph
  • Add supporting details and examples to enhance content
  • Begin to understand the difference between formal and informal writing
  • Use editing strategies to enhance reader understanding: reading aloud, peer review
  • Begin to use compound sentences. 

Listening /Speaking

Give a group or individual presentation about an everyday life topic. Graphics may be used to enhance presentation. 

  • Recognize appropriate topics for conversation
  • Conversation strategies: making small talk, keeping a conversation going
  • Role play anticipated interactions
  • Use graphic organizers or take notes to focus on listening
  • Describe events in the present, past, and future
  • Start to use common idioms, phrasal verbs, and collocations
  • Use strategies to check for comprehension and repair misunderstanding
  • Discuss culturally appropriate behavior in social, work interactions
  • Start to understand common reduced speech

Grammar

  • Review simple present and simple past
  • Review present continuous.  Introduce present continuous for future.
  • Future using “BE + going to” and “will” : negative, yes/no questions, wh-questions
  • Past continuous
  • Recognize present perfect
  • Express reason using “because”
  • Object pronouns
  • Review count and non count nous + quantifiers
  • Modals
  • Relative pronouns
  • Relative adverbs
  • Correlative conjunctions: either/or, neither/nor

Pronunciation

  • Use color vowel chart to differentiate between vowel and consonant sounds
  • Past tense + ED:  /t/, /d/, /id/
  • Consonant digraphs and blends
  • Recognize high frequency prefixes and suffixes
  • Pronounce common contractions and abbreviations
  • Use English intonation patterns and pauses in statements, questions, imperatives
  • Correct own mis-pronunciation following teacher’s model
  • Repeat multisyllabic words with stress on the correct syllable

EL Civics

Incorporate EL Civics as determined by annual plan

Department Notes

It is not expected that an instructor will be able to cover all of the concepts and/or skills in one quarter. Due to the non-credit nature of this course, the instructor assesses the skill level of the class and with the class input chooses which concepts would be appropriate for instruction.  A student may take the course multiple times.