Syllabus 2013-14 school year

Course DescriptionESL Intermediate is a full-semester advanced academic course designed for students whose native language is not English. ESL Intermediate meets every day (6 + hours). The general objective of this level is to raise the English language and cultural competence of non-native speakers so that they can succeed in credit courses and/or work effectively in jobs requiring native-like English skills. ESL A serves as a support course for Level Four reading and writing classes and includes instruction and practice in areas such as academic listening and note-taking, study skills and strategies, and grammar and editing skills needed for clarity in writing.

Students must pass NYSESLAT 2015 in order to manifest Proficiency.

Course Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes: To demonstrate cultural awareness and knowledge of American education with emphasis on the U.S. college system, as well as familiarity with career choices, current events, and politics
To understand academic lectures and react to the content by applying the information, expressing opinions, and asking appropriate questions
To take detailed notes and summarize the main points of a lecture
To participate in academic discussions and give clear and effective oral reports
To summarize and paraphrase academic passages and videos through writing activities
To identify and correct errors in written texts using a variety of editing strategies
To apply academic study skills, including time management, organizing assignments, test-taking, and goal setting.
To manage e-mail with attachments

Information Literacy By the conclusion of the semester, all students who pass this course will demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of research in at least one project, either oral or written. This will include locating research sources and incorporating them into the project without plagiarism.


Homework and quizzes – Students should be given weekly homework and unit quizzes throughout the semester. Have students write compositions that demonstrate their knowledge of the required grammatical structures. Include some computer assignments.

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Students must do at least one oral presentation during the semester to demonstrate their oral proficiency.
Editing - Students must learn to edit their own papers. Writing samples, as well as from this class, should be brought to class every day for editing practice.
Conferences – One per marking period to discuss progress towards the goal of English proficiency.

Suggested listening texts can be found via links on the blog.