Link to Course Grades

Syllabus for: ESOL 400     ENGLISH COMPOSITION FOR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS

Semester: Summer 2008   Course Number: 53381 Section: A7   Units: 5.0   Room: 1202 Dates: 06/16-07/31   Time:   8:00-11:05   Daily (M-TH)   Teacher: Daniel O'Connell   Office: 5113   Office Hours: 11:10-12:10   M-TH or by appointment     E-mail: oconnelld@smccd.net   Phone: 358-9179

Text :  

Guidelines , Spack, R.         

Bone , Fae Myenne Ng

Materials :

Two Steno notebooks

2 folders

A Dictionary (English to English is recommended)

Catalog Description:     For advanced non-native speakers of English who have completed ESOL 840, or 841   and 842, or 864 and 874, or equivalent, but need more intensive work in critical reading   and composition before attempting ENGL 100 or 105.   Transfer credit:   UC; CSU.  

Placement:   Appropriate scores on SLEP placement test (251 or above) are recommended for students testing into ENGL 400.   This course is designed for students who have completed ESL 840, or 841 and 842.   Proof of eligibility--test scores or final grades-- must be shown before beginning course.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO's):   Upon completion of the course, students will   be able to  

1. Read, critically evaluate, and respond to college-level texts in English.  
2. Apply the writing process to generate and develop essays at a college level of   English.    
3. Generate a comprehensible, coherent response to an essay prompt in 45 minutes.
4. Assemble and synthesize research to support and present ideas according to   academic standards.  
5. Critically evaluate and modify own written language to enhance personal and   academic communication.      

Transferability: This course is transferable in the UC: CSU system towards A2 requirements.

Course Assignments :   This course will cover most of the chapters in Guidelines , and will incorporate grammar from online and language lab sources.   Requirements for each chapter will include: assigned homework, group work, and class work.  

    There will also be 5 written paper assignments, totaling over 5000 words.    These will include a short introductory paper, a book report, an expository essay, and analytical report, a persuasive essay, and an objective report.

    More information on these and other assignments will be provided, in the first week of class, in a class schedule.  

     For the first two weeks, students will also read the novel, Bone , and write extensively on topics based on what they read.

     There is also a one-hour per week requirement outside of class when students can use resources in the Learning Center and/or online at skyline.academic.com.

Grades: Grading will be: A (89.5-100%), B (79.5-89.5%), C (69.5-79.49), or D (below 69.5%), which is not passing, based on in-class work, quizzes, writing assignments, and other graded assignments such as homework.    20% of the final grade will be based on the in-class final. In general, for this level the department writing standard for a C grade is "Organization but some grammar errors."  To earn an A grade, your work must show "Fluency, control in organization, few grammar errors."  This is what we aim for in this class.   It may have distracting grammar but not so severe as to interfere with content.

         Grades for all coursework will be provided online at the instructor's website- www.smccd.net/accounts/oconnelld   Students will have access to their grades as they develop.   Please use this website to keep track of your progress.  No extra credit will be available.   

          Students are expected to take all tests and hand in all the homework for the class.   Contacting the teacher about missing class work is each student's responsibility.   Please contact me in class, through e-mail, or call a classmate if you miss something so that a makeup date can be arranged.   Missing class work without notifying the teacher will result in a zero grade for the assignment. No late papers will be accepted after the essays have been graded and returned to students.

          The last day to drop semester length classes without record is June 18th, and the last day to withdraw from semester length classes is July 21st.  

Support Services : The Learning Center (building5) provides support for writing, math, and other subjects.   Sign up for LSKL800 or LSKL 853for reading and writing support through the center.   Librarians, on the 2 nd floor of building 5, can assist with research projects and library questions.   Academic counselors, health services, and other student support services are available in the Student Services Center in building 2.

         It is highly advised to use the tutors at the Writing and Reading Lab as you work on your papers.  We also have ESL specialists in The Learning Center that can help you with ESL grammar.  If you have grammar habits that you want help on, go the TLC and sign up for a ESOL 655 class, even after the end of registration.

Academic Integrity/Plagerism:  You are responsible for adhering to the Code of Student Conduct outlined in the Skyline College Catalog and the Skyline Student Handbook, available online.   Behavior is not a problem in this class.  My expectations are that you come to class every day and on time.  Please don't talk when someone else has the floor, since the sound echoes and you make hearing impossible for your classmates.  Please limit your eating to foods so small and quiet that no one can notice.   And never talk on a cell phone in the classroom!

          In college essays we are interested in your ideas.  You must never copy some other person's ideas --out of a book or the Internet, for example-- and present them as if the ideas were yours.  This is called plagiarism.   The work you submit/present must be your own.   All paraphrases and quotations must be cited appropriately.   The Skyline College Catalog has a complete statement defining cheating and plagiarism as does the Student Handbook, available online.   If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing another person's work, you may be disciplined in one or more of the following ways:

•  You may be given an F on the assignment.

•  You may be given an F in the course; or

•    You will be referred to the College Disciplinarian for further sanctions which range from a warning to expulsion from Skyline College

In-Class Writing Final Exam : This semester the writing exam will be Friday, July 31st. Upon completion of the course, students will need to be able to compose clear, coherent, logical paragraphs in their essay. Regardless of the coursework online, students who fail both the in-class writing final and the in-class grammar final will not pass this class (see below)

Attendance: Coming to class every day and on time is necessary for this class.  If you miss more than 10 classes you can be dropped from the class list.  Two late arrivals are counted as an absence.  Coming to class every day and on time is necessary for this class.   We will meet 27 times, so if you miss more than 10% of that, or 3 classes, you can be dropped from the class.   Two late arrivals will be counted as an absence.   Our time together every morning is valuable, so let's make the most of it.

Students with Special Needs are welcomed to this class and may want to contact the Disabled Student Services office (738-4280), which will suggest accommodations that can be arranged through the instructor. There are extra resources available in the Learning Center, on the main floor of building 5, including tutoring, listening tapes--Mosaic I, interactive CDs-- Grammar in Focus, and extra classes-- ENGL 650 (for TRIO participants only).   They can provide an accommodation letter that will help insure you success in this class. Please contact the DSPS office.

Schedule for ESOL 400 ,   Summer 2008