501.5 English as a Second Language VI (NorthStar:
Advanced) 120 classes
Prerequisite(s): ESL V or Advanced placement test score
Textbook: NorthStar: Listening
and Speaking Advanced, 2nd ed., 2004 (or comparable text); F. J.
Ferrraro et al, Advanced English 6: A Handbook of twenty basic lessons,
Spanish-American Institute, 2002 (or comparable text); Longman Dictionary of
American English now with Thesaurus, 3rd or later edition, Pearson,
2004 (recommended).
Course
Description: A sixth level ESL course that introduces
advanced students to a higher level of difficulty and fluency than ESL V
requiring wish statements, expressions of unreality, spoken discourse
connections, direct and indirect speech, and compound verbs including passive
voice and modals organized into longer oral and written presentations.
Objectives: By the end of the course, students should be able to
listen, speak, read, and write using longer compound and complex sentences and
more extensive vocabulary than expected of ESL V students. They should be comfortable with the
communication of wishes, unreality, and urgency. They should recognize and use discourse connectors, direct and
indirect speech, compound tenses including the passive causative and modals of
uncertainty. They should be able to
apply these language skills at a higher level of critical thinking to make
predictions, express and defend opinions, summarize information, retell a
conversation, and compare and contrast.
Instructional
Methods: An integrated cumulative
skills development methodology increases language retention and fluency by
stimulating students to make meaning from a new language through active
learning activities. Recorded listening
passages build on vocabulary and ideas from background material and
exercises. Students work individually,
in pairs, and in small groups on guided, linked activities built around each
unit's theme. Instruction will be
supplemented with ESL audio and video material keyed to textbook units
Grading: The final grade is based on the following:
|
Class Participation |
25% |
|
Assignments |
50% |
|
Exams |
25% |
|
Total |
100% |
The grading scale is: A=90-100%, B+=85-89%, B=80-84%, C+=75-79%, C=70-74%, D=65-69%, F=60-64%
|
Week |
Topics |
Assignments and Tests |
|
1-3 |
Review
of NorthStar method. NorthStar
Unit 1 Theme: The Internet and Other
Addictions Communication
Focus: making predictions, expressing
and defending opinions, using vocabulary in guided conversation, conducting a
survey and reporting results, etc. Grammar
Focus: wish statements (expressing
unreality). Unit
1 Video Sequence. |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar. Student
video activity sheet. |
|
4-5 |
NorthStar
Unit 2 Theme: Celebration,
Florida: Disney’s Utopia Communication
Focus: making predictions;
summarizing ideas, expressing conjecture, making a short oral presentation. Grammar
Focus: noun clauses after verbs of
urgency. Unit
2 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar. Student
video activity sheet |
|
6-7 |
NorthStar
Unit 3 Theme: The Bold and the
Bashful Communication
Focus: making predictions, expressing
and defending opinions, using new vocabulary in extemporaneous responses,
describing one’s personality, using gambits (to express uncertainty, to break
the ice, and to maintain a conversation), presenting research results Grammar
Focus: identifying and nonidentifying
adjective clauses Unit
3 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar.
Student
video activity sheet. |
|
8 |
Review,
Units 1-3 Drafting,
editing, and re-writing essay. |
Write
an essay based on topic assigned by teacher (part of bi-monthly grade) Bi-monthly
Exam |
|
9-10 |
NorthStar
Unit 4 Theme: The Tipping Point Communication
Focus: using metaphors, using
introductory expressions to restate, presenting findings Grammar
Focus: adverbs clauses of result Unit
4 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar. Student
video activity sheet. |
|
11-12 |
NorthStar
Unit 5 Theme: Feng Shui: Ancient
Wisdom Travels West Communication
Focus: summarizing information, expressing and defending opinions, using new
vocabulary and discourse connectors Grammar
Focus: spoken discourse connectors Unit
5 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar.
Student
video activity sheet. |
|
13-14 |
NorthStar
Unit 6 Theme: Spiritual Renewal Communication
Focus: brainstorming motivations,
summarizing using new vocabulary, using hesitation in extemporaneous
responses, planning and presenting a longer oral presentation, etc. Grammar
Focus: Count and non-count nouns and
their quantifiers Unit
6 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar. Student
video activity sheet. |
|
15-16 |
NorthStar
Unit 7 Theme: Workplace Privacy Communication
Focus: Brainstorming language of
privacy, making predictions, practicing correct stress patterns, conducting
short interviews and summarizing finding, etc. Grammar
Focus: two forms and meanings of
verb+gerund Unit
7 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar.
Student
video activity worksheet |
|
17 |
Review,
Units 4-7 Drafting,
editing, and re-writing short essay. |
Write
short essay based on topic assigned by teacher (part of bi-monthly grade) Bi-monthly
Exam |
|
18-19 |
NorthStar
Unit 8 Theme: Warriors Without Weapons Communication
Focus: comparing background
experiences, using opening gambits, defending opinions, posing and respond to
questions with new vocabulary, retelling a conversation, etc. Grammar
Focus: direct and indirect speech Unit
8 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar Student
video activity sheet |
|
20-21 |
NorthStar
Unit 9 Theme: Boosting Brain Power
through the Arts Communication
Focus: comparing knowledge and
reactions, summarizing information, using figurative language, using
transitions to compare and contrast, etc. Grammar
Focus: passive voice and passive
causative Unit
9 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar. Student
video activity sheet. |
|
22-23 |
NorthStar
Unit 10 Theme: Television and Freedom of Expression Communication
Focus: making predictions, supporting an opinion with examples, using new
vocabulary in a role play, using phrasal verbs, expressing degrees of
certainty with modals, using gambits, conducting short interviews and
summarizing findings, etc. Grammar
Focus: modals to express degrees of
certainty Unit
10 Video Sequence |
NorthStar
unit exercises. Handbook
reading and exercises for unit grammar. Student
video activity sheet. |
|
24 |
Review,
Units 8-10. Drafting,
editing, and re-writing short essay. |
Write
short essay based on topic assigned by teacher (part of bi-monthly grade) Bi-monthly
Exam |