Curriculum

Objectives
Required Materials
Course Requirements 

Concordia College
ELL 111: Summer

This three- credit semester hour course in intensive English for post-secondary students is designed around an immersion-style learning experience, and is intended to strengthen English language skills, prepare students for effective university study, and acquaint them with various aspects of North American culture. We will draw on a wide variety of learning activities, some inside the classroom and some outside. For this class to be meaningful and helpful for language development and learning about a culture, participatory learning will be integrated into the overall curriculum as much as possible.

Objectives for English language intensive short course

• To become comfortable with passively communicating in English, both in reading and listening
• To become comfortable with actively communicating in English, both in writing and speaking
• To develop stronger writing proficiency in organizing and developing ideas in English into a coherent text
• To develop stronger competence in English writing style, more capable of communicating finer nuances of meaning with greater coherence
• To achieve higher-level reading comprehension skills, e.g. reading for main idea, critical reading, inference
• To strengthen English vocabulary, both in specific words and in using strategies for determining word meanings on their own, i.e. context, word structure, dictionaries
• To understand the significance of context in one’s choice of words and speaking and writing style
• To strengthen competence in speaking (discussion and more formal presentation)

• drawing on context
• reading for main idea, summarizing
• making inferences
• analysis and synthesis
• evaluation and critical reading
• phrase and sentence-level comprehension (“chunking”)

• personal essay
• explanatory writing
• argumentative essay
• short research paper
• journal

• Daily Oral Language
• grammar review, sentence-combining and sentence reduction

• practice in context (sentence-level and beyond)
• review of major prefixes, roots, and suffixes—and learning additional ones
• mastery of a group of commonly-used words
• discussion of idioms and learning selected idioms
• use of effective diction in writing

Required books and readings (provided through program fees):
Atwan, R. (2009). America Now: Short Readings from Recent Periodicals. 8th Ed., Bedford/St. Martins.
CLV. (2010). Explorer: Tracking Your Journey.
Additional selected readings provided as necessary.

Required supporting materials (students should provide):
Writing instruments (pens and pencils)
Notebook (writing paper for in-class assignments or note-taking)
Backpack or shoulder bag to contain class materials

Graded Course Requirements
1. Reading assignments – Students will complete selected readings prior to class time. Students must be ready to discuss reading assignments in the context of the theme or topic.

2. Written assignments – Students will complete weekly written assignments, including essays, reaction papers, and in-class assignments utilizing vocabulary from the week’s topic.

3. Oral assignments – Students will complete weekly oral presentation assignments. Typically the student will present their assignment to a small group in class on a pre-determined designated day.

4. Class attendance and participation – Students are expected to attend each class period. Any missed attendance day must be due to unexpected illness or arranged through prior approval of the program director. Additionally, when we say “Class participation is expected”, what does this mean? It is more than physical presence in your seat. It is more than a “can you repeat that” comment in class. It is more than brief engagement on an in-class exercise and leaving as soon as possible. Students will engage with the material, challenge themselves and each other, asking thoughtful questions, stimulating new ideas, and actively explore the topic reaching for a greater understanding of planned topics each and every week. Students will evaluate their own contributions at the end and the instructors will consider the student's perspective in the final judgment for class participation credit.

Groups
Language Groups – During the weekdays, participants spend much of the morning hours in a more-structured, language-learning environment. These sessions include both large group and small group sessions, and are referred to as “language groups”.
Activity Groups – In the afternoon hours, participants are involved in activities, field trips, and excursions that extend and reinforce the language sessions of that week. The activity groups will rotate each week, such that participants will experience a variety of choices and opportunities for these sessions.
Core Groups – Small groups will be formed and maintained throughout the Collegetown experience. These groups will gather daily in order to reflect on content, study or write together, or assist students with required tasks from the language sessions.