Course Descriptions
Academic Listening/Speaking and Notetaking - ALS1001
Course Description
Academic Listening and Speaking 1001 (ALS 1001) is a 75-hour learner-centered course designed to introduce students to the major components of oral and aural academic discourse at a basic level. To enroll in ALS 1001, students need to score a minimum of 420 in TOEFL. The course consists of listening, speaking, and note-taking. Listening spans over almost half of the course; it focuses on helping students to understand a lecture and analyze its components. In parallel, it deals with the organizational elements of an academic lecture with an emphasis on ‘pre-’, ‘while-’, and ‘post-’listening comprehension tasks. Note-taking covers one tenth of the course; it enables students to use effective and various note-taking methods. Speaking spans over almost a third of the course; it allows students to participate in discussions and in-class dialogues and prepare them to give quality informative presentations.
ALS students are required to participate in English Conversation Group sessions—a cross-level activity—and complete additional out-of-class level-specific activities such as weekly listening logs, online interactivities, and movie reviews.
Course Objectives:
The main objective of ALS 1001 is for students to:
- acquire the listening and note-taking skills necessary for coping with more advanced material of the next level;
- deliver a speech in confident, fluent, organized, and intelligible manner.
In accordance with the LC mission, ALS ensures that students apply what they learn in other language courses in their speech delivery. Simultaneously, it equips students with transferable skills that they can use in other contexts.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- listen effectively to an academic lecture for gist;
- listen attentively for details;
- use note-taking skills (abbreviations, symbols, main points, etc.) in academic and non-academic settings;
- acquire the basics of any academic presentation;
- deliver a reasonably comprehensible speech.
Evaluation:
The grading scheme for this level is broken down as follows:
- Work up to the midterm: 25%
- 10% 2 lecture-listening quizzes (5% each)
- 3% Note-taking for non-quiz lectures
- 12% Homework and in-class/out-of-class activities: (includes ECG, weekly listening logs, online interactivities, or movie reviews)
- 7% Listening assignments
- 5% Speaking assignments
- 10% Lecture-listening
- 5% Speaking (Oral exam)
- Work up to the final exam: 25 %
- 10% 2 lecture-listening quizzes (5% each)
- 2% Note-taking for non-quiz lectures
- 8% 1 informative/expository presentation
- 5% Homework and in-class/out-of class activities
Course Materials:
• Beglar, D., & Murray, N., Contemporary Topics. New York: Longman, 2002 / 1993.
• Extra interactive activities made available on the constantly updated LC Website.
• Supplementary materials.
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