Graduate Course Descriptions

Fall, 2007

ESL 591 Intermediate Oral/Aural Skills Class (No student contact)
The purpose of this course is to do intensive work in aural and oral language skills. Emphasis is on the segmental level: vowel/consonant work, syllable work and word stress as well as rhythm on the sentence level. Summarizing and questioning are practiced with work on learning styles. Students’ awareness of American teaching and cultural patterns are stressed. Observing American professors and students in class is encouraged. A student will receive a diagnostic assessment of her/his language segmental and suprasegmental difficulties from the instructor and will be expected to work on improvement in these speech areas both in the classroom and independently in the language laboratories. Successful completion (A- or higher) of the course leads to ESL 598; B+ or B leads to ESL 596; a B-necessitates repetition of this course. (Prerequisite: SPEAK Test score of 40-44 or IELTS score of 5.5)

ESL 596 High Intermediate Oral/Aural Skills Class (Can grade and run recitation sessions)
The emphasis of this course is threefold: developing language skills, teaching skills and cultural awareness. Language skills will focus on sentence stress, phrasing, linking and pausing with field specific language practice. Teaching skills stressed include questioning techniques for discussion and assessment, leading effective discussions and assessing student learning. The cultural awareness focuses on idioms, American cultural values and norms as well as non-verbal communication. Successful completion of this course (B or higher) leads to ESL 598; a B- necessitates repetition of this course. (Prerequisites: SPEAK Test score of 45-49 or an IELTS score of 6.0)

ESL 598 Advanced Oral/Aural Skills Class (Can TA)
This course further develops language skills at the suprasegmental level, teaching skills, cultural awareness and presentation skills. Intonation is taught with self-monitoring strategies. The teaching skills examine strategies for introducing yourself, your syllabus, explaining a visual, defining terms, giving presentations and giving successful lectures. A video tape of the TA teaching is analyzed in the weekly tutorial. Cultural awareness is centered on some assumptions affecting teaching in the American classroom. Successful completion of this course (a B or better) clears the student from the oral/aural ESL requirements. (Prerequisites: SPEAK Test score of 50-54 or an IELTS score of 6.5)

The Mission of our oral/aural program is to equip our graduate students with the necessary proficiency in English (both at the segmental and suprasegmental level) to be clearly understood by their undergraduate students and to understand them. Compensation strategies are taught along with work on their pedagogical skills and cultural awareness.