ESL 970G Advanced Grammar Review and Editing, 3 units

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Students review English grammar and learn to edit grammatical, mechanical and word usage errors in their writing. This includes intensive review and editing of verb tenses; modals; conditionals; active and passive voice; articles and nouns; prepositional, adjectival and adverbial phrases; word forms; word usage; subject-verb-pronoun agreement; sentence parts; sentence patterns; sentence boundaries; and mechanics.

 

Instruction will take place through the college's AngelLearning course management system. Students must have stable and regular Internet access. Earphones & microphone recommended. Web cam desirable. Minimum 48 hours online. Pass/No Pass option: See the college home page for P/NP submission deadline.

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PREREQUISITES and ADVISORIES

1. Prerequisites: One of the following:

a. The successful completion of all ESL 960 level courses in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, listening, and speaking
b. A qualifying score on the ESL Placement Test. You will find ESL placement exam information and dates, FAQs, exemptions, disabilities, and sample questions on the schedule page.
c. Approval of a waiver due to an alternative form of assessment. If you believe you are exempt from taking the placement test or completing the three courses, follow the directions on the Assessment Center prerequisites page.

Assessment Center

2. Advisories

a. Entering online students should feel comfortable using a computer to learn, know how to keyboard, send and receive email, use a web browser, and be able to communicate in writing.
b. Online students should demonstrate self-motivation, self-discipline, time management skills, and the ability to "speak up" when problems arise.
c. To be successful, online students should expect to participate in the virtual classroom (web environment) several days a week, spend approximately 9-10 hours a week studying for the course, and be willing to communicate on the discussion boards with classmates as well as with the instructor.

COURSE CONTENT AND SCOPE

1. Student Course Objectives

At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:

a. Produce comprehensible simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences in paragraphs containing 5% vocabulary from the Academic Word List (AWL).

b. Identify and edit, with 70% accuracy, grammatical, lexical, sentential and mechanical errors in passages written in non-standard English.

2. Outline of topics to be addressed in course by instructor

a. Review and identification of grammatical, lexical, sentential and mechanical elements in passages written by writers of standard English.

 

(1) Verb tenses (e.g., simple past, present progressive, future perfect)

(2) Modals (e.g., could, may, should have)

(3) Conditionals (e.g., present unreal vs. future possible)

(4) Voice (i.e., Active vs. Passive)

(5) Articles and nouns (e.g., count vs. noncount)

(6) Prepositional, adjectival and adverbial phrases

(7) Word forms (e.g., verb, noun, adjective, adverb; -ate, -ation, -ary, -arily)

(8) Word usage (including idioms and tone)

(9) Subject-verb-pronoun agreement

(10) Sentence parts (e.g., Subject + Predicate)

(11) Sentence patterns (e.g., Subject + Intransitive verb, Subject + Intransitive verb + Complement, Subject + Transitive verb + Object, Subject + passive verb)

(12) Sentence boundaries (e.g., fragments, run-together sentences)

(13) Mechanics (i.e., Capitalization, punctuation, spelling

 

b. Identification of grammatical, lexical, sentential and mechanical elements in passages written in non-native or non-standard English.

 

c. Analysis and correction of grammatical, lexical, sentential and mechanical errors in students' own writing.

 

d. Written comparison and contrast of cultural, linguistic, social, and educational backgrounds and experiences of students in the class.

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BOOKS AND MATERIALS

1. Textbook and online access code

Grammar Sense 4, second edition, course book with online practice access code. By Susan Kesner Bland et al. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-448919-5 (Code only 978-0-19-448936-2)

Available at the Mission College Bookstore, 3000 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054-1897, Tel: (408) 855-5076.
Textbook subject to change; check with the instructor each semester.

2. Additional readings may include

a. Newspapers, magazines, dictionaries, grammar handbooks (paper and online)

b. Web resources such as online dictionaries, articles, and interactive sites for developing writing and grammar skills

c. Workplace writing documents

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METHOD OF INSTRUCTION and EVALUATION

1. On-campus orientation

Generally the first Saturday of the semester. Check the schedule for the orientation date, time and room.

2. Instruction

Review, analysis and correction of elements of written English may be conducted by means of

a. Lectures in text, audio, and video formats; discussion and presentation in discussion forums

b. Links to learning objects inside and outside of our course management system

c. Synchronous and asynchronous online chats

d. Online quizzes and writing assignments

e. Other technologically mediated transmissions

3. Grammar Tests and Writing Assignments

Students take timed quizzes (assessments) and submit writing and editing assignments to discussion forums and drop boxes within our course management system.

4. Evaluation & Grades

20% grammar online practice + 20% writing-editing assignments + 10% participation + 20% midterm + 25% final

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PROFESSOR

Marsha Chan
Telephone: (408) 800-5314
Email: marsha.chan@wvm.edu
Home page 1 | Home page 2
Pronunciation Doctor Youtube Channel
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