Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Deputy Ministry for Teachers Colleges
English Departments
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Title: Speaking 3
Course Code: ENG 213
Number of credit hours: 3
Instructor: Mohammad A. Al-Dajani
Office phone:
Office hours:
E-mail: mdajani2001@gmail.com
I- Course Description:
The course aims at improving students’ abilities to use accurate speech with specific stress on grammar, morphology and semantics. It builds on their abilities in conversation and discussion. It continues to train the students in the mechanics of conversation and the way to organize ideas. The course will provide diverse speaking situations that use a variety of language functions to increase and enhance students’ fluency.
II- Rationale:
Speaking is a fundamental skill that is required to communicate one’s thoughts, needs, and feelings. Therefore, speaking is one of the most important skills in which the students must obtain a good foundation. The fundamental principle is to be consistent and build on the foundation from the previous levels, which will allow the students to develop further during the undergraduate program. In order to motivate the students, the course will combine communicative activities with skill-building exercises to boost students' academic success.
The teacher must be aware of the level of the course so that it is a step up from the previous levels, which will indicate to the students their own development. As the students progress into level four of the undergraduate program, less time will be allocated specifically for lessons on speaking. It is therefore essential that the students attain proficiency in speaking by this level in order to cope with the more complex subjects.
III-Course Objectives:
The course aims at improving and developing the students’ spoken English.
By the end of this course, English majors are expected to be able to
- Identify and understand functional language to use in everyday contexts.
- Use suitable words with the use of stress and intonation in the appropriate places.
- Improvise public speaking and run discussions.
- Identify and pronounce stressed sounds and words.
IV-Calendar, Course Contents and Assignment Specifications:
|
Time |
Topic |
Assignments |
|
1st week |
· Introduction and overview of the course.
· Discussion of students’ needs and expectations. |
Students are to:
· Practice some warm up activities to break the ice.
· Introduce and talk a little about themselves. |
|
2nd week |
New Challenges
· Offering and requesting clarification
|
Students are to:
· Share and talk about new experiences.
· Make predictions with given situations.
· Assignment: Prepare role- play on predictions
· Discuss clarifications and when it is required.
· Practicing requesting clarification |
|
3rd week |
Looking at Learning
· Asking for confirmation |
Students are to:
· Discuss about how time is spent, first in pairs and then as a whole class.
· Discuss main ideas in conversations.
· Practice asking for confirmation.
· Discuss about making excuses.
· Assignment: prepare a role-play situation for making an excuse. |
|
4th week
|
Relationships
· Making generalizations |
Students are to:
· Discuss the elderly and families. Share and discuss common assumptions.
· Generalize about families.
· Assignment: Interview community members about family life. |
|
5th week |
Health and Leisure
· Expressing opinions |
Students are to:
· Compare body parts to objects.
· Discuss and compare analogies.
· Differentiate between opinion and fact. Express personal opinions
· Assignment: Prepare role-playing health situations. |
|
6th week |
High Tech, Low Tech
· Shifting between passive and active voice |
Students are to:
· Discuss space flight, expenses vs. benefits.
· Use notes to recall information.
· In groups, prepare a tour guide of Riyadh.
· Assignment: Presentation of a news report in the passive voice. |
|
7th week |
Midterm Test
The students are given an oral test based on the previous weeks of work. A handout will be given to students detailing chapters to be revised. |
Students are to:
Revise the work covered and prepare for an oral test. |
|
8th week |
Money Matters
· Agreeing and Disagreeing |
Students are to:
· Discuss banks and their services.
· Discuss the pros and cons of the World Bank.
· Assignment: Consider ways to invest money.
· Discussing current events. |
|
9th week
|
Remarkable Individuals
· Expressing likes and dislikes |
Students are to:
· Discuss about remarkable people.
· Choose appropriate expressions and tone to express likes and dislike.
· Assignment: Write about goals and interests. |
|
10th week
|
Creativity
· Divulging Information |
Students are to:
· Discuss inventions.
· Brainstorm uses for ordinary objects.
· Discuss creativity.
· Assignment: Animal Communication. |
|
11th week
|
Human Behavior
· Using tag questions to ask for information, confirm or challenge
|
Students are to:
· Use tag questions to confirm information.
· Use tag questions in role-plays.
· Assignment: Prepare discussion on sociability. |
|
12th week |
Crime and Punishment
· Expressing wishes, hopes and desires |
Students are to:
· Discuss common wrongdoings.
· Discuss crime and punishment.
· Paraphrase and discuss problem situations.
· Express hopes and desires.
· Assignment: Prepare role-play to express hopes and desires. |
|
13th week
|
The Physical World
· Stating reasons.
|
Students are to:
· Predicting main ideas and supporting information.
· Stating reasons for and against zoos. |
|
14th week |
Together on a Small Planet
Telling a joke. |
Students are to:
· Discuss humor.
· Share folk wisdom and advice.
· Assignment: Create sayings.
· Role-play: telling jokes. |
|
15th week |
Revision for Final Examination
This session will be used to prepare the students for the final exam. A handout will be given to students detailing chapters to be revised. |
Students are to:
Revise the work covered and prepare for an oral exam. |
V- Evaluation:
Class Assessment and Participation |
20 marks |
|
Homework assignments and Quizzes |
20 marks |
|
Midterm Test |
20 marks |
|
Final Oral Examination |
40 marks |
|
Total Marks |
100 marks |
VI- Required texts:
Mosaic 1Listening/Speaking, 4th Edition. By Jami Hanready and Elizabeth Whalley.
VII- Instructional Procedures:
The course will integrate authentic speaking situations such as pair work, group work, role-plays, interviews, surveys and debates. This will allow the students to use the language in a realistic context.
During class time, the instructor walks around the classroom listening to the students, answering questions and correcting mistakes appropriately. This is usually followed by a whole class discussion about the topic.
VIII- General Course Requirements:
· Attendance
Students must attend all lectures. Any absences must be accompanied by a written excuse. Students absent for more than 20% of lectures will be prohibited from taking the final exam.
· Materials
Students are responsible for bringing into class all materials required for study. This includes the textbook, notebook and all writing utensils.
· Assignments
All assignments should be submitted on the specified due date. Assignments handed in late are subject to mark reductions.
· Midterm test and final exam
Students must attend and complete a midterm test and the final exam in order to pass the course.
IX- Internet sites for teaching English as a second or foreign language:
· http://www.usingenglish.com
· http://www.askoxford.com
· http://www.topenglishteaching.com
· http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk
· http://www.bbcworldservice.com/learningenglish
· http//www.britishcouncil.org
· http//www.English-to-go.com/eslresources.htm
X- References
· Klippel, F. (1991) Keep Talking: Communicative fluency activities for language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
· Judith Tanka, Paul Most and Lida R. Baker (2004) Interactions 1 Listening/Speaking, 4th Edition. McGraw Hill.
· Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching. (3rd ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.
· Gammidge, M (2004). Speaking Extra. Resource Books of Multi-level Skills Activities (Cambridge Copy Collection).