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=Course Outline= toc

Instructors
Louise Lee louise99@yorku.ca Rachael McIntosh rmcinto@yorku.ca

Class Schedule
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 9:00am-1:00am Tuesday, Thursday: 9:00am-1:00am Seminar Tuesday, Thursday: 2:00pm-4:30pm Support Monday-Thursday: 2:00pm-4:30pm **Location** McLaughlin College, 109 **Textbook** Steps to Writing Well (Wyrick, 2008)

Course Description
The overall goal of the course is to introduce students to the types of academic work expected in a university setting, and to provide them with the opportunity to improve their language and critical thinking skills in order to meet this expectation. Students in this level will apply their language skills to academic material in a variety of formats, including readings, videos, lectures, and oral presentations. This material should be challenging in terms of both language and content. Classroom activities will include discussions, debates, lessons, presentations and workshops. Through instruction and practice, students will have the chance to improve the accuracy and range of their expression as they learn ways to summarize, analyze, and persuade in acceptable academic formats. Research is also a key part of this course, and major essays will be written demonstrating proper documentation and bibliographic methods. Lastly, critical thinking and a mature academic approach are also key components of this course. It should also be noted that the afternoon support classes (2 :30 – 4 :30pm) and seminar classes (Tues/Thurs AM) are integral parts of the overall course. In order to make the most of these classes, students are asked to be active in seeking help for their language needs in their afternoon classes, and to take the opportunity to participate fully in their seminar classes, which begin in week two.

* Weekly assignments
o Reading Reports o Listening Logs

* Major Assignments
o Essays (2-3 pg each) x3 o Comment Paper(s) (2 pg) x 1 o Research Paper (5 pages) o Presentation (15-20 mins.)

* University Life Activities
o Activities (total of 6) o Lecture Reports (2)

* Other Requirements
o In-class and homework assignments o Informal presentations o Quizzes and Tests o Participation in class and group discussions

Evaluation
* Assignments will be graded on the following scale: 0 -59% (not passing; D) 60-64% (not passing; C)  65-69% (Borderline Pass; C+) 70-74% (Pass; B) 75-79% (Pass; B+) 80-89% (Honours; A) 90-100% (Distinction; A+) * Students will be evaluated by continuous assessment. This means that the student’s language abilities will be judged over the length of the course. * Students may pass this level with “Pass,” “Honours” or “Distinction.” Students who are interested in applying to university studies and who wish to meet a specific language requirement should note that these three categories have equivalent TOEFL and YELT scores. * Students should note that a grade of 90% (A+) is a very high achievement. These grades are rare and reflect a level of distinction, which is comparable to work done in graduate studies. A mark of 70% is satisfactory for the assignment. A mark of 65% or lower is considered a borderline grade and may not be sufficient to pass the level. * Assessment for major assignments, like essays, will be proportionally greater than everyday homework assignments and weekly tasks. Students must complete a satisfactory research project in order to pass the course. * Assessment for the speaking portion of the course will be based on students’ day-to-day classroom performance, reading/listening log group presentations, as well as longer, formal presentations near the end of the course. * Assessment for the listening portion of the course will be based on day-to-day classroom performance, lectures, video and audio based units of study. * There will be a combination of at-home assignments and in-class assignments. In-class writing assignments (ie/ essays) will be used to measure accuracy in expression (vocabulary; grammar). It should be noted that students must achieve a minimum standard on this in-class work (and not just the essays and assignments completed outside class). Low scores on these writing samples may prevent a student from passing the course. * Students will also be assessed by their afternoon and seminar instructors; together all these assessments will be reflected in a student’s final evaluation in the course. Afternoon instructors will assess students in several skill areas (as well as “effort”), and seminar instructors will offer one overall final score for students in the seminar (as well as an “effort” grade). * Note: Students are encouraged to become “active” learners as they progress through the course. This means that students, with the help of the instructor, are expected to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to adopt strategies to address these.

Course Outcomes/Objectives (Brief)
By the end of this course, a successful student should have attained the following skills:

Listening
o understand main ideas and most, but not all, details in documentaries / lectures o produce reasonably accurate commentary on documentaries of 30-60 minutes in length o organize lectures (app. 60 minutes) into notes with clear main points o develop academic listening habits (organizing, prioritizing) Speaking: o express a detailed opinion on difficult academic subjects o pose critical questions, and contribute to debates and discussions o demonstrate fluency and make improvements in pronunciation in discussions and activities o effectively communicate ideas in a formal presentation (app. 15-20 minutes)

Reading
o recognize the organization of different essay types o understand content of academic reading as well as recognizing tone, bias, and implication o separate main points from supporting details in long readings o use context clues to understand new/difficult vocabulary and infer general conclusions o extend readings to make reasonable inferences and comments

Writing
o write accurate summaries and comment papers on range of topics (app. 2 pages) o write in complex, accurate English to express ideas o use a wide range of grammar structures in writing and demonstrate elements of style o support a complex thesis and make sound, academic word choices o write different types of essays (app. 2-3 pages) o prepare an acceptable research essay with sources (app. 5 pages)

Critical Thinking / Research
o demonstrate good research skills in preparing for research essay (choose topic; narrow scope; state key words; develop search strings; find and select suitable material) o locate texts, journals, and on-line indexes in a university setting o evaluate sources o construct and defend an argument in an academic manner o make reasonable inferences from written and oral material

Academic Honesty (Plagiarism)
1. Academic Honesty YUELI students – and all York University students – are responsible for following a policy of academic honesty. Cheating on tests and assignments will not be tolerated. Instructors will give a failing grade for any assignment or test where a student is found to have cheated, and this may lead to the student’s failing the course. Any student who cheats on more than one occasion will be required to have an interview with the Associate Director or the Director, which will almost certainly result in his/her being immediately dismissed from the YUELI Program and not allowed to re-register. 2. Plagiarism Plagiarism – copying someone else’s words and/or ideas without giving credit to the author – is a serious offence in the academic world and will not be tolerated either at YUELI or at York University. Instructors will treat any instance of plagiarism very seriously. This includes any situation where students have another person write, in full or in part, an assignment for them, or copy materials from other students, printed materials and/or the internet. Where the words or ideas of others are represented, students must make it clear that these words or ideas of others – not their own. This is generally done by way of citation and quotation. Instructors will give a failing grade for any assignment or test where they see that any student has plagiarized material and this may lead to the student’s failing the course. Any student who is guilty of plagiarism on more than one occasion will be required to have an interview with the Associate Director or the Director, which will almost certainly result in his/her being immediately dismissed from the YUELI Program and not allowed to re-register.

Attendance Requirements
Students are responsible for being on time. Classes run from 9:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. and from 2:30p.m. to 4:30p.m., Monday to Friday. If a student is late for a class, s/he will be marked late. Three “lates” are equal to one 2-hour absence. If a student is more than 15 minutes late for any class, s/he will be marked absent, for a period of 2 hours. Attendance at YUELI Academic Program classes is required. Students who have attended classes and completed, to an acceptable standard, all homework and in-class assignments and tests will receive an evaluation and a certificate, stating what level within the YUELI Academic Program they have achieved. It is important to note that poor attendance and/or performance in the seminar will influence an instructor's decision to promote a student to the next level. Students will NOT receive an evaluation or a certificate if they are absent for more than: o 10 hours of core classes, OR o 8 hours of the seminar class, OR  o 10 hours of the afternoon support class, OR  o 30 hours of classes in total, including core, seminar and afternoon support classes Students who do not receive an evaluation and a certificate will not be allowed to move on to the next level in the program.

Reading
Task Value Final Score Reading reports 30% Avg: * 30% = Quizzes 60% Avg: * 60% = Extensive Reading via Twitter 10% Avg: * 10% =

Writing*
(*baseline must be achieved on in-class work) Task Value Final Score In-class Essays (& assignments) 55% Avg: * 55% = Research essay 45% * 45% = Baseline (in-class) yes / no a “baseline” must be achieved on in-class work

Listening
Task Value Final Score In-class 15% Avg: * 15% = Listening logs 20% Avg: * 20% = Quizzes 50% Avg: * 50% = Lecture reports 15% Avg: * 15% =

Speaking
Task Value Final Score Classroom discussion 50% Avg: * 50% = Partner presentation 10% Debate 15% Research Presentation 25% Avg: * 50% =

Assessment from Support Class
Language learning skills - score entirely from afternoon instructor Sociocultural skills - combined score from morning and afternoon instructors Speaking - combined score from morning and afternoon instructors Pronunciation - combined score from morning and afternoon instructors Presentation - combined score from morning and afternoon instructors