Intermediate English

Intermediate English Course

Course #: IEC

Course Title: Intermediate English Oral Training Course

Instructor: Liza M. Lee

Aims & Objectives

This intermediate level course is designed to help foreign students to improve their oral skills in the English language. Through this course the students will develop competency in speaking skills to a level that will allow him/her to participate in general conversation and in academic discussions and to comprehend most educated English speech. At the end of the course the students should be able to:

1. speak English in a manner that is grammatically accurate and pragmatically appropriate.
2. pronounce English words with greater clarity.
3. express his/her ideas and thoughts in a natural and confident way.
4. listen to and understand most of what he/she hears in clear English speech.

Useful Links

The Sounds of American English

Okanagan College English Pronunciation/Listening

Course Content

grammarstation.com

The course will include pronunciation drills and practice, speaking activities, listening comprehension exercises, project work and oral presentations. Students will meet the tutor once a week (schedule is different for each student) for four (4) weeks and each online session lasts 1 hour.

English Word Book

Course Material

Handouts will be posted below (see table), please print the handouts marked with the appropriate session (e.g., if this is your first session, print the handout listed in "session 1).

The use of an online English dictionary is highly encouraged (e.g. the Merriam-Webster and/or the American Heritage Dictionary) to check the pronunciation of any word you encounter that you aren't sure how to pronounce.

Independent Study

All students are encouranged to advance their English skills on their own, outside of class. Some things you can do is to visit the Student Resource Page and peruse the links to the exercises I have posted there and practice your listening, reading, and writing skills.

Another way to improve your English is by watching English language TV programs, e.g., CNN, movies, etc. Please no subtitles!

Keep a blog. It's a good way to practice your English writing skills, as well as your technical skills.

Course Schedule and Activities

Session	Activities & Progress	Assignment	Remarks
1	Introductions/Ice-breaking Activities Introduction of course materials and online resources	Visit: Learning English--Pronunciation Tips Listen to the sounds of English	Write down questions you might want to ask during the session
2	Handout: A Love Affair With Coffee Disscuss topic	Find newsclip you find interesting either online or from newspapers or magazines	Write down questions you might want to ask during the session
3	Read newsclip and discuss Handout: Contentious Issues	Listen to news clip: Credit Cards Too Costly and take notes the best you can.	Listen
4	Discuss Listening Assignment Handout: Fish Good for the Brain	Visit Student Resources and choose one of the links to visit and explore	Write down any questions you might want to ask during the session
5	Discuss Reading & Listening Assignments Handout: Transplant Tourism	Listen toAbortion Pill Do: Learn the New Words, Spell A Word Activity, and the Reading Quiz	Write down any questions you may have prior to session to discuss with tutor
6	Discuss: Abortion Pill	Listen to Teen Suicide	Listen to the story and click the NEXT button to do the activities. You may skip some of the activities you feel you don't need to do. However, you must do the Reading Comprehension exercises.
7	Discuss: Teen Suicide	Print Breakfast Help Girl Stay Slim Listen and answer the Gap-Fill exercise provided. DO NOT read the Reading!	Write down any questions you might want to ask during the session
8	Discuss: Breakfast...Stay Slim	Look for aShort Story online.	Tell the story you read to your tutor in your own words.