Course Syllabus

Fall 2021

ESOL 273A (41336), 273B (41344) and  573 (43423): 4 units

Instructor: Anne Agard

E-mail: aagard@peralta.edu or annie.agard@gmail.com. E-mail or a message in Canvas is the best way to reach the instructor. Messages will be returned within 24 hours.

In urgent situations only, send a text message to 510-684-9030.

ONLINE:

Required synchronous Zoom sessions every Thursday from 6:00 to  8:15  p.m.

Zoom Access Information

The Zoom session will be in two parts:

6:00-6:55

break

7:05-8:05

Asynchronous online work: Approximately 8 hours per week.

Office hours in Zoom:

  • Noon-1:30 p.m. Tuesday
  • Noon-1:30 p.m. Wednesday
  • 5:00-6:00 p.m. Thursday
  • Other hours by appointment

Zoom Connection for Office Hours

Course description: High intermediate level of English grammar: Further study of complex grammar structures and sentence patterns.

Student Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  • Demonstrate accurate aural comprehension of high intermediate English grammatical structures.
  • Demonstrate accurate reading comprehension of high intermediate English grammatical structures.
  • Use high intermediate English grammatical structures to accurately and effectively express ideas in sustained written discourse.

Laney College does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability.

Course Materials:

  • This course will use

Fundamentals of English Grammar,  4th Edition, by Betty S. Azar. ISBN-13: 978-0132469326

  • Post a picture and a self-introduction in your Canvas profile:  A picture that actually looks like you is helpful for your instructor and classmates. How to Edit Your Profile in Canvas.
  • Class policies:
  • You must attend the Zoom class regularly and on time in order to receive a good grade. Your class participation and your work with other students are important components of this course, and you miss important information if you are late or absent.
  • By college regulations, you may be dropped from the course if you miss more than two of the required Zoom classes; if you must miss classes due to illness or other emergency, be sure to discuss the problem with the instructor so that she does not drop you and can help you make up the work.

Guidelines for participating in Zoom:

  • Your video picture should normally be visible during the Zoom class, except during regularly scheduled breaks. If you have a weak broadband signal that means you must turn off your video in order to maintain a good connection, let the teacher know that this is the reason.
  • When you sign into Zoom, you will be on "Mute," which means that nobody can hear you. Unmute yourself when you want to speak, and put yourself back on Mute when you are not speaking. The blue Mute button is in the upper right-hand corner of your picture.
  • When you want to speak, Unmute yourself and "raise your hand" by clicking on the blue hand at the bottom of the Participants list. It is also OK to unmute and interrupt the teacher, since often she does not see the raised hands while she is talking. Click to "lower your hand" when you are finished.
  • Your picture in Zoom should display the name that you want us to use in class. Check to be sure that your name is in the alphabet that the teacher and everybody in the class can read, and that it is not the name of another person in your family. Click on the blue box that is in the upper right corner of your picture, and select "Rename."
  • You can silently ask questions or make comments by typing them in the "Chat" box. You can select whether to address the whole class or the teacher privately.
  • To leave class, click the red "Exit Meeting" button on the bottom right of the Zoom screen.

Course Grade:

  • 40% of your course grade is based on completing homework in Canvas. Most of this work is in the form of Canvas "Quizzes" but some of it is in the form of "Assignments"  How to Submit an Assignment in Canvas.
  • 30% of your course grade will be based on writing assignments that are completed in two drafts. The teacher will mark grammar mistakes on your first draft. Your grade on the assignment will be based on how well you correct your mistakes on the second draft.
  • 30% of your course grade with be the midterm exam (15%) and the final exam (15%). These are synchronous and "open book"; this means that everyone takes the exam in Canvas at the same time, and you are free to look at your textbook or other online resources while completing the exam. However, you may not copy complete sentences from any other source; this is plagiarism, and will result in a failing grade. You also may not discuss exam questions with another person while the exam is in progress.
  • ESOL 273A and 273B may be taken CREDIT/NO CREDIT if you wish. P (PASS) is given if you earn a grade of A, B, or C, and NP (NO PASS) is given if you earn a grade of D or F. If you wish to take the course CR/NCR, you must select that option online in PROMT at the beginning of the semester. You must do this yourself; the teacher has no control over this choice.You should not take a course Credit/No Credit if you have a student visa or are on financial aid.
  • If you are taking ESOL 573 (noncredit), you will receive a grade of P (for A, B, or C) or NP (for D or F). Letter grades are not given for noncredit courses. To receive a grade of P in a noncredit course, you must attend at least 70% of the class sessions and complete at least 70% of the assignments.

Total time requirement for this course: This is a four-unit course, which means that you will need to spend about eight or nine hours a week on homework in addition to the two hours and fifteen minutes of class time in Zoom.

If you are having trouble with the coursework, the first question the instructor will ask you is how much time you are giving to it. Not enough time on homework is the most common reason why students do not succeed in a community college ESOL course; give careful thought to your weekly schedule and your other responsibilities before you make a final decision to take this class.

  • (6) If you are a student with a disability, please let me know about your needed accommodations immediately. If you are a new student and need evaluation or verification of your needed accommodations, please contact Disability Services and Programs for Students.

 (7) English and not other languages should be spoken in our Zoom Sessions. There are two reasons for this rule:

    • It is impolite to use a language in front of your classmates that they do not understand, and
    • In order to master a language, you must use it as much as you can.

(8) Plagiarism is a serious offense in a college class. Plagiarism is copying the work of another writer and presenting it as your own. Copying from a printed source, from the Internet, or from another student are all forms of plagiarism. Plagiarism in a finished assignment will result in an "F" for the assignment. Repeated incidents of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean's office and can result in dismissal from the college.

(9) Getting Help

a) Come to the teacher's office hours: Zoom Connection for Office Hours

c) Tutoring Services

d) Guide to Remote/Online Student Services

ESOL 273 Calendar Fall 2021

Class #1 September 9: Review Parts of Speech

Class #2 September 16: Review Sentence Structures

Class #3 September 23: Review Verb Tenses

Class #4 September 30:  Perfect Forms

Class #5 October 7:  Past Perfect, Auxiliary Verbs and Question Forms

Class #6 October 14: Midterm Exam 

Class #7 October 21: Adverb Clauses

Class #8 October 28:  Adjective Clauses

Class #9 November 4: Noun Clauses

Class #10 November 11: Gerunds and Infinitives

Class #11 November 18: Passive Voice

No Class November 26 (Thanksgiving Holiday)

Class #12 December 2: Modals and Modifiers

Class #13 December 9: Sentence Combining and Punctuation Review

Final Exam December 16