THE COLLEGE OF MAASIN

Nisi Dominus Frustra

Tunga-Tunga, Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines

COURSE OUTLINE
Conversational English
First Semester, Academic Year 2017-2018

I. Course No. : English Credit: 3 units

II. Course Title : Conversational English Pre-requisites: Eng1, Eng2, Eng3

III. Course Description : This course provides a holistic view of communication as a vehicle for understanding. It is designed to develop not
only linguistic competences in the use of English but also metacognitive competences in the knowledge and awareness of key concepts regarding the
conversational competence using the English language. The course focuses on how communication works, exploring the characteristics of a natural
spoken interaction taking into account the variety of social situations that arise in daily life, which require developed conversational skills and
knowledge.

IV. Course Objectives : At the end of the course, the students can:

1. Participate successfully in spontaneous conversational exchanges.

2. Identify and react appropriately to sociolinguistic, pragmatic and supra-segmental aspects of oral discourse.
3. Produce and respond critically to clear, detailed and well structured oral descriptions and presentations.
4. Construct a personal approach to the teaching of the speaking skill informed by current theory and practice.
5. Show an acceptable degree of proficiency in oral production in terms of range, accuracy, fluency, interaction and coherence.
6. Provide effective, relevant, reliable and objective assessment to their own and others’ performances.
7. Effectively use supra-segmental aspects of discourse (e.g. intonation, register, body language, etc.) to convey indirect messages.
8. Respond, with a high degree of appropriateness, to verbal, non-verbal, and suprasegmental cues in order to make subtle adjustments
in one’s discourse.

V. Course Outline
Contents No. of Hours

Page 1 of 4
A. Preliminaries
o Mission, Vision, Goals and Values of CM 1
o Course Requirements
o Grading System
o House rules for the whole semester
B. A time to remember: introducing yourself; talking about yourself; exchanging personal information; remembering your childhood; asking about
someone’s childhood.
C. Characterizing conversation
o Conversation Questions; Age: Youth and Old Age
D. The vocabulary of conversation
o Conversation Questions; Body Language
E. The grammar of conversation
o Conversation Questions: Cheating
F. The discourse feature of conversation
o Conversation Questions: Death and Dying
G. Genre in conversation
o Conversation Questions: Love, dating and marriage
H. Greeting and introductions, talking with strangers
o Conversation Questions: Meeting People
I. Vague language, fillers, discourse markers, routine and lexical phrases
o Conversation Questions: Beauty, and physical attractiveness
J. Communicative Competence
o Conversation Questions: Dreams, daydreams and nightmares
K. Conversational competence
o Conversation Questions: The Art of conversation
L. Techniques for effective conversation
o Conversation Questions: Secrets

Total 54 hours

Page 2 of 4
 VI. Course Requirement:
1. Student will be tested on class lecture/discussion materials on scheduled exams.
2. To actively participate in class discussion and group activities.
3. Student cannot pass the course if s/he misses two major exams.
4. All students enrolled for this course are expected to attend class regularly. Students are responsible for all class work covered
during absences from class even in cases in which they are able to satisfy the instructor that the absence was unavoidable.
5. Make –Policy: Make-up work is NOT accepted. All work has a deadline and deadlines must be met even if the student is absent.
Students may only make up speeches in the event of sickness or death of a family member and in both cases must provide proof. In
case of sickness, a doctor’s note is required to make up a speech. (if you don’t go to the doctor, then you are not sick enough to miss class)
These are the only two cases accepted for any form of makeup speeches. Being unprepared OR not knowing the date of your speech
is not an acceptable excuse.

*Final Notes: Students MUST turn off cellular phones or put in silent mode before entering the classroom as a courtesy to both the
instructor and fellow classmates. Use of cellular phone is strictly prohibited in the classroom. This includes text messaging.

VII. Rating System

MID-TERM/FINAL TENTATIVE GRADE FINAL GRADE

Class Standing - 60%

Mid−Term Grade+Final Tentative Grade
Participation - 10% Final Grade = 2
(Oral, Attendance, Compliance, etc.)
Quizzes - 30%
Projects - 10%
Assignments - 10%

Term Examination - 40 %

100 %

Page 3 of 4
VIII. Reference:

A. Books

B. Web Resources:

Prepared by:

Regean U. Ellorimo, LPT

Instructor

Page 4 of 4