Evening and Weekend English Spring 2018

XEFL-321 IBT-TOEFL Preparation II, 3.6 ceus

Dates and days: Feb. 10 – Apr. 14, 2018, Saturdays
Note: No classes Mar. 31 (Easter holiday)
Time: 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Classroom: 2/10 – 4/7 (ICC-206A), Practice Test on 4/14 (Reiss 282)

Instructor: Jennifer Westberg

E-mail: jw1613@georgetown.edu
Office Hours: by appointment

Course Description: This nine-week course focuses on preparing students for the TOEFL exam.
Students taking this course will improve their skills in key areas of the TOEFL so that they feel more
prepared for the demands of this exam. In this course, students will practice giving well-organized
responses to TOEFL questions with clear supporting examples and reasons. They will also work on
recognizing inferences, drawing conclusions, and identifying patterns of organization. Students will
practice responding to integrated skills questions on the TOEFL exam through connecting ideas from a
written text and a lecture. They will write a well-organized opinionated essay.

Students will have an opportunity to study all four sections of the exam: speaking, listening, reading,
and writing. They will work with partners and in groups to practice forming responses to questions that
are similar to those they will find on the TOEFL exam and will get feedback from their classmates and
instructor. This course starts and ends with a practice exam in order for students to see their
improvement over the duration of the course.

Textbook:
Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL iBT Test,
Deborah Phillips
Third Edition, c 2015
13 Digit ISBN - 978-0-13-324812-8
10 Digit ISBN - 0-13-324812-7

Course Expectations:

This material has been created by Georgetown University English Language Center at the School of Continuing Studies and
cannot be copied, sold, or distributed without permission ©2018.
1. Students are expected to attend every class, arrive on time, and stay for the whole class. Course
grades are based on attendance and completion of assignments. Attendance is taken daily.
2. There are no ‘make-up’ classes. In bad weather, please call 202-687-7669 to see if the university is
closed. If the university is closed, the class will be held online. Please go to the class Blackboard
site to participate.
3. Students are expected to participate in all class activities and to show respect to others.

Evaluation and Grading system: Students will receive formative assessments throughout the course.
Course grades are assigned based on completion of assignments and attendance. Course grades are Pass
or Fail. To achieve a passing grade (Pass), students will need to complete at least 70% of their
assignments and attend at least 70% of their classes.

Grading System: Pass or Fail

Pass: Assignments, 70% or more completed + 70% or more attendance
Fail: Less than 70% assignments completed or less than 70% attendance.

For the Spring 2018 Session, students who complete at least two courses in the Evening and Weekend
English Program with a grade of “Satisfactory” will earn a Certificate of Completion.  Certificates are
issued upon student request.

Schedule Topics Objectives

Class 1 Sat 2/10: Past tense, descriptions Describe a favorite memory and
reasons why

Class 2 Sat 2/17: Sentence stress; personal Explain a preference between two choices
choices, organization and reasons why

Class 3 Sat 2/24: Referents, inferences, Identify the organization of a text and place
organizing information into information into a chart; recognize an
charts author’s implied inference

Class 4 Sat 3/3: Outlining, rhetorical Outline and summarize a reading; insert
functions, inserting appropriate sentences in a text based on the
sentences connections between ideas

Class 5 Sat 3/10: Taking notes, signals Identify and describe the problem being
in conversation discussed; predict what the speaker will do

Class 6 Sat 3/17: Parallel structure, signals Identify the main point in a lecture and use
in lectures, integrated listen- examples from the lecture to explain it
ing/speaking tasks

Class 7 Sat 3/31: Opinion essays, concise Outline and write an opinion essay, include
language, outlining, intro- several reasons and supporting examples;
ductions & conclusions use cohesive devices to signal connections
between ideas

This material has been created by Georgetown University English Language Center at the School of Continuing Studies and
cannot be copied, sold, or distributed without permission ©2018.
Class 8 Sat 4/7: Synthesizing, formal lan- Write a paragraph synthesizing the main
guage, comparisons ideas from a lecture and reading

Class 9 Sat 4/14: Practice Test, personal All objectives

statement

This syllabus is subject to change depending on the needs and levels of the students, topic changes, and
time constraints.

This material has been created by Georgetown University English Language Center at the School of Continuing Studies and
cannot be copied, sold, or distributed without permission ©2018.