FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES

DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS Y CULTURA

ENGLISH 7

COURSE CODE - SECTION: LENG-1157 – 30

TYPE OF COURSE LANGUAGE X
COURSE LEVEL UNDERGRADUATE
CREDITS 2
YEAR - SEMESTER 2020-2A
PROFESSOR: EDGAR GARZON-DIAZ
CLASS SCHEDULE Tuesday to Friday from 6:30 to 7:45 a.m.
E-MAIL: ea.garzon@uniandes.edu.co
OFFICE: G-413
OFFICE HOURS Mondays from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Academic English Support Program provides undergraduate students at Los Andes with the English instruction they
need to complete academic tasks in English within the university, as well as to use English effectively in academic and
professional situations outside the university. It is also designed to help students acquire the strategies they need to continue
learning English independently beyond the classroom. The Academic English Support Program has eleven levels and two
cycles: basic and intermediate/advanced. The purpose of the basic cycle is to prepare students for an English-language
academic environment and to be able to read academic texts, which are required in their university classes. Successful
completion of the basic cycle fulfills the university’s English reading requirement, and prepares students to take cursos I. The
purpose of the intermediate/advanced cycle is to provide students with specific focused instruction in oral and written
communication, including aspects of both fluency and accuracy. Successful completion of the intermediate/advanced cycle
fulfills the university’s second language requirement.

English Fundamentals LENG 1150

English 1 LENG 1151
Basic English 2 LENG 1152
English 3 LENG 1153 Integrated Academic Skills
English 4 LENG 1154
English 5 LENG 1155
English 6 LENG 1156
English 7 LENG 1157 Intermediate Academic Speaking
Intermediate
English 8 LENG 1158 The Basics of Writing Academic English
English 9A Students LENG 1159 Writing for Science and Engineering
Choose One LENG 1160
English 9B Writing for Humanities and Social Sciences
 Advanced English 10A Students LENG 1161 Speaking for Academic Purposes
English 10B Choose One LENG 1162 Speaking for Professional Purposes

COURSE DESCRIPTION

English 7 is the first course in the skills cycle and has a specific topic: language learning, aspects of spoken language, and
academic communication. This topic is useful and interesting at this level because it helps the student face the most common
academic problems they will have to solve on campus, and it allows them to understand why they have the difficulties they
have in learning English, particularly in decoding and input. This increased knowledge will allow them to develop some
learning and communication strategies to help them continue their English language learning outside class and after they
leave the university.

Students who complete this 54-hour course are able to understand and participate in everyday conversations as well as in
class discussions about course content, including requesting and obtaining information, and responding to questions. They
will accomplish this not only because of general development of vocabulary and structures but also because of their
familiarity with some of the most important features of spoken English such as pausing and the English sound system.

Students will develop conversation management tools that will permit them to ask for help, schedule appointments, negotiate
solutions, give and request opinions on familiar academic topics and course content.

In terms of pronunciation, interlocutors generally understand these students, although problems of intelligibility may at times
interfere with comprehension. Students should, however, be able to attempt self-correction of pronunciation errors upon
prompting by interlocutors.

Students can describe their speaking and listening abilities and difficulties in English. They have developed some awareness
of their main obstacles to intelligibility and begun to exhibit self-correction techniques upon prompting. Students can
identify independent techniques to improve listening and speaking ability and have kept a record of their activity and
progress in this area. Students make conscious use of other listening strategies as well, such as predicting, inferencing, etc.

Students will watch videos and listen to audios (or other media) directly related to the contents studied in class. Each video
reinforces the topics studied in class and contributes to further discussions.

METHODOLOGY

English 7 is a workshop-like course, which embraces the program’s philosophy of learner autonomy. It provides students
with tools and opportunities for their development as language learners. However, it is ultimately the learners who take the
necessary steps to improve their command of English. In order to pass the course students will be required to reach the
course objectives. Since the primary opportunity to practice English is in the classroom and since assignments are designed to
give learners the necessary tools to achieve these goals, regular attendance to classes is expected.

English 7 workshop is based on reflective learning and error identification that will require students to be autonomous
learners aware of their own weaknesses and strengths. The course provides resources that will help students to analyze and
improve their speaking skills. The teacher will be a facilitator and moderator who will guide students to achieve the goals of
the course. Both individual (on line lab voice threads) and group work (class discussions) are important to achieve the goals
of the course.
Blended Course
This is a blended course. This means that the course is designed to meet four days per week, but 1,5 hours of extra work will
be assigned to account for the Monday when you do not meet.

Your instructor may set deadlines for this work. Note that this is NOT 'homework'. It is classwork that you complete in your
own time, separate from any homework that may be assigned.

COURSE OUTCOMES

At the end of the course students will be able to

● understand and effectively participate in everyday conversations as well as in class discussions about course content
● summarize information from a simple academic videos
● describe speaking and listening abilities and difficulties in English
● develop awareness of main obstacles to intelligibility
● exhibit self-correction techniques upon prompting
● consult a dictionary and use knowledge of the conventions used there for the representation of pronunciation
● demonstrate recognition of most meaningful vowel and consonant contrasts in English in isolation and in short
utterances
● identify errors in a recording of own speech that affect intelligibility or acceptability
● follow the main ideas and details of a simple recorded academic lecture adequately to answer questions or summarize
the content
● follow the essentials of lectures, talks and reports and other forms of academic/professional presentation which are
propositionally and linguistically complex
● write appropriate and effective emails to professors in order to solve problems common in academic life
● solve common academic problems through face-to-face conversations using appropriate register
● Identify misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation in media

CONTENT

Module 1: Academic Problem Solving

Speaking: Solving academic problems with professors and fellow students

Discussing the pros and cons of choices and reaching an agreement
Academic conversations, turn-taking, giving opinions
Listening: Minimal pairs of primary vowels and consonants
Five ways to spot fake news
Pronunciation: Minimal pairs: it v eat, cash v catch, vet v bet, Yale v jail
Contrastive stress, chunking, word stress, ten and teen numbers
Tricky pronunciation patterns
Writing: Writing effective emails in academic settings
Strategies: Marking texts for stress
Using contrastive stress to clarify
Asking for repetition or other collaboration in academic discussions

Assessments: Quizzes (5%)

Week 3: Pronunciation Task 1 (20%)
Week 4: Speaking Task 1 (20%)
Week 5: E-mailing Task (10%) (taught in Module 1, grade counts in Module 2)
Module Two: Media Literacy

Speaking: Analyzing fake news

Listening: Videos: Media Literacy

Pronunciation: Pronunciation of –ed and –s suffixes
The English sound system
Specific sounds: “o” as in go, “th” as in this and think, “a” and “u” as in cat and cut
Strategies: Using sound-spelling conventions to predict pronunciation
Using a dictionary for pronunciation purposes
Marking a text for pauses in order to present intelligibly

Exam 2: Quizzes (10%)

Week 6: Pronunciation Task 2 (10%)
Week 8: Speaking Task 2 (25%)

COURSE MATERIALS

● Course Packet English 7 – Student Book (available in both ‘Copyestrella’ (formerly Fotocopiadora Eduardo) and
Fotocopiadora ‘Print & Copy’

ASSESSMENT

Students’ work is marked on a scale of 0 to 5. 5.00 is the highest possible grade, and 3.00 is the lowest passing grade. The
final official grade is reported as either A (aprobrado/pass) for grades of 3.00 and above or R (reprobado/fail) for grades
below 3.00. Exams and coursework have the following values:
Module 1 – weeks 1-4 = 45% (quiz 5%, Pronunciation Task 1 20%, Speaking Task 1, 20%)
Module 2 – weeks 5-8 = 55% (quiz 10%, Emailing, 10%, Pronunciation Task 2 10%, Final Speaking
Task, 25%)

NOTE: Please keep in mind that THERE IS NO LOS ANDES POLICY FOR AUTOMATICALLY ROUNDING COURSE
GRADES. The lowest passing grade is 3.00; any grade lower than 3.00 WILL NOT BE a passing grade.

IMPORTANT: Graded assignments and assessments submitted and/or received after the stated deadline will receive a score
of zero (0) unless you have discussed any issues with the instructor IN ADVANCE of the deadline and the instructor has
agreed to give you an extension. In the case of accepted excused absences, please refer to articles 45 and 51 of the
undergraduate student handbook (Reglamento de estudiantes de pregrado).

In the event that you wish to dispute a grade, please refer to the procedure explained in articles 64, 65, and 66 of the
undergraduate student handbook (Reglamento de estudiantes de pregrado).

ATTENDANCE

From the undergraduate student handbook (Reglamento de estudiantes de pregrado):

Artículo 43: Es facultativo de cada profesor controlar la asistencia de sus alumnos y determinar las consecuencias de la
inasistencia, si ésta es superior al 20%.

Artículo 44: Los parámetros para controlar la asistencia serán informados a los estudiantes el primer día de clases, junto
con el programa del curso, con el fin de que se comprometan a respetarlos desde ese momento.

All courses in the program will follow these regulations. Students who miss more than 20% of classes will fail the course and
will receive a grade of R (reprobado/fail). Instructors will inform students of the procedure for checking attendance on the
first day of class."

POLÍTICA DE AJUSTES RAZONABLES Y MOMENTOS DIFÍCILES

El/la estudiante debe expresarle a su profesor(a) por correo y de manera oportuna las
dificultades que está teniendo. Estas pueden ser barreras de conectividad,
de acceso a recursos tecnológicos suficientes, así como barreras de salud física y mental de
él/ella o de sus familiares que se agudizan a causa de las consecuencias derivadas de la
pandemia y el confinamiento.

PROTOCOLO MAAD

El miembro de la comunidad que sea sujeto, presencie o tenga conocimiento de una conducta de maltrato, acoso, amenaza,
discriminación, violencia sexual o de género (MAAD) deberá poner el caso en conocimiento de la Universidad. Ello, con el
propósito de que se puedan tomar acciones institucionales para darle manejo al caso, a la luz de lo previsto en el protocolo,
velando por el bienestar de las personas afectadas.

Para poner en conocimiento el caso y recibir apoyo, usted puede contactar a:

1. Línea MAAD: lineamaad@uniandes.edu.co

2. Ombudsperson: ombudsperson@uniandes.edu.co
3. Decanatura de Estudiantes: Correo: centrodeapoyo@uniandes.edu.co
4. Red de Estudiantes
- PACA (Pares de Acompañamiento contra el Acoso) paca@uniandes.edu.co
- Consejo Estudiantil Uniandino(CEU) comiteacosoceu@uniandes.edu.co

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, H. D. (2002). Strategies for success: A practical guide to learning English. White Plains, NY: Addison Wesley
Longman, Inc.. pp 19.
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., Goodwin, J. M., & Griner, B. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference
guide.Ellis, G. & Sinclair, B. (1993) Learning to learn English: A course in learner training. “Preparation for
language learning”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (1: 16-17)
Freak, C., Reinhart, S., and Rohlck, T. N. (2009). Academic Interactions: Communicating on Campus. Michigan: University
of Michigan Press.
Grant, Linda (2000). Well said: Pronunciation and clear communication. Boston: Heinle and Heinle. 1:1-
Kehe, D. & Dustin Kehe, P. (2004). Conversation Strategies. Pro Lingua Associates, Brattleboro, Vermont.
Oxford, R. L. & Scarcella, R. C. Passages. Boston: Heinle and Heinle
Oxford, R. L. & Scarcella, R. C. Sound ideas. Boston: Heinle and Heinle
Oxford, R. L., & Burry–Stock, J. A. (1995). Assessing the use of language learning strategies worldwide with the ESL/EFL
version of the strategy inventory for language learning (SILL). System, 23, 1–23.
Robertson, H. (1991). Bridge to college success. “Learning and Memory”. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
Universidad de los Andes. (2017). “Learning Styles – Language Learning Experiences.”
Universidad de los Andes. (2015). “Listening to English.”