ENGL 620
ENGL 620 is open to non-native
English speaking graduate students. Students who have received a
score of 45 or below
on the Oral English Proficiency Test are eligible for this
course. Students who have been identified by their departments
as potential teaching assistants receive first priority for the
course, especially in the fall semester when demand for the ENGL 620
is the very high. Students who are currently funded with
research assistantships or fellowships are also welcome to enroll in the
course. However, we ask that you wait until the spring or
summer semester to enroll so that those students needing to be certified
by the class in order to be eligible for a teaching assistantship may take
the course in the fall.
Students wishing to take the OEPT or
be enrolled in ENGL 620 must make these arrangements through the graduate studies
office of their department or program.
ENGL 620 carries 5 credit hours.
These credits do not apply towards a student's plan of study,
however, they do count against the minimum credit hours that
international graduate students are required to take each semester. Course Goals
The main goal of this course is to
help you improve your spoken English skills to enable you to
communicate more effectively in English.
Native English speaker proficiency
and expression are not expected of OEPP students. The general
expectation for certification is the ability to communicate in
English without great effort or misunderstanding. Our goal is
to assist the student in developing skills in the goal areas
(intelligibility, vocabulary, grammar, presentation, and interactive
communication) so that any deficiencies in skill or practice do not
interfere with communication between you and your audience.
The language
skills necessary for effective communication include:
- intelligible pronunciation,
stress and intonation patterns;
- listening comprehension
skills;
- vocabulary beyond that of the
subject matter;
- control of English grammar;
- paraphrasing and elaboration
skills;
- coherent organization of
information at sentence and discourse levels;
- interactive skills to enhance
comprehension.
Effective communication in the
academic setting also requires an awareness of and sensitivity to:
- the values inherent in the
American educational system;
- American students'
expectations of instructors;
- verbal and non-verbal behavior
appropriate for students and instructors;
- interaction between students
and instructors;
- difference in styles and
organization of classroom activities.
Course Assignments
Major assignments for this course
include: 1) four presentations; 2) three interpersonal
conversation assessments;
3) participation in one 2-hour evening undergraduate roundtable
discussion; and 4) informal reports on TA assignments in your
program or department. Additional assignments
will be determined by your instructor and may include lexical work,
leading group discussions, or other assignments based on class need.
Individual Tutoring and Conferencing
An important and valuable component
of ENGL 620 is the individual meeting time students have scheduled
with their course tutor and classroom instructor each week.
When working individually with their tutor, students have the
opportunity to expand upon what is learned in class. The course tutor
works with each student to set individual goals and then to develop
skills to meet these goals. In addition to meeting with the
course tutor, each student is also scheduled for 30 minutes of
individual conference time with their classroom instructor.
Conference times are often used to practice for and review classroom
presentations, but will be designed to meet the individual student's
needs.
Course Grade
The course grade is based
upon 1) course attendance and participation; 2) conference
attendance and participation; 3) attendance and
participation at weekly tutoring appointments. Given your attendance and participation, a grade
of "S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory) will appear on your
transcript. A "satisfactory," however, does not necessarily
mean that you have been certified for English proficiency (see the
next item).
English Proficiency Certification
At the end of the semester, the OEPP
Director determines whether or not students will be certified for
English proficiency. The factors that determine this decision
are: 1) the classroom and tutorial instructors' evaluations of each
student; 2) student performance in the course; 3) a review of the
student's files; and 4) a review of the student's performance in
classroom presentations. Students not certified at the end of the
course may be directed to re-enroll in ENGL 620. The course may
be taken up to 3 times.
Professional Development Section
Students who have been certified
may be interested in the Professional
Development Section of ENGL 620. This section allows
students to continue improving their spoken English proficiency and
focuses on skills important to students nearing graduation and
planning to enter the job market. Students interested in the
professional development section need to submit an application by
the posted deadline. The class is offered in the spring
semester and is limited to eight students.
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