Course Name: Basic Conversation I  - ESL 0030


Course Prefix: ESL
Course Number: 0030
             Submitted by (Name & E-Mail):  Kay Brown , kbrown4@weber.edu

Current Date:  8/19/2008
College: Arts & Humanities
Department:   Select Department                              
From Term: Fall  2009 

Substantive
new  Current Course Subject N/A
Current Course Number

 

New/Revised Course Information:

Subject:  ESL            

Course Number: 0030

 Check all that apply:
    This is for courses already approved for gen ed.
    Use a different form for proposing a new gen ed designation.
DV  SI  CA  HU  LS  PS  SS 
EN  AI  QL  TA  TB  TC  TD  TE

Course Title: Basic Conversation I

Abbreviated Course Title:

Course Type:  LEC

Credit Hours:  2  or if variable hours:    to

Contact Hours: Lecture 4  Lab    Other

Repeat Information:  Limit 0   Max Hrs 0 

Grading Mode:  standard

This course is/will be: a required course in a major program
a required course in a minor program
a required course in a 1- or 2- year program
elective

Prerequisites/Co-requisites:

Course description (exactly as it will appear in the catalog, including prerequisites):

Students in this course learn to understand and produce short spoken utterances referring to basic personal information and the immediate environment. Vocabulary-building of essential terms is strongly emphasized.

Justification - Background: International students with no TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test score or TOEFL scores below 500 on the paper exam, 173 on the computer exam, or 61 on the net-based exam, are required to take the LEAP Program (Learning English for Academic Purposes) Placement Test and register according to the results. The LEAP Program offers ESL classes for students who need to improve their academic English before taking English 1010. The program has five levels: Novice High to Advanced Plus, as described in the ACTFL (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Proficiency guidelines. Problem: Each semester for the past 4 or 5 years the LEAP Program has received 1-4 international students who have no or almost no English language skills. In the past these Novice Low/Mid students were placed in Level One classes, which they had to repeat until they passed. This has not been a fair or favorable learning situation for these students. Solution: Creating a set of Pre-level One classes will alleviate this problem. It is proposed to create three 2-credit hour classes of Novice Low (one 8-week block) and three 2-credit hour classes of Novice Mid (one 8-week block) for a total of 12 semester credit hours. This will allow these students to be in status with INS and will provide them with instruction appropriate to their language skill levels. At present the tuition money of Level One students (0-numbered classes) is tagged and placed into the LEAP Program's remedial account. This money is used to pay for adjunct instruction for these classes. Pre-level One (00-numbered classes) students' tuition will also go into this account and be used to cover adjunct instruction for these classes. The Pre-level One classes will pay for themselves and will provide needed Novice Low/Mid classes for international students whose levels of English are too low to go into the present Level One.

INFORMATION PAGE
for substantive proposals only

1. Did this course receive unanimous approval within the Department?

true

If not, what are the major concerns raised by the opponents?

2. If this is a new course proposal, could you achieve the desired results by revising an existing course within your department or by requiring an existing course in another department?

There is no other ESL conversation class available at the Novice Low level.

3. How will the proposed course differ from similar offerings by other departments? Comment on any subject overlap between this course and topics generally taught by other departments, even if no similar courses are currently offered by the other departments. Explain any effects that this proposal will have on program requirements or enrollments in other department. Please forward letters (email communication is sufficient) from all departments that you have identified above stating their support or opposition to the proposed course.

No other department offers an ESL Novice Low conversation class. It will not affect other program requirements or enrollments in other departments.

4. Is this course required for certification/accreditation of a program?

no

If so, a statement to that effect should appear in the justification and supporting documents should accompany this form.

5. For course proposals, e-mail a syllabus to Faculty Senate which should be sufficiently detailed that the committees can determine that the course is at the appropriate level and matches the description. There should be an indication of the amount and type of outside activity required in the course (projects, research papers, homework, etc.).