foundation programm e english language … documents/fpel...1 1. introduction 1.1 purpose of the...

1.1.

Foundation Programme

English Language

Curriculum Document

Also available online at: http://www.squ.edu.om/tabid/5682/language/en-US/Default.aspx

2012 - 2013

Sultan Qaboos University

Language Centre

Curriculum Unit

ii

Table of Contents

List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................. v

Foreword ............................................................................................................................... iv

List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................... v

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Purpose of the document ........................................................................................ 1

1.2 Programme structure .............................................................................................. 1

2. General information ........................................................................................................ 2

2.1 Mission Statement ................................................................................................... 2

2.2 Approach to teaching .............................................................................................. 2

2.2.1 Writing ........................................................................................................... 2

2.2.2 Grammar ......................................................................................................... 3

2.2.3 Study and research skills ................................................................................ 4

2.2.4 Portfolios ......................................................................................................... 5

2.2.5 Dictionary Skills ............................................................................................. 6

2.2.6 Reading and Vocabulary ................................................................................ 6

2.2.7 Listening and Speaking .................................................................................. 8

2.2.8 Phonology ....................................................................................................... 9

2.3 Testing and Assessment ........................................................................................ 10

2.3.1 Testing Matrix .............................................................................................. 10

2.4 Test Policies ........................................................................................................... 12

2.4.1 Misplaced Students Policy in the FPEL ...................................................... 12

2.4.2 Late Arrival for Test ..................................................................................... 12

2.4.3 Student Absence from Tests and Supplementary Testing .......................... 12

2.4.4 Transferring Answers to Answer Sheets ..................................................... 13

2.5 Challenge Test for the FPEL ................................................................................. 13

2.6 Revealing Continuous Assessment Marks ........................................................... 13

2.7 Appeal of Continuous Assessment Marks ............................................................ 14

2.8 Appeal of Final Grade ........................................................................................... 14

2.9 Proficiency Level Descriptors .............................................................................. 15

2.10 Language Centre Resources .................................................................................. 16

3. Learning Outcomes and Syllabi .................................................................................... 17

3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 17

3.2 Learning Outcomes and Syllabi ........................................................................... 18

3.2.1 Reading ......................................................................................................... 18

3.2.2 Listening ....................................................................................................... 19

3.2.3 Speaking ........................................................................................................ 20

3.2.4 Pronunciation ............................................................................................... 21

3.2.5 Writing ......................................................................................................... 21

3.2.6 Study Skills...................................................................................................23

3.2.7 Language and Grammar ............................................................................... 23

4. Course descriptions ............................................................................................................ 27

4.1 FPEL 0120 ..................................................................................................... 27

iii

4.2 FPEL 0230 ..................................................................................................... 30

4.3 FPEL 0340 ..................................................................................................... 33

4.4 FPEL 0400 ..................................................................................................... 37

4.5 FPEL 0450 ..................................................................................................... 39

4.6 FPEL 0500 ..................................................................................................... 44

4.7 FPEL 0560 ..................................................................................................... 48

4.8 FPEL 0603 ..................................................................................................... 53

4.9 FPEL 0604 ..................................................................................................... 53

4.10 LANC1025 English for Humanities I .......................................................... 61

4.11 LANC1026 English for Humanities II ......................................................... 65

5. Appendices………………………………………………..……………………………68

5.1 Glossary of terms ................................................................................................... 68

5.2 Best Practice .......................................................................................................... 74

5.3 Procedures and Policies ........................................................................................ 78

5.4 Pedagogic Information and Guidelines................................................................ 82

5.5 Extracts from the OAAA Document .................................................................... 84

5.6 Guidelines for Materials Development and Use .................................................. 85

5.7 Function Words and Word Sub-Lists .................................................................. 97

5.8 CALL Programmes.............................................................................................108

5.9 Pronunciation Syllabus .....................................................................................113

iv

Foreword

The Foundation Programme English Language (FPEL) curriculum is part of a larger

foundation programme curriculum which was implemented at SQU in fall 2010. The

foundation programme curriculum consists of four main components: the English language,

mathematics, computer skills, and study skills. The present document provides information

about the English language and study skills curriculum that has been developed for the

FPEL. The FPEL curriculum is based on learning goals which state the skills and strategies

that learners are expected to acquire upon completing the programme. It reflects what

students need to learn in order to succeed at the university. The FPEL consists of six

proficiency levels. Each level has its own set of learning outcomes and materials. There is a

gradual increase in difficulty from one FPEL level to the next. However, the six levels

should be seen as a continuum rather than discrete levels. We believe in the developmental

nature of language learning. We expect there to be a lot of recycling and reinforcement

throughout the learning process.

The CU and AU work closely with teachers and programmes to plan and realize the

curriculum and assessments. We rely heavily on the teachers' expertise and creativity to

deliver the curriculum in the best way possible. There is a weekly pacing schedule for

each course to help teachers deliver the curriculum within the time limit. Certain core

materials have been prescribed for each course. However, we fully understand that the

materials are not a perfect match for the curriculum. Teachers will invariably find

themselves in need of supplementation. That is accepted as long as the target objectives

are met.

In the Language Centre, we have always stressed the importance of collaboration between

testing and curriculum on the one hand and testing, curriculum and teaching on the

other. We firmly believe that the three parties together with students constitute the

teaching and learning process. We try to ensure that there is continued communication

among them for the sake of effective delivery of the curriculum and assessments. We also

believe in teamwork. In the FPEL, two or more teachers usually share the same course.

We encourage teachers to collaborate with each other in teaching and sharing materials.

In the Language Centre, there are more than 200 teachers from more than 25

nationalities. We encourage teachers to take advantage of this wealth of knowledge and

expertise to enrich their own and to best serve the students' needs.

To conclude, this curriculum document is an important document in describing and

disseminating information about curriculum and assessment in the FPEL. It is essential

that teachers read it and use it in their teaching.

Saleh Al-Busaidi, PhD

Director

v

List of abbreviations

SQU Sultan Qaboos University

LC Language Centre

FPEL Foundation Programme English Language. The programme

primarily focuses on teaching general English language skills. In

the upper levels of the programme, subject specific content is

used to introduce students to the topics and skills relevant to

their studies.

CELP Credit English Language Programme. Students enrol in these

courses either by passing a challenge or exit test or after

successfully completing the FPEL.

CU Curriculum Unit

AU

SSU

FASU

QAC

Assessment Unit

Student Support Unit

Faculty Academic Support Unit

Quality Assurance Committee

CC

DD

PT

ET

LO

Course Coordinator in the FPEL

Deputy Director

Placement Test

Exit Test

Learning Outcome

1

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose of the document

As noted earlier in the foreword, this document provides information to teachers and

researchers on the Foundation Programme English Language offered by the Language Centre

at Sultan Qaboos University. The document provides information about different aspects on

the curriculum e.g. learning outcomes, materials and assessment.

1.2 Programme structure

When students first come to the university, they are given a Placement Test (PT) which

determines their proficiency level. If they are required to take the Foundation Programme,

they have to complete it in no more than two academic years. FPEL students are placed in

15-week courses which combine two proficiency levels each. Progression from one course to

another is determined by a combination of continuous assessment throughout the semester,

midterm tests and final exams at the end of a semester.

The following table illustrates the possible courses and routes that students may take

assuming progression takes place without repeating any given course.

Proficiency level Fall Spring Summer1 Fall

1 FPEL 0120 FPEL 0340 - FPEL 0560

2 FPEL 0230 FPEL 0450 FPEL 0600 Credit Courses

3 FPEL 0340 FPEL 0560 - Credit Courses

4 FPEL 0450 FPEL 600 Credit Courses

5 FPEL 0560 Credit Courses

6 FPEL 603 / FPEL

604

Credit Courses

1 Courses FPEL 0400 and 0500 may be offered in summer as well.

2

2. General information

2.1 Mission Statement

The Language Centre exists to provide high quality language services to meet the

requirements of academic study, the challenges of a changing work environment and the

needs of the wider community.

2.2 Approach to teaching

2.2.1 Writing

The FPEL implements a combination of approaches to teaching writing. A model-based

approach is used to teach various writing skills and forms of writing including the topic

sentence and the rhetorical modes such as comparison/contrast and cause/effect in short

paragraphs. The reason for focusing on short paragraphs and specific writing modes is to help

the students to acquire the skills they need to meet the requirements of different academic

writing tasks. These tasks and rhetorical modes are the context for teaching and learning the

underlying principles of writing.

The FPEL writing courses aim at teaching students the skills of drafting, revising and editing

their own writing. Students are shown the importance of the drafting approach to writing so

that they are aware of mental processes that take place during the production of texts and

become more responsible for improving their own writing skills. The writing courses also

focus on familiarising students with grammar structures relevant to their writing tasks and

help them activate their passive grammar knowledge to fulfil the prescribed tasks.

In the past, students were required to learn three and sometimes four rhetorical functions per

level. In the current FPEL curriculum, the number of rhetorical functions has been reduced

to two per level for more practice and consolidation.

In 2009, the Language Centre embarked on a major materials development project to produce

teaching materials for the writing and grammar courses for lower level students. A group of

six teachers were selected to serve as materials writers. The group went through a period of

discussion, training, background reading and consultation in order to arrive at a certain

approach to materials production for the course. In-house writing textbooks have been also

written and successfully used with students at the higher levels in the FPEL. All in-house

texts undergo revision on a regular basis.

3

2.2.2 Grammar

It is difficult to make any generalization about the way/s of teaching grammar in the FPEL

since the approaches that teachers use may vary greatly. However, there is a grammar and

linguistic syllabus that lists the items covered in the FPEL. Teachers are expected to use

effective approaches to teach the items based on the following guidelines:

Grammar items may be covered using an inductive or deductive approach, but

teachers should avoid lengthy grammar lessons.

Grammar is best learned through practice in meaningful contexts.

Students do not go from ‘not knowing’ to ‘knowing’ grammatical structures – learning

is a long and gradual process from ignorance to mastery.

After ‘teaching’ a grammar point, teachers should not expect all their students to have

mastered that point; students are expected to learn the indicated grammar items to a

degree suitable to their proficiency level.

Grammar should be addressed frequently, on an ad hoc (as needed) basis whenever a

problem or new point arises in a reading text or in the course of students’ writing.

Teachers should carry out quick checks/drills/mini dialogues on aspects of grammar as

frequently as possible, rather than spending whole lessons on one point.

Teachers should help students compile their own grammar reference material –

handouts from grammar books can help in this, but students need to be more

personally involved.

CALL (computer-assisted language learning) materials can be used in all levels to

reinforce grammar. All FPEL students have access to Clarity grammar software via a

link on Moodle.

On exiting the FPEL, students should be familiar with basic the grammar

metalanguage, e.g., ‘noun’, 'adjective', etc. They should also be able to use

appropriately the grammatical items listed in the grammar syllabus and be able to

apply their grammatical knowledge in both written and oral tasks.

Grammar should be learned and developed explicitly and implicitly, but the driving force for

grammar practice is a text – either the text the students are reading or one they are

attempting to produce. Unfortunately, there are few grammar materials, and it is often left to

the teacher to decide when and how to teach a particular grammar point and also to design

the materials which should not focus mainly on grammar rules. Teachers need to be aware of

the need to refer to grammar books whenever problems arise and to give further practice as

needed. Beginner and elementary level students focus on the language structures they have

learned in schools and use them to accomplish specific writing tasks. Pre-intermediate and

intermediate students aim at acquiring ‘new’ and more advanced grammar structures together

with two key rhetorical functions. The main areas of difficulty tend to be the use of tenses,

(correct choice of form and appropriate usage), subject/verb agreement, word forms (parts of

speech), word order, (both single words and phrases in the wrong place), and articles.

Difficulties increase when students attempt to write complex sentences with subordination.

4

The Language Centre is in constant search for new approaches and materials that will better

meet the students’ needs and be better aligned with the curricular guidelines. Hence, in the

fall of 2010, the CU initiated a large-scale project Studying the Approaches to Grammar in the FPEL which aimed at investigating the approaches teachers use in their classrooms,

identifying which approaches would be more useful within the context of the FPEL, and

exploring the students’ needs and expectations in terms of grammar teaching. The findings

helped identify gaps between students’ and teachers’ perceptions with regard to the grammar

component in the FPEL, and led to the revision and development of the current grammar

materials in most FPEL courses, with a new focus on contextualised and more accurate

language production.

2.2.3 Study and research skills

Many students come to the university with limited study skills, and with over-dependence on

the teacher for their learning. Therefore, they need to be equipped with the skills and

strategies that will enable them to develop more autonomy and thus become better learners.

Such training needs to start at a very basic level. Students start by learning to organise their

work on A4 paper. They then organize learning materials in a ring-binder and engage in the

process of learning by editing drafts and learning from corrections. They also need to record

and learn vocabulary in a systematic way. Students also develop a range of reading skills and

other important skills, such as using a dictionary effectively. At the higher levels, more

advanced study and research skills are practiced and developed, including skills such as using

resources in the library, taking notes from written or aural texts, summarizing, making

presentations and report writing. These academic skills are vital to their success in their

current and future studies.

Students need a lot of guidance on how to explore new ways of learning and build up their

confidence. They also need to learn how to assume responsibility for their own learning and

how to work with others in pairs and groups. One way to do this is by engaging them in

study projects. FPEL students carry out a variety of project types, ranging from creating a

basic portfolio of their course work, making reports based on interviews and surveys, and

doing individual research projects on a topic of their choice, to oral presentations and

library/internet-based work. One of the main aims of the Language Centre is to gradually

modify the students’ mental framework so that they view learning as an ongoing process over

which they have a great deal of control. In other words, we encourage the students to develop

an attitude of learner autonomy. Despite the great obstacles to achieving these aims, students

usually respond well when given a chance to work on their own.

The study skills component/course is a very important one at every level. The teacher’s

attitude plays a large part in the rate of students’ development, and therefore it is the

responsibility of teachers, in conjunction with their course coordinators, to ensure that the

students’ study skills develop and continue to improve throughout their time with us.

5

2.2.4 Portfolios

A portfolio is characterised as follows:

It is a learner-centred tool for learning and assessment. It enables students to have

some control over their learning.

It helps learners set their own goals and take more responsibility for their learning,

which increases motivation.

It contains work that exhibits selections of a student’s efforts, progress and

achievements over a period of time. The assessment of this work is, therefore, both

formative and summative.

It is linked to a range of clearly defined learning outcomes.

A portfolio contains a student’s reflections and evaluations of their work and their

learning.

There are well-defined criteria for assessment of the portfolio elements.

The implementation and utilization of portfolios in the Foundation Programme at Sultan

Qaboos University is twofold. First, portfolios will help students improve their study skills,

develop learner autonomy and gain a stronger sense of ownership of their work. Second, the

implementation of portfolios has been done to comply with the Academic Standards for a

General Foundation Programme set by Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA).

In the spring of 2010 the Language Centre assigned a team of four teachers who had direct

experience of using portfolios within a foundation programme context to draft a proposal for

the introduction of portfolios to comply with the OAAA standards for General Foundation

Programmes. The team reviewed the current literature on student portfolios and looked into

possibilities of the design, implementation and assessment of portfolios as part of the new

General Foundation Programme at SQU. The proposal was approved in the summer of 2010

and the piloting of portfolios started in the fall of 2010. It was carried on for one and a half

semesters. Based on the feedback received from the piloting teachers and students, the CU

portfolio team produced a manual describing portfolios and providing guidelines on their

implementation, which started in the fall of 2011.

The FPEL portfolio consists of four major elements which serve specific aims:

1. The academic planner aims at developing students’ time management skills in order to

meet deadlines and manage their time and studies more effectively.

2. The “can-do” checklist makes students aware of their current strengths and weaknesses

regarding course-specific learning outcomes. The checklist helps students to set goals

and work toward attaining them.

3. The learning reflections help students to improve their critical thinking skills and

become more autonomous learners by examining and reflecting on what they have

learned, and by assessing the progress they have made toward their goals.

6

4. The fourth element, the vocabulary log, helps students to broaden their vocabulary by

using effective word acquisition strategies and recording new words in systematic ways.

The elements increase in complexity and students exercise more autonomy as they advance in

the Foundation Programme. After the four components of the portfolio are introduced to

students, portfolio advisors monitor their students’ portfolio activities and give them ongoing

feedback. In addition, they assess the students’ portfolios through teacher-student

conferences. Two such conferences are held per semester.

The General Portfolio Manual including detailed information, teaching suggestions and

selected samples is available on the Virtual Language Centre website.

2.2.5 Dictionary Skills

There are numerous reasons for including a dictionary skills component in the curriculum. In

general, students who arrive at the Language Centre lack basic study skills, which causes a

number of problems. These include the misuse of dictionaries and over-dependency on e-

dictionaries, which are often problematic or inadequate. Also, experience shows that many of

our students spell poorly, which often obscures or distorts meaning in their written work.

Using a paper dictionary in class will highlight its value in education. Combined with other

learning strategies, using a paper dictionary effectively will enable Language Centre students

to become more independent and proficient language learners in an academic environment.

The dictionary skills component is not intended to replace other components of the

curriculum but will facilitate what is currently practised. Dictionaries should be used in a

practical way to complement reading and writing tasks. Class sets of Oxford Wordpower and

Macmillan English dictionaries are available for students in most classrooms. Although

dictionary skills are not formally covered in the FPEL curriculum, teachers are encouraged to

make use of the dictionaries along with the worksheets provided by their CC. The intended

learning outcomes for using dictionaries are:

Familiarization with various uses of a paper dictionary

Working with the alphabet

Checking spelling

Understanding & using dictionary entries

Finding and exploring meanings

2.2.6 Reading and Vocabulary

The Language Centre realises the crucial role that reading and vocabulary play in the learning

of English. Reading a text should always have a purpose that students are aware of. The

teacher should try and relate the context of the text to the students’ own world/conceptual

framework to stimulate interest. Teachers should encourage students to see ‘reading texts’ in

the world around them - in newspapers, adverts, pamphlets, etc. - to develop a sense of

curiosity and interest in reading.

7

In 2005 the Curriculum Unit launched an unprecedented project to establish a

comprehensive vocabulary list for the Language Centre courses. It started by building a

corpus of words that could be used to produce vocabulary sub-lists for the FPEL proficiency

levels. The project team then produced a sub-list of the most frequent and useful English

language words for each FPEL proficiency levels. The purpose of this project was twofold.

First, it aimed to improve the students’ acquisition of vocabulary by identifying high

frequency words with the highest relevance to their needs. Second, it attempted to guide

testing and materials writing projects by providing them with information about the most

important vocabulary for students. Appendix 5.8 includes the vocabulary sub-lists for all of

the six proficiency levels. Teachers, testers and materials writers are advised to refer to and

make use of these lists.

In the spring of 2012, the CU undertook a large-scale needs analysis project which aimed at

identifying FPEL students’ needs, challenges and expectations with regards to reading and

word acquisition skills. It also examined LC teachers’ and SQU college faculty members’

perceptions of useful teaching strategies, students’ motivation to read and their most common

challenges. The project provided a large amount of data which will be used to develop a

framework for new reading & vocabulary in-house materials for FPEL courses 0120, 0230 and

0340. The project findings will also provide valuable input in future curricular revisions of

the reading component in Levels 1-4.

Extensive Reading

Extensive reading is defined in the context of the FPEL as “activities that involve learners in

reading texts for enjoyment and for developing general reading skills”2. It is different from

intensive reading that aims to teach specific strategies and reading skills from material that is

usually selected by the curriculum or the teacher. Learners that engage in extensive reading

improve their reading rates and become more fluent readers, which results in improved

motivation and a more positive attitude toward reading. In general, texts chosen for

extensive reading should be easy as the aim is to build confidence and enjoyment.

The extensive reading component of the FPEL curriculum addresses the following aims:

To build students’ intrinsic motivation to read and thus enhance their future

academic success;

To help students develop greater fluency in reading;

To promote learner autonomy.

Students are expected to select their own readers from the LC Library, regardless of their

level (minimum 4 per semester). In addition, they are required to pass a minimum of 4

Moodle Reader quizzes from the www.moodlereader.com online database, or other teacher

approved reading activities (pass or fail options only).

2 Tuzlukova, V., Al Abri, F., Al Mahrooqi, R., Al Busaidi, S., Al Seyabi, F., (2011). Language Learning Pedagogy Terminology: English-Arabic Glossary. Oman: Sultan Qaboos University Printing Press.

8

The table below is a guide to the levels of readers that students can cope with at each

proficiency level. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of headwords.

Moodle

Reader

Level TOEIC

TOEFL-

Paper

based

TOEFL-

Computer

based

TOEFL-

Internet

based

IELTS

Bands

Moodle

Reader

FPEL

Proficiency

Levels

Starter 200 300 0-30 0-8 0-4

1 1 & 2

Level 1 250 350 63 19-20 0-4

2 1 & 2

Level 2 280 365 73 23 0-4

3 3

Level 3 320 380 83 26-27 0-4

4 3 & 4

Level 4 380 400 97 32 4.5

5 3 & 4 & 5

Level 5 450 430 117 39 5

6 4 & 5 & 6

Level 6 500 450 133 45-46 5-5.5

7 & 8 5 & 6

Placement Tests Available Type of Test Suitable for Moodle Reader Levels

Penguin paper & pen 4 to 9

Cambridge online 3 to 8

Macmillan online 1 to 9

Oxford Bookworms online 1 to 9

2.2.7 Listening and Speaking

In general, a communicative approach is recommended for teaching listening and speaking

skills for all FPEL levels. Teaching styles should accentuate ‘learning by doing’ rather than

only ‘learning by listening’, and ensure maximum student participation in listening and

speaking class activities.

Moodle

Reader

Level Cambridge

Oxford

Bookworms

& Factfiles

Oxford

Dominoes Heinemann Cengage Macmillan Penguin

Penguin Active

Readers

1

Starter

Foundations Starter (300)

Easy Start

(200)

Level 1

(300)

2

Starter (250)

Beginning

(600)

Beginner (600)

Level 1

(300)

3

Starter

(250)

Starter (250)

Level 2

(600)

4

Level 1

(400)

Level 1

(400) Level 1 (400)

FP 800

5

Level 2

(800)

Level 2

(700) Level 2 (700)

Elementary

(1100) FP 1000

Elementary

(1100)

Level 3

(1200)

Level 3

(200)

6

Level 3

(1300)

Level 3

(1000) Level 3 (1000)

7

Level 4

(1900)

Level 4

(1400)

Level 4

(1700)

8

Level 5

(2800)

Level 5

(1800)

Intermediate

(1600)

Intermediate

(1600)

Level 5

(2300)

9

Level 6

(2500)

Level 6

( 3000)

9

Listening

The primary model for listening is the teacher, but recordings from CDs and videos are used

to provide input for students. They give students some authentic practice in listening to

lectures and note taking. The students also learn vocabulary they will need to comprehend

academic lectures and many useful academic skills. The topics are, for the most part,

interesting and appropriate, and they can generate a lot of interaction and discussion among

students. Every opportunity is taken to provide both adapted and authentic listening

materials. Listening tasks need not be only those elements of a course book titled ‘Listening’;

teachers can carry out many kinds of spontaneous, unprepared mini-listening activities.

Students are encouraged to use library, CALL and Moodle materials for extra practice in

listening outside the classroom.

Speaking

For speaking, the emphasis is mostly on building confidence and oral production, especially

among students who may not have articulated a lot of ideas in their school classrooms.

Students are given plenty of opportunities for group/pair speaking tasks to develop confidence

and fluency, with accuracy considered as a follow-up activity. Although oral fluency is the

primary goal, accuracy in speaking should be recognised and rewarded. In addition, teachers

are encouraged to seize every opportunity to engage students in speaking, through either the

textbook materials or additional speaking activities, in order to optimize the chances of

improving the students’ speaking and listening skills and to achieve the required learning

outcomes. Attention should be paid to pronunciation at all stages, and on a regular basis

(perhaps incidentally as a result of class activities), with suitable models and appropriate

practice. Presentations, from informal, spontaneous 1-minute talks to longer, prepared

academic talks, are encouraged, but memorization and ‘recitation’ should be discouraged.

2.2.8 Phonology/Pronunciation

Pronunciation should be addressed in the Listening/Speaking, Reading and Writing courses

on a regular basis through brief and focused pronunciation drills and exercises. Gradual

acquisition of the items in the pronunciation syllabus is expected, not mastery. Students

should be encouraged to identify their individual pronunciation problems and focus on these.

Items introduced in previous levels should be reinforced in subsequent levels. Students are

not expected to learn the phonetic symbols, but they may use them as tools for recognising

and practising difficult and problematic sounds. They should be encouraged to use library,

CALL and Moodle materials for extra practice in listening and pronunciation outside the

classroom. (See also Appendix 5.9, Pronunciation Syllabus, page 113.)

10

2.3 Testing and Assessment

The Language Centre uses a combination of continuous assessment and formal tests to assess

students’ progress in an FPEL course. The Assessment Unit (AU) is responsible for all matters

relating to tests, from test design and item writing to item analysis and test administration.

The objective tests, which assess the students’ achievement of learning outcomes in reading

and listening, are uniform for all courses at the same level. The writing tests are prepared by

the individual courses/programmes. Continuous assessment is course specific and coordinated

by the CCs.

The system of testing to be followed for the academic year 2012-2013 is detailed in the testing

matrix below. Questions about the testing matrix should be addressed to the CC or the AU.

2.3.1 Testing matrix

Final Assessment

Course

Code

Reading Listening Writing Total

Number

of tests

Marks Number

of tests

Marks Number

of tests

Marks

FPEL 0120 3 20 2 10 1 10 40

FPEL 0230 3 15 2 10 1 10 35

FPEL 0340 3 20 2 10 1 10 40

FPEL 0450 3 20 3 10 1 10 40

FPEL 0560 3 15 3 10 1 10 35

FPEL 0560 S 3 15 3 10 0 0 25

FPEL 0400 3 30 2 20 1 10 60

FPEL 0500 3 25 3 15 2 20 60

FPEL 0600 3 25 3 15 1 15 55

FPEL 0603 3 15 3 10 1 10 35

FPEL 0603S 3 15 3 10 0 0 25

FPEL 0604 3 15 3 10 1 10 35

FPEL 0604S 3 20 3 15 0 0 35

11

Mid-Semester Assessment

Course

Code

Reading Listening Writing Total

Number

of tests

Marks Number

of tests

Marks Number

of tests

Marks

FPEL 0120 2 10 1 5 1 10 25

FPEL 0230 2 8 1 7 1 10 25

FPEL 0340 2 8 2 7 1 10 25

Mid-Semester Assessment

FPEL 0450 2 10 2 5 1 10 25

FPEL 0560 2 5 2 5 1 10 20

FPEL 0560 S 2 10 2 10 1 10 30

FPEL 0400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FPEL 0500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FPEL 0600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FPEL 0603 S 2 5 1 5 1 10 20

FPEL 0603S 2 10 1 10 1 10 30

FPEL 0604 2 10 1 10 0 0 20

FPEL 0604S 2 10 1 10 0 0 30

Continuous Assessment

Course Code Reading Writing Speaking Portfolio Study

Project

Total

FPEL 0120 15 5 5 10 0 35

FPEL 0230 15 5 5 10 5 40

FPEL 0340 10 0 5 10 10 35

FPEL 0450 10 0 5 10 10 35

FPEL 0560/0560S 10 0 5 5 25 45

FPEL 0400 15 0 5 10 10 40

FPEL 0500/0500 S 15 0 5 10 10 40

FPEL 0603 / 0604 /

0600 (all courses)

10 0 5 5 25 45

Grand Total

100

12

2.4 Test Policies

2.4.1 Misplaced Students Policy in the FPEL

In the event of students being misplaced at a higher level after the Placement Test:

a. either students report they have been misplaced, or

b. teachers identify such cases

The following procedure is to be followed to move misplaced students:

The concerned teacher observes the student’s performance and administers a writing

test in order to obtain evidence/data regarding the student’s competency and

proficiency.

The teacher then submits a written report to the CC.

The CC interviews the student.

The CC writes a report and requests the Deputy Director responsible for assessment to

move the student.

The CC liaises with the DD who in turn looks at the PT score in order to validate the

need to move the student.

The DD takes the final decision.

Please note:

All this should be done latest by Monday of the second week of teaching.

Students can be moved down one level only.

2.4.2 Late Arrival for Test

A student is allowed to enter the test room during the first half an hour (30 minutes) from the

start of the test. However, no extra time will be given for its completion. Students arriving

later than 30 minutes will not be allowed to sit the test. Invigilators must make a note of the

above cases and report to their Course Coordinators, who in turn must inform the Deputy

Director responsible for assessment.

2.4.3 Student Absence from Tests and Supplementary Testing

Students are required to attend scheduled final tests. Absence is excused and eligibility for

supplementary tests is ensured only under the following circumstances:

Hospitalization or other evidence of extreme ill health (presentation of a sick note

from a clinic is not accepted as a reason for absence from a test.)

13

Bereavement relating to immediate relatives i.e. parents, brothers, sisters, spouse or

child before the final test. This is subject to verification by official documents and

provided such bereavement took place not more than 4 days before the test.

Excuses such as lack of transportation, oversleeping or not knowing the test venue are NOT

acceptable and the student will be awarded a zero for that particular test. Missing a test with

no valid reason will mean repeating the course if the student’s other marks do not qualify

him/her to pass the course. Supplementary/make-up tests are normally held on the Sunday of

the first week of the following semester.

2.4.4 Transferring Answers to Answer Sheets

Students must ensure that they have transferred their answers to the answer sheet during the

last 5 minutes (given specifically for this purpose) of the test. No extra time will be given after

the end of the test to transfer the answers. Answers that are not transferred to the answer

sheet will be transferred (if found, and if legible) from the question paper and marked, but

half of the marks obtained from the transferred answers will be deducted.

2.5 Challenge Test for the FPEL

The LC makes provision for students to take a Challenge Test and skip one proficiency level

in the FPEL in order to motivate students to perform better and provide an opportunity for

exceptional students who may have been misplaced at a lower level to move up. The

challenge test is comprised of listening, reading and writing tests and is offered to those

students who get an overall grade of A or A- in the final exam. The test is usually

administered on the first Sunday of the following semester. An FPEL student who scores at

least ‘C’ on the Challenge Test qualifies for a course at a higher level of English proficiency.

Please note that students need to complete FPEL 0560 or FPEL 0600/603/604 before

proceeding to the CELP.

2.6 Revealing Continuous Assessment Marks

Continuous Assessment (CA), or Formative Assessment, is carried out in the following

components: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Study Project (SP) and Portfolio. (See pages 10-11.)

Policy: all continuous assessment marks must be revealed to students orally, in writing, or on

Moodle. It is recommended that marks be revealed not later than three days after completion

of the assessment.

14

2.7 Appeal of Continuous Assessment Marks

Policy: Instructors often have an exclusive role in the evaluation of academic work in

accordance with the programme marking criteria. Should a student believe grounds exist for

appealing a formative grade, he/she must meet first with the instructor before pursuing the

matter further with the Course Coordinator. The following instances illustrate possible

grounds for appealing a formative grade.

An evident error in grade calculation.

The assignment of a grade to a student that reflects a possible application of more

exacting requirements than were applied to other students in the course.

The assignment of a grade to a particular student on some basis other than

performance in the course.

The assignment of a grade by a substantial departure from previously announced

standards.

2.8 Appeal of Final Grade

Policy: Students have the right to appeal grades that they obtain within 3 working days from

the official announcement of the end-of-semester results. The appeal process shall proceed

strictly as follows:

1. Students must discuss the grade appeal case with the Course Coordinator. The CC may

share information about areas of weakness and give suggestions for improvement.

2. The next level of appeal is with the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC).

3. In the event that a student decides to appeal his/her grade to the QAC, he/she must fill in

a Final Grade Appeal Form available with the CC. The CC must forward the written

appeal to the QAC with comments.

4. The QAC must form an ad hoc committee of three members (DD responsible for

assessment, concerned CC and one AU member) to review the test papers.

5. The outcome must be recorded on the form and communicated to the student.

6. If there is a change of grade, the QAC must take necessary action to revise the grade with

the Records Officer and inform the CC.

7. Students must accept the findings of the committee as final.

8. All Grade Appeal Forms/records must be kept with the QAC for one year.

15

2.9 Proficiency Level Descriptors

L6

Can understand texts of at least 900 words with an FK 10-12 level of difficulty. Can

respond to questions requiring analytical skills including prediction, deduction and

inference. Can understand different text structures and the content of texts, including

arguments, subtle ideas and/or plot. Can produce a text of 500 words showing evidence

of research, note-taking, revision, paraphrasing, summarizing, quotations and use of

references. Can actively participate in conversations relevant to their studies, and is

able to defend opinions and persuade others of one’s point of view. Can follow the

signposts of a lecture and take detailed notes using symbols and abbreviations. Can

distinguish fact from opinion and draw conclusions using implicit information.

L5

Can understand texts of FK 8-9 level of difficulty by predicting the gist of a text using

textual and visual clues, making use of knowledge of word formation, recognising ideas,

making inferences, and identifying specific information. Can produce organized,

coherent texts of at least 250 words on a variety of guided topics showing evidence of

paraphrasing, note-taking and control of layout. Can express ideas, opinions in a

conversation on a topic relating to their studies, using appropriate interaction strategies

and topic specific vocabulary. Can produce organized notes from lectures using

abbreviations and symbols effectively. Can understand the main points of clear standard

input on matters related to their studies.

L4

Can respond to texts of FK 6-7 level of difficulty, by predicting content, finding general

and specific information, and guessing the meaning of words from context. Can

produce a revised, connected text of at least 150 words on familiar or guided topics,

stating reasons or providing examples where appropriate. Can maintain a general

conversation, use appropriate communicative strategies and language functions in both

formal and informal contexts. Can produce notes from listening texts using some

symbols and abbreviations.

L3

Can understand longer texts of FK 4-5 level of difficulty and distinguish between main

and supporting details. Can predict the content/purpose of a text by using textual and

graphical information. Can use an outline to produce an ordered and unified text of at

least 120 words. Can edit a text, paying attention to basic grammatical structures and

core vocabulary. Can initiate and maintain an informal conversation on familiar or

personal topics. Can take guided notes from a monologue or dialogue and respond to

basic questions about the opinions, topic or main idea presented.

L2

Can understand main ideas and specific information in longer, simple texts of FK 3-4

level of difficulty on familiar topics and interpret meaning by using background

knowledge. Can deduce the meaning of unknown words. Can brainstorm ideas, and

create simple notes from a text. Can produce a revised text of at least 100 words using

basic punctuation, spelling rules and grammatical structures. Can follow and participate

in basic classroom dialogues on familiar topics, describing simple personal tasks/details

such as daily routine. Can follow spoken instructions to carry out a simple task with a

number of stages.

16

L1

Can understand simple instructions and short texts and deduce meanings of words from

context. Can produce a short paragraph of at least 60 words on a familiar topic using

clear hand-writing and basic punctuation and spelling rules. Can use appropriate basic

social and classroom language, e.g. greetings and introductions, and participate in

simple dialogues.

2.10 Language Centre Resources

In the process of becoming autonomous learners of English, Language Centre students are

strongly encouraged to make effective use of their time outside the classroom and seek

further opportunities to improve their language skills. The LC offers numerous opportunities

for effective self-study. The Student Support Unit (SSU) manages a library, a Writing Centre,

a Tutorial Centre, and computer labs open for daily access and equipped with computer-

assisted language learning (CALL) programmes. Students have a variety of supplementary

language activities such as graded readers, listening materials and SRA reading kits at their

disposal in the LC library, along with a range of extra-curricular activities such as reading

contests or discussion club meetings. In addition, programme-specific online materials and

Moodle exercises are available to improve a variety of language skills. Students use them

along with CALL programmes in their free time. Since effective use of all available LC

resources is one of the main Study Skills objectives in the FPEL, it is highly recommended

that CCs and teachers incorporate e-learning and self-study components into their courses.

This could be done in a number of ways: on-line projects, scheduled computer lab sessions

with the use of CALL programmes, additional reading assignments, and so forth. Students

can also receive additional support in the practice of different language skills at the Writing

Centre and the Tutorial Centre.

The Supplementary Materials Repository (available online at: http://Omeka.squ.edu.om)

The vital need to develop, share and coordinate supplementary materials among LC teachers

led to the creation of the Supplementary Materials Repository in Spring 2012. The repository

is an online bank of teacher-produced materials that can be easily accessed and used. It can

help teachers find materials that can effectively supplement the curriculum and match a

variety of proficiency levels, skills and learning outcomes. The chosen platform is Omeka,

which is a free open source system. There are links to the repository from the LC website as

well as the Virtual Language Centre. LC teachers are able to access and download or upload

materials both on and off campus. They can also comment on the materials as well as edit

them and upload alternative versions.

CALL Programmes

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a powerful self-access facility which helps to

encourage autonomous learners. Increased motivation, student achievement, authentic materials

for study, greater interaction and individualization of a learning process are only some of the

advantages of using CALL programmes in addition to classroom practice. Computers should not

be seen as a replacement for teachers’ work but as a supplement to it, which will contribute to

17

students’ progress and autonomy in learning. The CALL programmes currently available

include:

Ultimate Speed Reader

Clarity Tense Buster (5 levels)

Clarity Active Reading (6 levels)

Clear Pronunciation 1 and 2

Clarity Study Skills

Clarity Recorder

Course-specific activities/practice (all skills)

Sample midterm and end-of-semester tests

3. Learning Outcomes and Syllabi

3.1 Introduction

The FPEL learning outcomes are clear and concise statements that specify what learners are

expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate by the time they exit the FPEL.

They are concerned with the achievements of the learner rather than the intentions of the

teacher, and, therefore, should be distinguished from objectives, which tend to describe

specific, discrete units of knowledge and skills and are often synonymous with tasks to be

completed. Learning outcomes can be observed and measured. They convey to learners

exactly what is to be accomplished in terms of providing evidence for knowledge,

comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation and creativity. They should serve as

guidelines for content, instruction and evaluation and be general enough to encompass a

variety of important skills, but specific enough to allow for fair assessment. Learning

outcomes are developmental in nature and are defined according to the following broad

categories:

Knowledge (e.g. subject content)

Skills (e.g. critical thinking, problem solving)

Attitudes (e.g. students' openness to new ideas, acceptance of diversity, or

commitment to life-long learning)

Social action (e.g. group-work type activities requiring discussion)

Individual behaviour (e.g. everyday situations, actions, etc.)

This part of the document is a complete list of all the learning outcomes expected of students

at each proficiency level, including the grammar and pronunciation syllabi which have been

put in one section for the purpose of easy reference and convenience.

Course-specific learning outcomes (LOs) will appear in the course outlines for students and

pacing schedules. However, students are also expected to acquire and demonstrate certain key

skills from the previous courses. Therefore, it is crucial that teachers are familiar with the

18

outcomes not only for the course they currently teach, but also for the adjacent courses. Some

outcomes listed under one language skill (e.g. speaking) may also be addressed in other skills

(e.g. reading). Tasks increase in difficulty, from simple to more complex, through the levels.

Students should be encouraged to use CALL programmes and materials on Moodle for extra

practice outside the classroom. Teachers may use materials from current course books,

supplementary materials available in the Language Centre, and their own resources as long as

they are relevant to the curricular requirements.

All courses are assessed by a combination of measures including mid- and end-of-semester

tests in writing, listening and reading, as well as formative/continuous assessment. The matrix

in the General Information section gives details about the mid and end-of-semester tests as

well as the classroom-based continuous assessment activities. The objective tests address the

learning outcomes rather than the materials themselves.

3.2 Learning Outcomes and Syllabi

3.2.1 Reading

# Learning Outcomes Level

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Read and respond to a 1-2 page text in a given period of time

2 Develop reading fluency and speed by regularly reading

extensively outside the classroom (e.g. graded readers)

3 Demonstrate acquisition of both general and level specific

vocabulary through a range of strategies

4 Predict the content of a text using the title and given visual

prompts

5 Show understanding of instructions

6 Skim a text for the main idea

7 Scan a text and demonstrate comprehension of specific

information

8 Interpret texts using background knowledge

9 Make inferences based on information in a text

10 Deduce the meaning of words from context

11 Identify parts of speech and their functions in a text

12 Identify target grammatical structures specified in the syllabus

13 Identify the character, plot and setting in fiction

14 Predict the purpose of a text using topic sentences and

introductory paragraphs

15 Distinguish between main ideas and supporting details

16 Identify pronouns and their reference

17 Interpret graphically presented data (maps, charts, graphs,

tables)

19

18 Identify the relationship between textual and graphical

information

19 Transfer relevant information from a text to a table

20 Identify the writer’s point of view

21 Analyse relationships within and between sentences to

understand different text structures

22 Identify ideas expressed in compound and complex sentences

23 Identify the meaning of unknown words using knowledge of

word formation

24 Distinguish between facts and opinions

25 Summarize short texts

26 Create notes from a text

27 Identify arguments for and against a certain issue in a text

28 Identify attitude and point of view in fiction

29 Read texts broadly relevant to the student’s area of study

(minimum 3 pages; minimum 900 words per text) and respond

to questions that require analytical skills, e.g. prediction,

deduction, inference

3.2.2 Listening


1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Predict content using visual and textual information

2 Identify main ideas in a dialogue or monologue

3 Extract and demonstrate comprehension of specific

information in a dialogue or monologue

4 Demonstrate the ability to take dictation of language which is

level-specific

5 Respond to questions about a conversation between two to

more speakers in relation to context, relationship between

speakers, register (e.g. formal or informal)

6 Identify speakers and topics in a conversation

7 Follow spoken instructions in order to carry out a task

with a number of stages

8 Recognize signpost phrases to follow the speaker’s sequence of

ideas

9 Use background knowledge to predict content

10 Identify the speaker’s purpose from the introduction to a

lecture

11 Transfer specific information from a listening text into a

table/diagram

20

3.2.3 Speaking


1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Use appropriate language functions in formal/informal

contexts3

2 Follow and participate in dialogues

3 Initiate, maintain and close a conversation of a general nature

4 Speak comprehensibly using an adequate range of grammatical

structures and vocabulary

5 Paraphrase information from a spoken text

6 Summarise short listening passages

7 Actively participate in a discussion on a topic relevant to one’s

studies by asking questions, agreeing/disagreeing, asking for

clarification, sharing information, expressing and asking for

opinions

8 Persuade someone to take a certain course of action

9 9 Prepare and deliver a talk of at least five-minutes4 .Use library

resources in preparing the talk.

10 Interpret and explain information presented in a variety of

forms (e.g. tables, pictures, notes, maps, graphs)

3 Examples of functions: asking questions, explaining, describing, comparing, interrupting, etc.

4 The criteria are outlined in 6.2.4 in the OAAA document (Appendix 5.5).

12 Take notes and respond to questions about the topic, main

ideas, details and opinions or arguments from an extended

listening text (e.g. lecture, news broadcast)

13 Produce organized notes using symbols and abbreviations

14 Use contextual clues to make inferences using explicit and

implicit information

15 Identify the opinion / attitude of the speaker(s)

16 Distinguish facts from opinions

17 Distinguish main ideas from supporting details

21

3.2.4 Pronunciation


1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Recognise and practice consonant/vowel sounds and sound

patterns specified in the pronunciation syllabus

2 Recognise stressed and unstressed syllables in multi-syllable

words

3 Identify intonation stress and in questions and statements

4 Practise stress in multi-syllabic words

5 Distinguish between short and long vowels specified in the

syllabus

6 Practise consonant clusters at the beginning and end of words

7 Recognise and practise 2-sound clusters (versus diagraphs)

8 Recognise and practise 3-sound clusters (versus diagraphs)

9 Identify stressed words in an utterance

10 Recognise and practised final sound clusters and clusters across

words

11 Use word stress to convey meaning in an utterance

12 Produce appropriate intonation patterns contributing to

effective communication

13 Identify silent letters in words and utterances

14 Recognise and practise homographs and homophones

15 Recognise different pronunciations of the same word

(See also the detailed Pronunciation Syllabus in Appendix 5.9, page 113)

22

3.2.5 Writing


1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Use clear handwriting, well-formed alphabet, on the line,

following margins

2 Use general and level-specific vocabulary correctly

3 Use level-specific grammatical structures correctly

4 Use spelling rules correctly

5 Use punctuation correctly

6 Brainstorm/generate ideas based on stimulus material

7 Order and link ideas using appropriate linking and transition

words

8 Produce a first and second draft

9 Use editing skills to improve text

10 Select and order appropriate ideas

11 Establish unity within a paragraph

12 Develop a topic sentence for a text

13 Produce a revised, coherent text incorporating own, peer and

teacher corrections and suggestions

14 Paraphrase information in writing from a written text or

graphical data

15 Produce paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting points

16 State reasons and provide examples to support each idea

17 Use language appropriate for particular rhetorical functions

18 Create an outline with notes for a text

19 Select and utilize relevant information from stimulus material

20 Produce a short paragraph on a familiar writing subject, 60

words, with guidance from the teacher where appropriate

21 Produce a text of a minimum of 100 words

22 Produce a text of a minimum 120 words

23 Produce a text of a minimum 150 words

24 Write texts of a minimum of 250 words, showing control of

layout, organization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure,

grammar and vocabulary

25 Produce a written report of a minimum of 500 words showing

evidence of research, note-taking, review and revision of work,

paraphrasing, summarizing, use of quotation and use of

references

23

3.2.6 Study Skills

# General Study Skills Learning Outcomes (L1-6)

1 Follow university policies on attendance and punctuality.

2 Bring all required materials (e.g. folder, notepad, dictionary, etc.).

3 Work to deadlines (e.g. homework, etc.)

4 Show respect for teachers and others and their right to have differences of opinion

5 Demonstrate ability to work in pairs and groups and participate accordingly

6 Use a variety of study techniques

7 Revise one’s work on an ongoing basis

8 Use all available LC resources (library, computer labs, internet, etc.) for language

learning

9 Use a dictionary as a learning resource (e.g. Oxford Wordpower)

# Specific Study Skills Learning Outcomes Level

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Develop brainstorming skills

2 Organize and maintain a system of recording vocabulary, e.g.

keep a vocabulary log

3 Organize and maintain a portfolio

4 Organize a feasible study schedule and a term planner that

accommodate other responsibilities

5 Reflect on learning experiences, challenges and insights

6 Identify preferred study strategies based on learning styles

7 Use an English-English dictionary for language learning

8 Take notes using a systematic note-taking strategy 5

9 Find specific information using internet search engines and

electronic resources

10 Select or reject a source based on difficulty level, relevancy and

currency

11 Cite a source in accordance with academic conventions

12 Summarize and paraphrase information in one’s own words

13 Assess the reliability, objectivity and authenticity of a source

14 Use the on-line catalogue to locate a book/journal or find topic-

related information

15 Use a contents page and index to locate information in a book

16 Use skimming and scanning skills to locate information in a

certain chapter/section

5 The specific criteria are outlined in 6.2.3 in the OAAA document (Appendix 5.5)

24

17 Prepare and give a presentation

18 Prepare and give a presentation with an outline and visual aids

19 Invite constructive feedback and self-evaluate the presentation

20 Produce a written report of a minimum of 500 words showing

evidence of research, note-taking, review and revision of work,

paraphrasing, summarizing, use of quotations and use of

references (this can be covered in the writing component)

3.2.7 Language and Grammar Syllabus

A grammatical syllabus is an aid for a teacher or a curriculum designer, but it does not

reflect a learner’s own internal syllabus. The acquisition of more complex items requires

more time, and therefore, students are asked to recognise and understand a structure in a

context before attempting to use it correctly. The level of accuracy expected in production

depends on a student’s level of proficiency. Teachers are not restricted to the items

indicated in the Grammar & Language Syllabus. Other grammar items (e.g. perfect tense)

may be introduced to fulfill certain tasks.

The following symbols indicate if students are expected to produce an item (√), or recognise it (√).

Item Level

1 2 3 4 5 6

SCI CEPS MED EEAL SCI CEPS MED EEAL

Sentence Structure

1 basic sentence

structure: subject-

verb agreement/

SVO/SVC

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

2 there is/there are √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 3 compound sentences √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 4 complex sentences √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Verbs

5 present simple tense √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 6 past simple tense √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7 present continuous

tense

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

8 past continuous tense √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

25

9 past perfect √ √ √ √

10 passive voice √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 11 question forms √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 12 future forms √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 13 modal verbs √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 14 gerunds √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 15 infinitives √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 16 direct speech √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

17 indirect speech √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Clauses

18 relative clauses √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 19 reason/result clauses √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 20 contrast clauses √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 21 reduced adjectival

/adverbial clauses

√ √ √ √ √ √

22 first conditional √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 23 second conditional √ √ √ √ √ √

24 third conditional √ √ √ √ √

Adverbs

25 adverb usage,

function, position

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

26 adverbs of frequency √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Item Level

1 2 3 4 5 6 SCI CEPS MED EEAL SCI CEPS MED EEAL

Nouns

27 plurals √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 28 countable and

uncountable nouns

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Pronouns

29 personal pronouns √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 30 possessive pronouns

(e.g. mine, yours, hers, etc.)

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

31 relative pronouns √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

26

Adjectives

32 adjective usage,

function, position

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

33 possessive adjectives

(e.g. my, your, her, etc.)

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

34 quantifiers √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 35 comparative √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 36 superlative √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Prepositions

37 prepositions of place

& time

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Articles

38 definite/ indefinite

articles

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

39 zero articles √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Connectors

40 basic connectors: and, but, so, or

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

41 subordinating

conjunctions

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Word Structure

42 word formation √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Lexical Items

43 cohesive devices √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 44 collocations √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

45 phrasal verbs √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

27

4. Course descriptions

4.1 FPEL 0120

Title of the Course Foundation Programme English Language

Course Code FPEL 0120

Total Hours 18

Hours per skill 6 – Writing

6 – Reading + Study Skills

6 – Listening & Speaking

Prerequisites Beginning of year placement test

Materials Writing

- Explore Writing 1 – In-house text

Reading

- Read On 1 - McGraw Hill, 1st Edition

- Active Skills for Reading: Intro, Heinle, 2nd Edition

Listening and Speaking

- Cutting Edge Elementary - Pearson-Longman, 1st edition

- Listen In 1 – Heinle, 2nd Edition Study Skills

- Learning to Learn - In-house text

Project Online vocabulary project, writing file and vocabulary record

FPEL 0120 is a semester-long course for beginners which covers basic grammar, vocabulary

and skills work on reading, writing, listening and speaking. Students are also introduced to

the fundamental study skills necessary to succeed at university. As with all the lower levels

in the FPEL, these students need to acquire the language as quickly as possible and need

considerable support. One of our main tasks is to motivate these students and give them

the confidence and independence they need to acquire the language quickly. To this end,

instruction in this course concentrates on encouraging good study habits such as keeping

vocabulary notebooks and organizing their work. It also helps students adjust to university

life and overcome the culture shock many of them experience on arrival. It is very

important that students understand the importance of being punctual, attending classes and

maximizing opportunities for practice of the skills they have learnt.

In terms of content, the course takes a skills-based approach. However, the writing course

has a focus on language use and it is also useful to work on basic structures in the speaking

lessons. A communicative approach is strongly recommended and maximum student

participation through a range of interaction patterns is very important. This approach is

likely to be radically different from the students’ previous language learning experience, so

it will be important to reassure and encourage the students to participate as fully as they

can.

28

0120 Test Specifications

0120 Listening

Learning Outcomes tested:

Identify main ideas in a dialogue or monologue

Extract and demonstrate comprehension of specific information in a dialogue or

monologue

Demonstrate the ability to take dictation or language which is level-specific (this includes

words and numbers)

Respond to questions about a conversation between two or more speakers in relation to

context, relationship between speakers, register (e.g., formal or informal)

Identify speakers and topics in a conversation

Mid-Semester End-of-Semester

1. Number of tests: One

2. Marks: 5

3. Test type: 1 Dialogue

4. Themes: General / Academic

5. Based on: Curriculum LOs

6. Word length: 200 – 250 words

7. Readability level: FK: 2 – 4 approx., FRE: 90

- 75 approx.

8. Number of items: 7-8

9. Test methods: MCQ, T/F, matching,

ordering/ categorizing/choosing from list,

gap filling, answering questions, note

completion, table/chart completion, re-

arrange jumbled sentences + task types used

in the course materials

1. Number of tests: Two

2. Marks: 10

3. Test type: 1 Monologue + 1 Dialogue




7. Readability level: FK: 3 – 4 approx.,

FRE: 80 - 75 approx.

8. Number of items: 6-8 on each of

the tests


ordering/ categorizing/choosing from

list, gap filling, answering questions,

note completion, table/chart

completion, re-arrange jumbled

sentences + task types used in the

course materials

0120 Reading

Learning Outcomes tested:

Read and respond to a 1 page text in a given period of time

Show understanding of instructions

Skim a text for the main idea

Scan a text and demonstrate comprehension of specific information

Deduce the meaning of words from context

Identify parts of speech and their function in a text



2. Marks: 10




1. Number of tests: Three

2. Marks: 20




29










course materials

6. Readability level: FK: 3 – 4 approx., FRE:

80 - 75 approx.

7. Number of items: 6-8 on each of the tests





arrange jumbled sentences + task types

used in the course materials

0120 Writing


1. Number of tests: 1

2. Number of marks: 10

The test will consist of a simple text of a

minimum of 60 words. Students will be

required to write a simple paragraph in legible

handwriting and with appropriate punctuation

and spelling. The test will be similar to the

tasks in Explore Writing 1.



There is one writing task in the test and the

students are asked to write a minimum of

100 words in response to a written cue. The

task is designed so that the genre, audience

and purpose of the writing are clear to the

students and so that students have an

opportunity to use the language covered in

their course-book Explore Writing 1.

0120 Continuous Assessment

The continuous assessment of vocabulary acquisition and study skills is through online

vocabulary quizzes. Students are also assessed on two SRAs twice. Speaking is assessed

through 2 one-on-one assessments by the Listening and Speaking teacher. Students are also

required to maintain a writing file which contains all the drafts of each writing task

completed in the course. These files are collected regularly throughout the course so that

teachers can ensure that students are meeting all the deadlines set for production of each draft

and to avoid copying. These files are assessed twice by the writing teacher. Students are also

assessed on keeping a portfolio which enables them to become more independent and

reflective learners. The portfolio is assessed once only by the Study Skills teacher.

30

0120 Continuous Assessment Marks

Reading Writing Speaking Portfolio Total

Marks

15

5

5

10

35

Vocab Moodle Project (10)

SRA: 2 assessments (5)

2 assessments

2 assessments

1 assessment

4.2 FPEL 0230



Total hours 18

Hours per skill 4 - Reading

2 - Study Skills

6 - Writing & Language Use

6 - Listening & Speaking


Materials Reading

- Active Skills for Reading: Intro, Heinle, 2nd Edition

- Reading Explorer 1, Heinle

Study Skills

- Learning to Learn / Reading to Learn – In-house text

Writing


Listening & Speaking

- Listen In 1 – Heinle, 2nd Edition

- NorthStar Basic/Low Intermediate (Middle East Edition), Pearson

Longman

Project - Online vocabulary project

- Interview/presentation: students work in pairs to interview

someone from outside the classroom on a given topic. This

information is shared with the rest of the class in a presentation.

FPEL 0230 is a semester-long course which students enter at an elementary level of English

proficiency. The course aims to improve students’ English ability in all skills, with a strong

focus on language use in the writing lessons. Students will also be encouraged to read

extensively outside the classroom and required to do a mini research project: working in

pairs, they conduct an interview to find out certain information and then present their

31

findings to the rest of the class in a short formal presentation. There is an online vocabulary-

building component as well.

0230 Test Specifications

0230 Listening

Learning Outcomes Tested:



monologue

Demonstrate the ability to take dictation or language which is level-specific




Recognize signpost phrases to follow the speaker’s sequence of ideas

Identify the speaker’s purpose from the introduction to a lecture

Transfer specific information from a listening test into a table/diagram



2. Marks: 7

3. Test type: Monologue or Dialogue


2. Marks: 10

3. Test type: Monologue and Dialogue




7. Readability level: FK: 3 – 4 approx., FRE:

80 - 75 approx.






arrange jumbled sentences + task types

used in the course materials




7. Readability level: FK: 4 - 5 approx.,


8. Number of items: 6-8 on each

of the tests


ordering/ categorizing/choosing

from list, gap filling, answering

questions, note completion,

table/chart completion, re-arrange

jumbled sentences + task types used


0230 Reading

Learning outcomes tested:





Identify parts of speech and their function in a text

32

Identify target grammatical structures specified in the syllabus Distinguish between main ideas and supporting details Identify pronouns and their reference Identify the relationship between textual and graphical information Transfer relevant information from a text to a table



2. Marks: 8


2. Marks: 15






7. Number of items: 10







course materials




6. Readability level: FK: 4- 5 approx.,


7. Number of items: about 10 on each

of the tests


ordering/ categorizing/choosing

from list, gap filling, answering

questions, note completion,

table/chart completion, re-arrange

jumbled sentences + task types used


0230 Writing




There is one writing task in the test and the

students are asked to write a minimum of 100

words in response to a written cue. The task is

designed so that the genre, audience and

purpose of the writing are clear to the students

and so that students have an opportunity to

use the language covered in their course-book

Explore Writing 1.



Students are asked to produce a text of a

minimum of 120 words in length, in

response to a prompt. The writing task is

designed with a different genre, audience

and purpose in mind. Students have an

opportunity to use the language covered in

their course-book Explore Writing 2.


The continuous assessment of vocabulary acquisition and study skills is through online vocabulary

quizzes. In order to encourage students to read outside the classroom, it is required that they read

two graded readers, and they are assessed on these graded readers online through Moodle Reader. In

addition, the students are assessed on two SRAs. Speaking is assessed through a one-to-one

assessment on the basis of their performance in conversations against specific criteria. Students are

33

also required to maintain a writing file which contains all the drafts of each writing task completed

in the course. These files are collected regularly throughout the course so that teachers can ensure

that students are meeting all the deadlines set for production of each draft and to avoid copying.

These files are assessed by the writing teacher once only in week 13. Students are also assessed on

keeping a portfolio which enables them to become more independent and reflective learners. The

portfolio is assessed twice by the Study Skills teacher.

The Guided Study Project is divided into two parts: an interview and a presentation. Students

usually work in pairs. They interview someone on a particular topic and record the interview. The

presentation is done in class towards the end of the semester. The interviews and presentations are

assessed against specific criteria.


Reading Writing Speaking Portfolio Study

Project

Total

Marks

15

5

5

10

5

40

Vocab Moodle

Project (7)

2 SRA assessments (4)

Moodle Readers (4)

Two

Assessments

Two

Assessments

One

Assessment

One

Assessment

4.3 FPEL 0340



Total hours 18


2 - Study Skills



Prerequisites FPEL 0120 or beginning of year placement test

Materials Reading:

- Reading Explorer 1, Heinle

- Active Skills for Reading – Heinle, 2nd edition

Writing:


Study Skills:

34

- Reading to Learn – In-house text

Listening and Speaking:

- NorthStar Basic/Low Intermediate (Middle East Edition),

Pearson Longman

- Contemporary Topics 1 – Pearson Longman, 3rd edition

All Skills:

- Supplementary workbook – In-house text

Project - Interview/presentation: Students work in pairs to interview

someone from outside the classroom on a given topic. This

information is shared with the rest of the class in a presentation

- A 3 - 5 minute oral presentation on a researched topic using the

OHP. A topic list will be given by the teacher.

FPEL 0340 is a semester-long course which students enter at a pre-intermediate level of

English proficiency. The course further develops all general English language skills and

introduces students to basic note-taking while listening to lectures. In addition to the selected

units from the text books and an online vocabulary-building component, students read graded

readers as well. They also conduct two mini research projects and present their findings to

the rest of the class in two short formal presentations.

Test Specifications

0340 Listening

Learning outcomes tested: Identify main ideas in a dialogue or monologue


monologue






Distinguish main ideas from supporting details


Use contextual clues to make inferences using explicit and implicit information

Identify the opinion / attitude of the speaker(s)

Take notes and respond to questions about the topic, main ideas, details and opinions or

arguments from an extended listening text (e.g. lecture, news broadcast)



2. Marks: 7


2. Marks: 10

35

3. Test type: Monologue + Dialogue






8. Number of items: about 5 on

each of the tests







course materials




4. Word length: 300-350 words

5. Readability level: FK6 - 7 approx.,


6. Number of items: 6-8 on each of the

tests







course materials 0340 Reading




Make inferences based on information in a text


Identify part of speech and their functions in a text

Identify pronouns and their reference

Identify the meaning of unknown words using knowledge of word formation

Distinguish between main ideas and supporting details

Identify the relationship between textual and graphical information

Interpret graphically presented data (maps, charts, graphs, tables)

Transfer relevant information from a text to a table

Identify the writer’s point of view

Analyse relationships within and between sentences to understand different text structures

Identify ideas expressed in compound and complex sentences



2. Marks: 8


2. Marks: 20




6. Readability level: FK: 4- 5 approx.,









5. Word length: 300 - 350 words



7. Number of items: about 10 on each of

the tests


ordering/categorizing/choosing from


36



course materials




course materials

0340 Writing


Students are asked to produce a text of a

minimum of 120 words in length, in

response to a prompt. The writing task is

designed with a different genre, audience

and purpose in mind and is similar to the

tasks covered in the course material.

The writing exam consists of one writing task

of at least 150 words. The test will be similar

to the tasks covered in the course material,

e.g. article for a magazine, letter of opinion,

etc.


For continuous assessment, there are marks given for speaking proficiency, reading

proficiency, vocabulary, writing file, portfolio assessment, study skills projects and

presentations which are assessed against specific criteria. The speaking proficiency mark is

based on speaking assessments. This mark is given by the students' Speaking / Listening

teacher. The reading proficiency mark is given on the basis of students' performance on

Moodle graded reader and Moodle vocabulary quizzes. The Students are also required to

maintain a writing file which contains all the drafts of each writing task completed in the

course. The Writing file mark is given to assess the students’ ability to meet deadlines, to

organize their work and evaluate its quality. The portfolio assessment is based on the quality

and quantity of the portfolio elements (planner, self assessment, weekly reflections, and a

vocabulary log) and assessed at individual student/teacher conferences.


Reading Writing Speaking Portfolio Study Project Total

Marks

10

0

5

10

10

35

4 vocab quizzes/4 marks

4 Moodle quizzes/6 marks

2 speaking

tests/ 5

marks each

2 assessments/

5 marks each

2 projects

assessed via

2 oral

presentations

37

FPEL 0400



Total hours 18




2 - Study Skills

Prerequisites FPEL 0230

Materials Reading:

- Active Skills for Reading – Heinle, 2nd edition

Writing:



- Contemporary Topics 1 – Pearson Longman, 3rd edition

All Skills:

Supplementary workbook – In-house text

Project A 3 - 5 minute oral presentation on a researched topic using the OHP.

A topic list will be given by the teacher.

FPEL 0400 is a summer course which students enter at an intermediate level of English

proficiency. The course further develops all general English language skills and introduces

students to basic note-taking while listening to lectures. They are also required to give one

presentation on a subject researched online.

Test Specifications

0400 Listening

Learning outcomes tested: Identify main ideas in a dialogue or monologue

Extract and demonstrate comprehension of specific information in a dialogue/monologue






Distinguish main ideas from supporting details



Identify the opinion / attitude of the speaker(s)

Take notes and respond to questions about the topic, main ideas, details and opinions or


38


2. Marks: 20





7. Readability level: FK: 6 - 7 approx., FRE: 65 - 75 approx.


9. Test methods: MCQ, T/F, matching, ordering/ categorizing/choosing from list, gap

filling, answering questions, note completion, table/chart completion, re-arrange

jumbled sentences + task types used in the course materials

0400 Reading






Identify part of speech and their functions in a text











2. Marks: 30





7. Number of items: about 10 on each of the tests

8. Test methods: MCQ, T/F, matching, ordering/categorizing/choosing from list, gap

filling, answering questions, note completion, table/chart completion, re-arrange

jumbled sentences + task types used in the course materials

0400 Writing


2. Marks: 10

3. The writing exam consists of one writing task of at least 150 words. The test will be

similar to the tasks covered in the course material, e.g. article for a magazine, letter of

opinion, etc.

39


For continuous assessment, there are marks given for speaking proficiency, reading

assessment, vocabulary, portfolio assessment, study skills project and presentation which are

assessed against specific criteria. The speaking assessment mark is based on a role play. This

mark is given by the students' Speaking / Listening teacher. The reading assessment mark is

given on the basis of students' performance on Moodle graded reader and Moodle vocabulary

quizzes. The portfolio assessment is based on the quality and quantity of the portfolio

elements (planner, self assessment, weekly reflections, and a vocabulary log) and assessed at

individual student/teacher conferences. The study skills project assessment is based on

quality of their project folder and their presentation.


Reading Speaking Portfolio Study Project Total

Marks

15

5

10

10

40

2 Moodle Readers

& 2 Moodle

Vocabulary Units

1 assessment

1 assessment

1 presentation

FPEL 0450


Course Code FPEL 0450 (SCI / AGR / ENG / MED / CEPS / EEAL)

Total hours 18




2 - Study Skills


Materials Reading:

- Active Skills for Reading 2 and 3 – Heinle, 2nd edition

- Programme-specific in-house texts

Writing:




- Contemporary Topics 1 and 2 – Pearson-Longman, 3rd Edition

Study Skills:

- Programme-specific in-house text

All Skills:

40

Supplementary workbook – In-house text

Project Students do two oral presentations on researched topics given by the

teacher.

0450 is the first FPEL course where students are introduced to materials related to their field

of study: Science, Agriculture, Engineering, Medicine, Commerce, Education, Arts and Law.

In addition to courses in general academic reading, writing and listening and speaking, in the

second half of the course students begin to study the language and acquire skills specific to

their discipline. Below are more detailed descriptions of programme-specific course content:

4.3.1 English for Science, Agriculture and Engineering (SCI / AGR / ENG)

It is the course in which science, engineering, agriculture and information technology

students study topics and skills important in the sciences. The listening component equips

students with the note-taking skills and strategies needed in the classroom. The writing

component of the course builds on the paragraph writing skills by introducing cause/effect

and compare/contrast essays. In turn, these essays and the study skills section prepare

students for a research paper they will be required to write in the subsequent course. The

research skills include locating and selecting relevant information in the library and on the

internet, paraphrasing on a basic level, and writing references. The information gathered

from the various sources is used to create a brief presentation.

4.3.2 English for Medicine (MED)

In this course students study topics and skills essential for health care practitioners. The

writing component includes two rhetorical functions: a disease profile (description writing)

and a description of a life-cycle (process writing). The writing skills acquired in this course

will be used to write a 500-word report in the subsequent course. The listening and speaking

component equips the students with note-taking skills and other classroom-related study

skills. With regards to research and presentation skills, students are required to give a short

presentation on topics related to their field of studies. To do this, they learn how to locate and

select information in the library and on the internet. Other related skills like note-taking

from written texts, paraphrasing and referencing are also reinforced.

4.3.3 English for Economics and Political Science (CEPS)

In this course students are introduced to materials related to their field of studies. Reading

materials (programme-based) include topics and skills essential for the business world. The

writing component includes two rhetorical functions: comparison/contrast and

problem/solution essays. The writing skills acquired in this level will be used to write a 500-

word project in the subsequent course. The listening and speaking component equips the

students with note-taking skills and other classroom-related study skills. With regards to

41

research and presentation skills, the students are required to give a short presentation on

topics related to their field of studies. To do this, they learn how to locate and select

information from the library and the internet. Other related skills like note-taking from

written texts, paraphrasing and referencing are also fostered.

4.3.4 English for Education, Arts and Law (EEAL)

In this course students are introduced to materials related to their field of studies. EEAL

students learn to write Compare-and-Contrast and Cause-and-Effect essays. They also follow

a general reading course that enhances their vocabulary acquisition and text attack skills, and

are required to read two graded readers. On the Listening and Speaking course, EEAL

students are introduced to practical note-taking activities, and learn how to give a five-

minute presentation on a topic of their own choice. This last activity is supported by the in-

house Research and Presentation book, which teaches students how to conduct research and

how to acknowledge their sources.

Test Specifications

0450 Listening



Extract and demonstrate comprehension of specific information in a dialogue or monologue


Identify speaker’s purpose from the introduction

Transfer specific information from a listening text into a table / diagram


Identify the opinion/attitude of the speaker(s)

Distinguish facts from opinions



2. Marks: 5


2. Marks: 10







8. Number of items: about 5 on each of

the tests







7. Readability level: FK: 8-9 approx., FRE: 65

- 70 approx.


9. Test methods: MCQ, T/F/NI, matching,

ordering/ categorizing/ choosing from list,

gap filling, answering questions, re-arrange

42





course materials

jumbled sentences, note completion,

table/chart completion, + task types used


0450 Reading







Identify target grammatical structures specified in the syllabus

Distinguish between main ideas and supporting detail



Analyze relationships within and between sentences to understand different text structures



Identify arguments for and against a certain issue in a text



2. Marks: 10


2. Marks: 20








ordering/categorizing/choosing from





course materials




6. Readability level: FK: 8 - 9 approx., FRE:

65 - 75 approx.

7. Number of items: about 10 on each of the

tests





table/chart completion,

selecting/prioritizing relevant factual

information/opinion + task types used in

the course materials

43


The informal, continuous, assessment consists of speaking tasks, additional reading activities,

independent study projects and a portfolio. The speaking proficiency mark is based on

speaking assessment given by the students' Speaking / Listening teacher who uses topics and

tasks provided by the programme. The reading proficiency mark is given on the basis of

students’ comprehension of graded readers and online Moodle quizzes. The independent

study project is usually based on a theme given by the programme and requires students to

find library and internet sources. They are expected to use the information to compile a folder

of research and give a formal presentation to the class.

0450 Continuous Assessment Marks1


Marks

10

5

10

10

35

Moodle vocabulary 2.5

4 Moodle Readers 7.5

2 assessments

(2.5+2.5)

2 assessments

(5+5)

2 assessments

(5+5)

1 The above table applies to the EEAL programme. Slight variations may occur in other programmes.

0450 Writing



2. Marks: 10

3. Task type: The writing exam consists

of one writing task of at least 150

words. The test will be similar to the

tasks covered in the course material,

e.g. article for a magazine, letter of

opinion, etc.


2. Marks: 10

3. The writing exam consists of one writing

task of at least 250 words. The following

rhetorical functions are tested:

SCI: Cause & Effect or Compare & Contrast

MED: Disease Profile or Life Cycle

CEPS: Problem & Solution or Compare &

Contrast

EEAL: Cause & Effect or Compare & Contrast

44

4.4 FPEL 0500



Total hours 18

Hours per skill 6 – Writing and Research & Presentation Skills

6 - Reading



Materials Writing and Research & Presentation Skills:

- Programme-specific materials

Reading:

- Active Skills for Reading 3 – Heinle, 2nd Edition



- Contemporary Topics 2 – Pearson-Longman, 3rd Edition

Project Students do a 5 -7 minute oral presentation on a researched topic

related to their field of study.

FPEL 0500 is an eight-week long course which covers the skills of reading, writing, listening

and speaking in the context of students’ specializations. The course also continues to

consolidate study skills necessary for college work and introduces the skills students need for

writing 500-word reports. Below are more detailed descriptions of programme-specific course

content:

4.4.1 English for Science, Agriculture and Engineering (SCI, AGR, ENG)

It is the course in which science, engineering, agriculture and information technology

students study topics and skills important in the sciences. The listening component equips

students with the note-taking skills and strategies needed in the classroom. The writing

component of the course builds on the paragraph writing skills by introducing cause/effect

and compare/contrast essays. In turn, these essays and the study skills section prepare

students for a research paper they will be required to write in the subsequent course. The

research skills include locating and selecting relevant information in the library and on the

internet, paraphrasing on a basic level, and writing references. The information gathered

from the various sources is used to create a brief presentation.


In this course students study topics and skills essential for health care practitioners. The

writing component includes two rhetorical functions: a disease profile (description writing)

and a description of a life-cycle (process writing). The writing skills acquired in this course

45

will be used to write a 500-word report in the subsequent course. The listening and speaking

component equips the students with note-taking skills and other classroom-related study

skills. With regards to research and presentation skills, students are required to give a short

presentation on topics related to their field of studies. To do this, they learn how to locate and

select information in the library and on the internet. Other related skills like note-taking

from written texts, paraphrasing and referencing are also reinforced.


In this course students are introduced to materials related to their field of studies. Reading

materials (programme-based) include topics and skills essential for business world. The

writing component includes two rhetorical functions: comparison/contrast and

problem/solution essays. The writing skills acquired in this level will be used to write a 500-

word project in the subsequent course. The listening and speaking component equips the

students with note-taking skills and other classroom-related study skills. With regards to

research and presentation skills, the students are required to give a short presentation on

topics related to their field of studies. To do this, they learn how to locate and select

information in the library and the internet. Other related skills like note-taking from written

texts, paraphrasing and referencing are also fostered.


In this course students are introduced to materials related to their field of studies. EEAL

students learn to write Compare-and-Contrast and Cause-and-Effect essays. They also follow

a general reading course that enhances their vocabulary acquisition and text attack skills, and

are required to read two graded readers. On the Listening and Speaking course, EEAL

students are introduced to practical note-taking activities and learn how to give a five-minute

presentation on a topic of their own choice. This last activity is supported by the in-house

Research and Presentation book, which teaches students how to conduct research and how to

acknowledge their sources.

46

Test Specifications

0500 Listening





Identify speaker’s purpose from the introduction






2. Marks: 15





7. Readability level: FK: 8-9 approx., FRE: 65 - 70 approx.


9. Test methods: MCQ, T/F/NI, matching, ordering/ categorizing/ choosing from list, gap

filling, answering questions, re-arrange jumbled sentences, note completion,

table/chart completion, + task types used in the course materials

0500 Reading







Identify target grammatical structures specified in the syllabus

Distinguish between main ideas and supporting detail



Analyze relationships within and between sentences to understand different text structures




47


The informal, continuous, assessment consists of speaking tasks, additional reading activities,

independent study projects and a portfolio. The speaking proficiency mark is based on

speaking assessment given by the students' Speaking / Listening teacher who uses topics and

tasks provided by the programme. The reading proficiency mark is given on the basis of

students’ comprehension of graded readers and online Moodle quizzes. The independent

study project is usually based on a theme given by the programme and requires students to

find library and internet sources. They are expected to use the information to compile a folder

of research and give a formal presentation to the class.

Continuous Assessment Marks


Marks

15

5

10

10

40

2 Moodle Readers

and 2 Moodle

Vocabulary Units

1 assessment

1 assessment

1 presentation


2. Marks: 25








table/chart completion, selecting/prioritizing relevant factual information/opinion +

task types used in the course materials

0500 Writing


5. Marks: 20

6. The writing exam consists of one writing task of at least 250 words. The following

rhetorical functions are tested:

SCI: Cause & Effect or Compare & Contrast

MED: Disease Profile or Life Cycle

CEPS: Problem & Solution or Compare & Contrast

EEAL: Cause & Effect or Compare & Contrast

48

FPEL 0560



Total hours 18


6- Listening/Speaking

8 – Writing + Research & Presentation Skills


Materials Reading:





Writing & Presentation Skills:


Project In this course students will conduct a research project on a

given topic. They are required to find and print online sources,

write notes, synthesize information and produce a written

report. They are also required to give a 5 -7 minute

presentation using an outline and an overhead projector.

FPEL 0560 is a semester-long course which develops the skills of reading, writing, listening

and speaking in the context of students’ specializations: Science, Agriculture, Engineering,

Medicine, Commerce, Education, Arts and Law. The course also continues to consolidate

study skills necessary for college work and equips students with skills crucial for writing a

500-word report. Below are more detailed descriptions of programme-specific course content:


The Sciences Programme caters to the needs of students from Agriculture, Engineering and

Science colleges. Apart from general English, English for specific purposes is included in the

programme through science based readings and writings. Students are exposed to a variety of

reading texts that are scientific in nature. Students also get to enhance their listening and

speaking skills and work on a study project independently that culminates in a formal

presentation The writing component includes two rhetorical functions: compare & contrast

and cause & effect essays. The main focus of the Writing programme is to prepare students to

write a 500-word report showing evidence of research skills, note-taking, review and revision

of work, paraphrasing, summarising, use of quotations and use of references.

49


The course offers programme based reading materials which include topics and skills that

further develop the language skills of students who plan to become involved in health care.

The listening and speaking component continues to equip the students with note-taking skills

and other classroom-related study skills. The writing component includes three rhetorical

functions: a disease profile (descriptive writing), a life-cycle (process writing), and a graph

description (compare and contrast/ cause and effect). With regard to research and

presentation skills, the students are required to write a 500-word report and give a short

presentation on the same topic. To do this, they learn how to locate and select information in

the library and onthe internet, take notes from written texts, paraphrase, summarize, compile

a list of references and cite their sources in a text.



further develop the language skills of students who plan to become involved in the business

world. The listening and speaking component continues to equip the students with note-

taking skills and other classroom-related study skills. The writing component includes three

rhetorical functions: problem and solution, compare and contrast and cause and effect. With

regard to research and presentation skills, the students are required to write a 500-word

report and give a short presentation on the same topic. To do this, they learn how to locate

and select information in the library and the internet, take notes from written texts,

paraphrase, summarize, compile a list of references and cite their sources in a text.


The course offers more programme-specific materials and activities. The listening and speaking

component continues to equip the students with note-taking skills and other classroom-related

study skills. In writing essays, the students are introduced to three rhetorical functions: cause

and effect, compare and contrast and opinion. They are also required to produce an extended

essay of at least 500 words, which ties in with their research project. The research project

demands that Education and Arts students analyse and present a poem by an approved poet,

and relate that poem to the poet’s life and times. They are expected to explain any difficult

vocabulary in the poem and explain the poet’s use of literary devices. Source materials must be

acknowledged and correctly cited. Students must then submit a file containing two drafts of the

report, two copies of the poem (a working copy with notes and a clean copy), annotated source

materials that were downloaded or photocopied, a list of references in APA format, and the

materials used in the presentation (transparencies and speaking notes). Musicology students

may have the alternative of presenting a song, whereas Law students can select a topic relevant

to their field of study after consultation with their writing and study skills teacher.

50

Test specifications

0560 Listening








Follow spoken instructions in order to carry out a task with a number of stages



Take notes and respond to questions about the topic, main ideas, details, opinions or







2. Marks: 10


2. Marks: 10





7. Readability level: FK: 8-9 approx., FRE:

65 - 70 approx.



ordering/ categorizing/ choosing from


re-arrange jumbled sentences, note

completion, table/chart completion, +

task types used in the course materials





7. Readability level: FK: 10 - 12 approx., FRE:

45 - 65 approx.

8. Number of items: 6-7 on each of the

tests





table/chart completion, + task types used in


0560 Reading


Read and respond to a 1-2 page text in a given period of time





Distinguish between facts and opinions

51





Identify parts of speech and their functions in a text










2. Marks: 5


2. Marks: 15







8.Test methods: MCQ, T/F/NI,

matching, ordering/ categorizing/

choosing from list, gap filling,

answering questions, re-arrange




information/opinion + task types used







7. Number of items: about 10 on each of the

tests







information/opinion + task types used in


0560 Writing



2. Marks: 10


2. Marks: 10

(except no final test for 0560 Science)

Rhetorical Functions Rhetorical Functions

SCI Cause & Effect or Compare &

Contrast

No final writing exam for Science students

MED Disease Profile or Life Cycle A graph description which tests comparing and

contrasting together with cause and effect

writing skills

CEPS Problem & Solution or Compare &

Contrast

Cause & Effect

52

EEAL Cause & Effect or Compare &

Contrast

Opinion Essay


The informal, continuous assessment consists of speaking tasks, additional reading practice, a

portfolio and a written student project including a presentation. Speaking proficiency is

assessed by the Listening/Speaking teacher in the classroom or in the teacher’s office.

Informal reading and vocabulary are comprised of a number of online Moodle quizzes, graded

readers and/or reading comprehension quizzes provided by the CC.

500-word report : By the end of the course, students produce a written report of a minimum

of 500 words showing evidence of research, note-taking, review and revision of work,

paraphrasing, summarising, use of quotations and use of references. The skills necessary to

achieve the task will be taught mostly through the Study Skills course. The topics are

provided by the programme and relevant to the student’s area of study.

Continuous Assessment Marks1


10

5

5

25

45

4 Moodle reader

quizzes

2 assessments

2 assessments

500-word

report/15 marks

Presentation/10

marks

1 The above table applies to the EEAL programme. Slight variations may occur in other programmes.

53

4.5 FPEL 0603


Course Code FPEL0603 (SCI / AGR / ENG / MED / CEPS / EEAL)

Total hours 10


4 - Reading & Listening & Speaking




Reading:




Project A research-based 500-word report and oral presentation of a topic

relevant to the student’s area of study.

This course will only run in the fall semester and is programme-specific. It is intended for

those students who are initially placed in FPEL 0560 and qualify for the Exit Test but do not

pass it. The course combines the Writing, Research & Presentation course requirements of

FPEL 0560, and selected reading and listening & speaking materials which cover the learning

outcomes relevant to proficiency level 6.

Test Specifications

The course will be assessed by a combination of measures. They include the end of level

final/summative tests of writing, listening & reading, and formative/continuous assessment.

Below are the test specifications for mid-semester and end-of-semester tests.

0603 Listening














54





2. Marks: 5


2. Marks: 10








filling, answering questions, re-arrange jumbled sentences, note completion, table/chart

completion, + task types used in the course materials

0603 Reading













Identify pronouns and their references






0603 Reading Tests



2. Marks: 5


2. Marks: 15








55


task types used in the course materials 0603 Writing

Mid-Semester


2. Marks: 10

End-of-Semester


2. Marks: 10

(except no test for 0603 Science)

Rhetorical Functions Rhetorical Functions

SCI No writing exam is required for

Science students in this course.

No end-of-semester test

MED Disease Profile or Life Cycle A graph description which tests comparing and

contrasting or cause and effect writing skills

CEPS Problem & Solution or Compare &

Contrast

Cause & Effect

EEAL Cause & Effect or Compare &

Contrast

Opinion Essay



portfolio and a written student project including a presentation. Students also write a 500-

word report. For detailed, programme-specific information regarding the number, frequency,

specifications of continuous testing, please refer to the Testing Matrix in the General

Information section and FPEL 0560 and FPEL 0604 course descriptions.



10

5

5

25

45

2 vocabulary

quizzes/4 marks

4 Moodle reader

quizzes/3 marks

3 Moodle

activities/3 marks

2 speaking

tests

2 assessment

conferences, 1 midterm

and 1 final written

reflection

500-word report/15

marks

2 presentations /10

marks

1 The above table applies to the CEPS programme. Slight variations may occur in other programmes.

56

4.6 FPEL 0604



Total hours 10


3 - Reading





Reading:





Project A research-based 500-word report and oral presentation of a topic

relevant to the student’s area of study.

This programme-specific course is intended for those students who completed FPEL 0450, or

failed FPEL 0560 in the fall semester. It covers the skills of reading, writing, listening and

speaking in the context of students’ specializations: Science, Agriculture, Engineering,

Medicine, Commerce, Education, Arts and Law. The course also consolidates study skills

necessary for college work and equips students with skills crucial for writing a 500-word

report. Below are more detailed descriptions of programme-specific course content:


The Sciences Programme caters to the needs of students from Agriculture, Engineering and

Science colleges. Apart from general English, English for specific purposes is included in the

programme through science based readings and writings. Students are exposed to a variety of

reading texts that are scientific in nature. Students also get to enhance their Listening and

Speaking skills and work on a study project independently that culminates in a formal

presentation. The main focus of the Writing programme is to prepare students to write a 500-

word report showing evidence of research skills, note-taking, review and revision of work,

paraphrasing, summarising, use of quotations and use of references.



further develop the language skills of students who plan to become involved in health care.

The listening and speaking component continues to equip the students with note-taking skills

and other classroom-related study skills. The writing component includes one rhetorical

57

function: a graph description which tests comparing and contrasting or cause and effect

writing skills. With regards to research and presentation skills, the students are required to

write a 500-word project and give a presentation on the same topic. To do this, they learn

how to locate and select information in the library and the internet, take notes from written

texts, paraphrase, summarize, compile a list of references and cite their sources in a text.



further develop the language skills of students who plan to become involved in the business

world. The listening and speaking component continues to equip the students with note-

taking skills and other classroom-related study skills. The writing component includes

rhetorical functions: cause & effect essays. With regards to research and presentation skills,

the students are required to write a 500-word project and give a short presentation on the

same topic. To do this, they learn how to locate and select information in the library and the

internet, take notes from written texts, paraphrase, summarize, compile a list of references

and cite their sources in a text.


The course offers more programme-specific materials and courses. The listening and speaking

component continues to equip the students with note-taking skills and other classroom-related

study skills. In writing, the students are introduced to one rhetorical function: opinion essays.

They are also required to produce an extended report of at least 500 words, which ties in with

their research project. The research project demands that Education and Arts students present a

poem by an approved poet, and relate that poem to the poet’s life and times. They are expected

to explain any difficult vocabulary in the poem and explain the poet’s use of literary devices.

Source materials must be acknowledged and correctly cited. Students must then submit a file

containing all the material used in the presentation and the source materials that they

downloaded or photocopied, together with an indication of which of those materials they used

for the presentation. There must be at least two sources, one of which must be from a book or

magazine. Musicology students may have the alternative of presenting a song, while Law

students can select a topic relevant to their field of study from a list provided by the

programme.

58

Test specifications

0604 Listening


















2. Marks: 10


2. Marks: 10







9. Test methods: MCQ, T/F/NI, matching, ordering/ categorizing/ choosing from list,

gap filling, answering questions, re-arrange jumbled sentences, note completion,

table/chart completion, + task types used in the course materials

0604 Reading














59





Analyse relationships within and between sentences to understand different text

structures




2. Marks: 10


2. Marks: 30






8. Test methods: MCQ, T/F/NI, matching, ordering/ categorizing/ choosing from list,

gap filling, answering questions, re-arrange jumbled sentences, note completion,


task types used in the course materials 0604 Writing


No mid-semester writing test

1. 1. Number of tests: One

2. 2. Marks: 10

3.

Rhetorical functions tested by end-of-semester writing test

SCI No writing exam is required for Science students in this course.

MED A graph description which tests comparing and contrasting or cause and effect

writing skills

CEPS Cause & Effect

EEAL Opinion Essay

500-word report : By the end of the course, students produce a written report of a minimum

of 500 words showing evidence of research, note-taking, review and revision of work,

paraphrasing, summarising, use of quotations and use of references. The skills necessary to

achieve the task will be taught mostly through the Study Skills course. The topics are

provided by the programme and relevant to the student’s area of study.

60



portfolio and a written student project including a presentation. Speaking proficiency is

assessed by the Listening/Speaking teacher in the classroom or in the teacher’s office.

Informal reading and vocabulary are comprised of a number of online Moodle quizzes, graded

readers and/or reading comprehension quizzes provided by the CC.



10

5

5

25

45

2 vocabulary

quizzes/4 marks

4 Moodle reader

quizzes/3 marks

3 Moodle

activities/3 marks

2 speaking

tests

2 assessment

conferences, 1 midterm

and 1 final written

reflection

500-word report/15

marks

2 presentations /10

marks

1 The above table applies to the CEPS programme. Slight variations may occur in other programmes.

61

LANC1025 English for Humanities I

Title of the course English for Humanities I

Course Code LANC1025

Credit hours 0

Teaching hours 6


Equivalency Levels 1 and 2 of the FPEL (one way equivalency only) *

Materials - World English 1: Student’s Book with Multimedia CD (Units 1-

6) + Workbook

- Class audio CD

- Workbook Audio CD

- Students’ Book DVD

- Graded readers

- ESL Listening LAB Website

Project Vocabulary project * One way equivalency means if a student is transferred from an English-medium programme to an Arabic-medium one and s/he

completed levels one and two of the FPEL, s/he will be exempted from this course. However, students transferring the other way

around (English to Arabic) will have to sit the placement test again.

Course description:

This course is for Arabic-medium students only. It is a course of 6 hours a week for 15 weeks

and bears no credits. It is an integrated skills course that provides coverage of the language

skills and the grammatical and lexical systems of English at an elementary level. It also

provides extensive practice in speaking, reading and writing skills through various classroom

activities as well as independent work. In addition, students are introduced to some essential

study skills and are required to practise them throughout the course. Independent work

includes homework World English Workbook, working independently on online listening

tasks as well as doing tasks supplied by the teacher. Students are also required to read four

two-page stories at home. Students are also required to read four two-page stories at home.

In addition, students do a vocabulary project across the academic semester independently

with some guidance from the instructor. Students also keep a weekly journal checked by the

teacher every week for feedback. Furthermore, a file containing work completed and class

handouts are maintained.

Course objectives:

Demonstrate understanding of everyday conversations

Read and understand simple texts

Understand and use basic grammar structures

Understand and use basic vocabulary

Take part in simple discussions about topics of general interest

Engage in simple guided conversations

62

Use common social expressions in conversations

Produce simple written texts using appropriate structures

Develop basic study skills

Placement and Exemption procedures:

Students have to sit the Placement Test (PT)

Students placed in Level 1 and Level 2 of the FPEL will take LANC 1025


Students placed in Level 5 of the FPEL and above will be exempted from LANC1025

and LANC1026

In cases of transfer from English-medium or bilingual programmes under university

regulations, students will be exempted from doing the two courses providing they

have reached level 4 of the FPEL or above.

In cases of transfer to English-medium or bilingual programmes under University

regulations, students will be required to re-sit the Placement Test (PT). In the case of

colleges which require Exit Level, the students will also be required to take the Exit

Test (ET).

Assessment

It is a combination of formative and summative testing events. Summative assessment is

outlined below:

Form of

Assessment

Related Objective(s) Criteria for assessment Percentage Time of

Assessment

Mid-term

exam

- Read and understand

simple texts

- Understand and

use basic

vocabulary

- Understand and

use basic grammar

structures

- Demonstrate

understanding of

everyday

conversations

- Produce simple

written texts using

appropriate

structures

- Respond

appropriately to

questions on the

written text(s) given

- Use appropriate

vocabulary in the

task(s) given

- Use grammatical

structures in the

task(s) given

appropriately.

- Respond

appropriately to

questions on the oral

text(s) given

- Write short text(s)

on the topic(s) given

20 % Week 7

and week 14

63

Mini-reading

quizzes

- Read

and understand

simple texts

- Respond

appropriately to

questions on the

mini reader given

8%

Vocabulary

Quizzes

- Understand and use basic

vocabulary - Use appropriate

vocabulary in the

task(s) given

4%

Speaking - Take part in

simple discussions

about topics of

general interest

- Speak on a topic

related to a graded

reader

- Describe a picture

5%

5%

Week 15

Independent

Learning

Project

- Develop basic

study skills

- Understand and

use basic

vocabulary

- Demonstrate

understanding of

everyday

conversations

- Produce simple

written texts using

appropriate

structures

- Produce simple

written texts

using appropriate

structures

- Understand and

use basic

vocabulary

- Demonstrate

understanding of

everyday

conversations

- Keep a journal

- Work on a

vocabulary project

- Do online listening

tasks

5%

4%

4%

Week 2

to week 15

Final Exam As in Progress Tests As in Mid-Semester

Exam

35 % Week 16

Teacher

Assessment

Develop basic study

skills

- Do homework

including workbook

(2%)

- Keep a File (2%

- Attend classes 4%,

10 % Ongoing

64

- Participate & display

a good attitude in

class (2%)

65

4.7 LANC1026 English for Humanities II

Title of the course English for Humanities II

Course Code LANC1026

Credit hours 0

Teaching hours 6 (approximately 90 hours per semester)

Prerequisites LANC1025 unless a student is exempted as a result of the

beginning of year placement test

Equivalency None

Materials - World English 1: Student’s Book with Multimedia CD (Units

7-12)+ Workbook

- Class audio CD

- Workbook Audio CD

- Students’ Book DVD

- Graded readers

- ESL Listening LAB Website

Moodle website

Project Writing project – “Me and My World”

Vocabulary Project

Course description:

This course is for Arabic-medium students only. It is a course of 6 hours a week for 15 weeks

and bears no credits. It builds on the language skills covered in the first course (LANC1025).

The course aims to further develop the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and to

consolidate language structures and lexis at a pre-intermediate level. The course also

incorporates an independent learning project that fosters students' autonomous learning and

critical thinking. Throughout the course, students also have an opportunity to develop some

basic research skills. Independent work includes homework using Pre-Intermediate New

Headway Plus Workbook, the multimedia CD ROM as well as tasks supplied by the teacher.

In addition, students use online supplementary materials using Oxford University Press

Website “Headway online”. Also, a file containing work completed and class handouts are

maintained. Furthermore, students will do a writing project on their own with some

assistance from the instructor throughout the semester.

Course objectives:

Read and understand general reading texts at an upper-elementary level

Discuss and express opinions about a variety of topics

Produce written texts at paragraph level using appropriate structures

Understand and use a range of vocabulary covering different topics (e.g. shopping,

health, jobs, etc.)

Demonstrate understanding of spoken texts (dialogue and monologue)

Use grammatical structures at an upper-elementary level

Use a range of common social expressions in conversations

Give oral presentations

Develop basic research skills

66

Placement and Exemption procedures:

Students have to sit the Placement Test (PT)


Students placed in Level 3 and level 4 of the FPEL will take LANC 1026

Students placed in Level 5 of the FPEL and above will be exempted from LANC1025

and LANC1026

In cases of transfer from English-medium or bilingual programmes under university

regulations, students will be exempted from doing the two courses providing they have

reached proficiency level 4 of the FPEL or above.

In cases of transfer to English-medium or bilingual programmes under university

regulations, students will be required to re-sit the Placement Test (PT). In the case of

colleges which require Exit Level, the students will also be required to take the Exit

Test (ET).

Assessment

It is a combination of formative and summative testing events. Summative assessment is

outlined below:

Form of

Assessment

Related Objective(s) Criteria for assessment Percentage Time of

Assessme

nt

Mid-term

exam

- Read and

understand general

reading texts at and

upper-elementary

level

- Produce written

texts at paragraph

level using

appropriate

structures

- Understand and

use a range of

vocabulary

covering different

topics

- Demonstrate

understanding of

spoken texts

- Use grammatical

structures at an

upper-elementary

level

- Respond

appropriately to

questions on the

written text(s)

given

- Write short text(s)

on the topic(s)

given

- Use appropriate

vocabulary in the

task(s) given

- Respond

appropriately to

questions on the

oral text(s) given

- Use grammatical

structures in the

task(s) given

appropriately.

20 % Week 7

and week

14

Mini-

reading

- Read and

understand simple

- Respond

appropriately to

8%

67

quizzes texts. questions on the

mini reader given

Vocabulary

Quizzes

- Understand and

use basic

vocabulary

- Use appropriate

vocabulary in the

task(s) given

4%

Speaking

tests

- Take part in simple

discussions about

topics of general

interest.

- Speak on a topic

related to a reader.

- Describe a picture

5%

5%

Week 15

Independent

Learning

Project

- Develop basic

study skills.

- Produce simple

written texts using

appropriate

structures

- Understand and

use basic

vocabulary

- Demonstrate

understanding of

everyday

conversations

- Keep an online

journal

- Work on a

vocabulary project

- Do online listening

tasks

5%

4%

4%

Week 2 to

week 15

Final exam As in Progress Tests As in Mid-term exam 35 % Week 16

Teacher

Assessment

- Develop additional

study skills

- Maintain a

workbook and

doing homework

(3%)

- Keep a File (3%)

- Attend, participate

& display a good

attitude in class

(4%)

10 % Ongoing

68

5. Appendices

5.1 Glossary of terms

The aim of this list is to establish some uniformity in the way we define certain terms used

in the Language Centre. As we have teachers from many different backgrounds, with a

range of training and experience, it is important to ensure that we are all talking the same

language. For this reason, it was decided that a glossary of terms would be useful, so that we

can be sure that everyone has the same referential framework.

Accountability: A means of judging a programme by measuring their outcomes/results

against agreed upon standards.

Achievement test: Also known as an attainment test, refers to what extent our students

have been successful in achieving the curriculum outcomes in a given period of time.

Aptitude test: This refers to any instrument used to measure a person's potential to perform

well.

Argument: A set of topic-related ideas which are used to support a point of view.

Assessment: Any systematic method of obtaining information from tests and other sources

which is used to draw inferences about characteristics of people, programmes, performance,

etc. It has a broader application such as gathering all kinds of data about a course or about a

student’s performance. Subjective assessment is not based on a test. It is often used

interchangeably with testing. We use the narrow definition of assessment to refer to a test.

Assignment: The act of assigning a particular task / duty for a specified time (as in a course)

Bias: A situation that occurs in testing when items systematically measure differently for

different groups.

Cloze test or procedure: This refers to the deletion of words after the first sentence, for

example every 5th, 7th, 9th word. The c-test is a variant on the cloze test in which the

second half of every other word in a reading passage is deleted.

Coherence v. Cohesion: Coherence: A coherent piece of writing or stretch of speech, quite

simply holds together, is intelligible to reader or hearer, is marked by structure, semantic

consistency, and logical progression. But stretches of speech are not always intelligible

without the interlocutor being aware of the context of the utterances. Nor do they

necessarily have any signs to signal coherence. No doubt we can work out what is

happening in the following examples and assess them as coherent.

69

Examples:

A: Are you okay for tonight?

B: Sorry, I'm busy.

A: The phone's ringing!

B: I'm in the shower.

A: Did you catch the bus?

B: I met old Fred.

Coherence, for our purposes in the Language Centre, will refer to the ways a student

produces a stretch of speech which is intelligible and logical; and the same with a piece of

writing. We can perhaps see coherence on a macro level: we look at the text as a whole.

Coherence has to do with discourse. Sometimes students’ writing lacks coherence; it is

incoherent. This is a matter of thought processes and logic as much as language, but they do

need to see that there must be logical connections when writing. It is fun to present them

with a short paragraph which has a sentence, or even phrase, which is quite incoherent,

and see if they can spot it. An elementary example is the following, but teachers can easily

make up their own, with varying levels of difficulty:

Eg. Muscat is the capital of Oman and is situated on the coast. It is an old city, with two

famous forts, originally built by the Portuguese. Oranges grow mainly in warm countries,

but they need cold winters. Many of the old houses of the city have been renovated, and

some have been turned into museums.

Cohesion: We can see cohesion at the micro level. We look at features which have more to

do with grammar. We look at the relationships between parts of a sentence and

relationships between sentences.

Coherence and cohesion markers: The core, or aim of the writing courses in the FPEL

curriculum, is to help students learn how to produce a piece of writing based on:

description, comparison, sequence, exposition (cause and effect), argumentation, etc. In the

curriculum we call these rhetorical functions. Whole courses are built around the concept

of 'rhetoric' at some universities. Writing: a college handbook by James A.W. Hefferman et

al (New York: Norton), bases the book on the concept of rhetorical power - the acquisition

of which is the key to good writing.

What we are looking at now are those words or phrases which signal a rhetorical function,

for example, sequence - First…secondly…finally. These words are known variously as:

transitions, transitional words or phrases, signal words, connecting words, meaning links,

links, linkers, connectives, rhetorical devices, markers (of comparison and contrast, for

example), and connectors.

In the curriculum, we use the term discourse markers to capture the fact that, when

assessing student writing based on a rhetorical function over two or three paragraphs we

are assessing to what extent the language of that particular function has been used to

produce a coherent piece of writing.

Cohesive ties: Also known as cohesive devices. We shall use the term cohesive ties after

Halliday and Hasan (1976) who identify 5 major types of cohesive ties: reference,

substitution and ellipsis, conjunctions and lexical ties.

70

a) Reference:

Personal Pronouns:

Eg. Sarah went to the shops early. She was in a hurry because she had guests.

She ties the second to the first sentence and in referring back to Sarah (the referent) this

reference word is an example of anaphora or anaphoric reference.

Eg. They came out of the darkness, Big Jack, young Tom and old Martin.

The reference word they now points forward to the referents and so is an example of

cataphora or cataphoric reference. This is mainly used in fiction for dramatic effect.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Eg. 'That is the place I'd like to go to,' he said, pointing at a picture of Salalah.

b) Substitution and ellipsis.

Eg. Does he play tennis? - Yes, I think he does. (ellipsis)

Eg. The OHP is broken. I'll have to get a new one. (substitution)

c) Subordination and Conjunctions:

Non-restrictive relative clause. (We shall use this term rather than ‘non-defining clauses’)

Eg. The video, which was on a table in his office, was stolen over the weekend.

Restrictive relative clause. (Again, this term is used rather than ‘defining clauses’)

Eg. The students who did well got certificates.

d) Subordinators:

Time: The factory closed when the owner died.

Causality: Ahmed was happy because he got straight ‘A’s.

Concession and contrast: Although he was badly wounded, he rescued his comrade.

Purpose: He worked in the holidays so that he could buy a new car.

e) Lexical ties:

Lexical cohesion is a useful term for our work on the FPEL. Theme/topic in a reading text

is established by a succession of related terms or words, for example: doctor-illness-

medicine. Chains of such words are also known as collocation and establish cohesion in a

text. Other examples of lexical cohesion and collocation include the use of synonymy,

antonym and paraphrase. More familiar examples of collocation include such phrases as to go fishing, to play football, to do your homework. There are restrictions on the use of

alternative verbs in the preceding examples, hence the term semantic restriction: *to go

football, *to play fishing, *to make homework.

Competency: A group of characteristics native or acquired which indicate an individual's

ability to acquire skills in a given area.

Cooperative/Collaborative Learning: A teaching method in which students of differing

abilities work together on an assignment / task and each student has an equal responsibility

within the group to complete the task.

Criteria: Guidelines / rules / characteristics / dimensions used to judge the quality of student

performance. They may be holistic / analytical / general / specific.

71

Criterion-referenced test (CRT): This examines the knowledge of, or performance on, a

specific domain. For our purposes, the domain is the curriculum and the criteria are the set

of objectives in that curriculum. Thus we are asking: ‘Have our students achieved certain

objectives?’ (A driving test is a good example of a criterion-referenced test; can the learner

perform certain activities to a defined level of ability?) CRT differs from norm-referenced testing: in this procedure candidates are measured against the performance of their peer

group. Teachers often use a norm-referenced approach when correcting writing, (A’s is

better than B’s but not as good as C’s) but we want to develop criterion-referenced

procedures for all our tests. (A football league table is a good example of a norm-referenced

form of assessment; it tells us how teams compare with each other, but not how this year’s

champions would have fared against those of 20 years ago!)

Discourse: An old and well-used term in the English language, for example A Discourse on

the Evils of Tobacco; A Discourse Touching the Lives of Paupers in the Slums of 18th

Century Liverpool. A more recent example in a book review: The Elegant Universe by

Brian Greene…this discourse on the mysteries of space… (The Sunday Times. May 2001).

In all these examples, you could pick up a piece of writing between covers, look at this

writing and see a text. It all depends what you do with the text, how you treat it, what

critical devices you use to uncover its message. Once you look at the text as having a

persuasive or rhetorical function we are into discourse (and indeed Discourse Analysis and

more recently Critical Discourse Analysis have become minor industries).

Let us assume for sake of argument that text is a neutral medium; when we investigate that

text as a communicative act, then we are looking at that text as a piece of discourse.

It is unlikely that we need to go through the methodological procedure of the discourse

analyst by positing an addresser, a message and an addressee, and investigating who said

what to whom, when and how.

In the Language Centre we typically ask our students to write a text. We investigate the

discourse features of that text: is it coherent - are discourse markers in place to ensure that

coherence? Are cohesive ties in place to ensure relations within and between sentences?

We ask our students to read a text; we then (amongst other things) establish with them the

presence of discourse markers and cohesive ties. Obviously, the majority of our students do

not have the necessary English for us to differentiate between text and discourse; nor do

most of us have the Arabic. We suggest using the word text with our students and not

mention discourse.

Formative assessment: Sometimes called classroom or continuous assessment or teacher

assessment, it refers to the evaluation of a programme of instruction. This takes place

during/throughout the course/ semester and is ongoing. Different types of formative

assessment inform the teacher and the students about any adjustments to be made in the

teaching / learning strategies. This assessment provides feedback to students so they can

have opportunities to improve their learning or performance in the course. It is process-

based with a view to improving the programme, thus differing from summative assessment, which seeks to measure the success or achievement of a course at the end of a programme

of instruction. Examples of formative assessment include anything from written responses

(daily journal, class exercises, etc) to daily teacher's questioning for comprehension in a

class session.

72

Learning outcomes: These are clear and concise statements that specify what learners are

expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate by the time they exit the

FPEL.

Level: one of the six proficiency levels in the FPEL determined by a Placement Test given

at the beginning of an academic year.

Objectives: These describe specific, discrete units of knowledge and skills and can be

synonymous with tasks to be completed.

Phatic communication: The function of phatic communication is to establish interpersonal

relations rather than pass on information. We use expressions like 'Hot day again!' or ' The

end of another week.'

Portfolio: See pages 4-5.

Reformulation: This refers to the rewording of a student's writing by teacher or peer-group,

while keeping the original meaning of the student's work. Reformulation can be at the

lexical, syntactic or discourse levels and differs from simply correcting errors or mistakes,

i.e. reformulation is a more radical approach than mere correction.

Reliability: The degree to which the results of an assessment are dependable and

consistently measure particular knowledge / skills. In other words, it is an indication of

consistencies of scores across different tasks / items that measure the same thing.

Repair: This refers to the rephrasing of an utterance by the speaker or others in a

conversation in order to correct errors or mistakes or to establish greater clarity. The

speaker's rephrasing of his/her own utterance is known as self-repair.

Schema theory: This refers to the activating of background knowledge of our students prior

to, or as part of, any communicative activity. ‘Schema’ is singular; ‘schemata’ is plural.

Summative Assessment: This is usually done through standardized tests, exams,

assignments, etc. It summarizes the students' progress of learning at the end of a course and

contributes to the marks / grade for a module, course, level, degree, etc. It assesses the

achievement of students in the course. It checks on what students should be able to

demonstrate at designated times within the course and has some formality associated even

if the form of assessment is flexible. Summative assessments may range from traditional

tests / exams to responses in portfolios, assignments, debates, role playing, etc. In other

words, summative assessments measure how well the students have learned the key content

and skills as defined by the course objectives.

Social language: Language used in social situations. E.g. greet and introduce oneself, take

one’s leave, apologize and accept apologies, express gratitude.

Task: A set of related actions that are performed in a sequence in order to achieve a goal

within a defined period of time. Ideally it should reflect a real life task.

73

Test: A series of questions, problems, physical responses designed to determine knowledge /

intelligence / ability. The word 'tests' is used in the Summative Assessment Scheme to

denote a series of short tests / quizzes.

Testing Techniques or Test Method: The method used to present the examples to be tested,

for example, multiple choice, short answer, cloze and c-test.

Test Rubric: Also known as instructions: the information given to students to complete the

test items.

Text: A text is the written record of a speech, a sermon, a conversation.

e.g. The voters carefully studied the text of the Prime Minister's speech.

e.g. The judge found inconsistencies in the text of the prisoner's statement.

Text v. Discourse: There is little agreement in the literature as to what constitutes text and

what constitutes discourse and, by extension, how and when one differs from the other.

Text refers to novels, poems, essays, instructional books (textbooks).

e.g. The students were given a very difficult reading text to study.

e.g. The prescribed texts included Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter and Death of a Salesman.

Thinking skills: These are the building blocks of thinking. Some examples are observing,

recalling, ordering, comparing, evaluating, etc.

Turn: This refers to any reply to an utterance.

Turn-taking: A process whereby we signal to our listener he/she has 'permission' to reply.

Utterance: Anything said to a listener.

Validity: The extent to which an assessment measures what it is supposed to measure and

inferences made on the basis of the assessment are appropriate / accurate.

74

5.2 Best Practice

These guidelines have been prepared for all teachers at the Language Centre as to what

constitutes the ‘best practice’ to be followed in our classes. They are intended to initiate

new teachers into the way the teaching and learning of English should be approached, but

they will also act as a guide for all teachers and indicate to the outside world the underlying

approach we are adopting. The headings are the same as those used in the Lesson

Observation form, for ease of reference and simplicity. Please note that this is a general

guide to procedures; it is not an indication of what any one lesson should consist of.

Teachers need to be constantly aware of the change in educational climate that the

university represents for the students, in a move from a teacher-centred approach and

teacher as ‘provider’ to one that encourages the students to be more independent learners.

Better study skills – in the widest sense of the term – need to be encouraged and promoted

at all times.

In all kinds of lessons, the teacher generally adopts the view that students learn by

themselves, that tasks of a problem-solving nature are more productive than activities that

require repetition and mechanical practice. The ‘lockstep’ approach (all students doing the

same activity at the same time) should not be the norm; groups working on different tasks

and reporting/ comparing results can be used in all types of lessons. Teachers generally

ensure that language and language activities have some reference to the students’ own lives,

knowledge, experience, framework of reference, but at the same time expand their

cognitive horizons. The experience of learning English should, ideally, be a “complete”

learning experience, with new ideas, information, perspectives, and so on, as well as new

language items.

Lesson Quality

Objectives

Each lesson should have an objective(s) which is (are) transparent to an observer and to the

students.

Organization

Each lesson should have a clear organization, with activities/tasks in sequence, appropriate

variety, and a clear reference to appropriate learning outcomes. There is evidence of lesson

planning and of the sequence of lessons, in that one lesson follows on from another and

leads into the next. Teachers should show flexibility and judgment, and adjust to the

‘immediacy of the moment’, which may take them away from the lesson as planned.

Pacing

teachers should be sensitive to pacing

efficient use is made of the time available

a lively pace is maintained so that the lesson does not become slow, monotonous or

boring

no one activity takes up a disproportionate amount of time, there is some variety

within the lesson

75

Teaching aids

Teaching aids are used efficiently, and as appropriate to the needs/aims of the lesson (these

could include: realia, OHP, audio-visual materials, pictures, computers, the whiteboard,

books, etc.). The whiteboard serves as an outline/summary of what has been going on in the

lesson, so layout/writing should be clear.

Lesson Evaluation/Clarity of learning outcomes

There is some indication of what has been taught/learned in the lesson, with, for example, a

summary/conclusion, guidelines for extended work/homework, check on understanding,

reference to objectives, and so on.

Classroom Management

Seating is arranged so that the teacher can see/talk to/visit/monitor each student when

necessary. Students are put into appropriate learning groups to fit the nature of the activity,

i.e. individual work, pairs, small groups, whole class work, or combinations. These

procedures are clearly managed, so that students know exactly what they are doing, with

whom, how and why. The teacher is not static in the classroom, but moves to maximize

contact with/monitor students. There is interaction between the teacher and as many

different individuals as possible, not a ‘select few’. There is a smooth transition between

activities, with no ‘loose ends’. The teacher ensures that students are ‘on task’ and maintains

student involvement.

Teacher Talk

The teacher speaks clearly and at a speed which is appropriate to the level. The level of

language used is appropriate to the students' language level. Teacher talk is not dominant.

Instructions

Instructions are given clearly, with exemplification/demonstration where necessary, and

the students understand what is expected of them. The teacher checks understanding.

Presenting new language items

Contexts are clear and appropriate, and relate to the students’ experience/ knowledge. The

approach can be deductive (students are given rules and information and then apply them)

or inductive (students discover the rules from language data presented to them). Use of

other features, such as body language, gestures, tone, register, level of formality, are used to

reinforce language.

Elicitation

Elicitation, or activating schemata/background knowledge, can be conducted by the teacher

to the whole class, to groups or individuals, by group/whole class discussion/brainstorming.

Elicitation is used to determine what students know and what they can do, so that teacher

talk is not too long or dominant. However, there may need to be a balance between

elicitation and information-giving, so that students are not left unaware of what is going on

in the lesson.

Feedback

Teachers’ continuous support and feedback lead to students’ enthusiasm, motivation and

responsibility for their own learning. Collaboration between teachers and students should

be based on dialogue rather than merely pointing out the weak aspects of the student

ignoring the strengths. Ideally, feedback ought to be prompt, systematic and provide

76

clarification on how to improve learning in the future. In addition, the following

recommendations should be considered:

1. The frequency of feedback can be teacher-determined, negotiated or random,

taking into consideration the available time, and students’ workloads and schedules.

2. Comments should be confidential in the case of individual students.

3. Teacher feedback should not be a monologue, but rather part of a reflective

conversation

4. Using a web application can facilitate communication with students.

5. Guided peer or group reflective feedback sessions, and informal whole class

discussions in a friendly atmosphere, encourage honest reflections. Such feedback

sessions may be based on a particular task or skill.

Checking understanding

Teachers should not always assume that students understand, whether it is instructions,

explanations, ideas/concepts, etc. Some form of checking understanding should occur, from

‘concept questions’ to students re-phrasing instructions/new information, and so on.

Dealing with Errors

Errors need to be identified and given some attention, but this depends on the nature of the

error, the medium, the type/purpose of the class activity, and so on. In general, errors in

writing should be discovered by the students themselves, with the teacher’s help, and then

corrected by the students. Spontaneous speech errors can be pointed out using various

methods (ie. explicit correction, recast, clarification request, metalinguistic clues, elicitation

and repetition), but should be gently referred to when repeated.

Grammar

Grammar is acquired through appropriate practice, usually from more controlled to more

independent. Teachers can explain grammar, but the emphasis should be on appropriate

examples in a given context and relevant practice. Students should be encouraged to

produce (rather than imitate) accurate language samples. Grammar practice should cover

form, meaning and usage.

Reading

If the lesson concentrates on developing reading skills, then the students should be doing

all the work; a pre-reading, reading, post-reading structure is preferred. Silent reading skills

to extract relevant information are the main emphasis. If the teacher reads aloud

occasionally; it is to reinforce what the students have read; if the student reads aloud; it is to

indicate where required information is found in the text or as a final reinforcement, but not

as an initial step. If students do read aloud they should have previously interacted with the

text in some way, either with the teacher’s guidance or by reading and preparing the text

out of class, so that they understand what it is about; there should be a purpose to their

reading aloud, e.g. the other students are listening for information, for ‘sentence

boundaries’, for factual or pronunciation mistakes, etc.

Writing

If the focus is on developing writing skills, then a process view is generally adopted,

whereby some form of brainstorming of ideas/relevant vocabulary leads into a first draft,

with self/peer/teacher correction leading to a final draft for assessment. As writing is the

one skill where accuracy is at a premium, there needs to be sufficient attention paid to

accuracy, involving students as much as possible through peer correction, OHT examples of

77

errors for group/class discussion, etc. There should be some feedback to the students on

their work – their areas of strength and weakness – so that they know what to concentrate

on. Students need to be encouraged to write as much as possible, and not just for teacher

assessment, but journal writing and other personal writing activities are to be encouraged.

Speaking

Students should be given appropriate group/pair speaking tasks to develop confidence and

fluency, with accuracy considered as a follow-up activity. Attention has to be paid to

pronunciation (including phonemes/clusters/stress/ intonation), at all stages, and on a

regular basis (perhaps incidentally as a result of class activities), with suitable models and

appropriate practice. Presentations, from informal, spontaneous 1-minute talks to longer,

prepared academic talks, are to be encouraged, but memorization and ‘recitation’ should be

discouraged.

Listening

The primary model for listening is the teacher, but other examples from CDs and videos are

needed to supplement this, so every opportunity should be taken to provide this. Listening

tasks need not be only those elements of a course book entitled ‘Listening’; teachers can

carry out many kinds of spontaneous, unprepared mini-listening activities to promote

listening skills, and so on.

Student talking time

Students need to be given as much opportunity for ‘talking time’ as possible, although this

will of course depend on the nature of the lesson/activity.

Patterns of interaction

Teachers should choose an appropriate form of interaction (pair, group, whole class) for the

task in hand.

Problem-solving v. mechanical practice

Student participation should reflect both approaches, but the primary route to learning is

through the former, which should therefore receive the emphasis.

Level of student involvement

The teacher has the responsibility of ensuring that all students are involved in the lesson,

and should adopt any necessary monitoring, feedback, guiding measures to promote this.

Affective elements

This is the area which is perhaps the most important of all, but the most difficult to describe

and assess. What we aim to see in our classrooms is, ideally, students interested, motivated,

involved, ready to do more than the teacher or textbook requires of them, an atmosphere of

trust and mutual respect, a supportive, co-operative, serious, yet friendly atmosphere.

Finally, after every lesson, it is worth asking oneself these questions: What did the students

learn or achieve in that lesson? How do I know? If I had been a student in that class, would

I have enjoyed it?

78

5.3 Procedures & Policies

The following list of points is to help ensure that the teaching/learning of the FPEL is

conducted as smoothly and effectively as possible. It is important that all teachers and

students follow these guidelines.

Points for Teachers

Teaching hours: Teachers’ contracts stipulate 18 contact hours per week. There can be a

reduction of this teaching load for certain reasons: programme or course co-ordination,

membership of the Curriculum or Testing Unit, etc., or for any other specified

developmental work. In addition, teachers are expected to maintain 8 consultation hours

per week; which is time spent to enable students to come for individual consultation, or for

the normal preparation/marking of work. The hours that the university expects of its

academic staff are from 8 to 1, an hour for lunch from 1 to 2, and then from 2 to 4.

Teachers may begin work later if they are scheduled to teach a late afternoon class between

4 and 6. If teachers have completed their assigned teaching and office hours for the day and

wish to do work at home, they may do so with the permission of their Course Coordinator.

Teachers should make sure their whereabouts are known, by putting their timetable on

their door (showing teaching and office hours), and by leaving a note if they are out of their

office for other reasons.

Teacher Profile: Teachers are required to maintain their own Teacher profile, which is

simply an objective record of their contribution to the work of the Language Centre. This

document lists the teaching record of each teacher at the LC, and also indicates areas in

which they have contributed. It can act as a useful reference document at the end of a

teacher’s stay at the university.

Teacher Observation: Newly-appointed teachers are observed once or twice in their first

semester by the Director or a Deputy Director. More information on these observations can

be found in the LC Staff Handbook. Teachers are also encouraged to request observations

by their CC or other staff for professional development purposes.

Classes and Classrooms: Teachers are assigned to a programme when they first arrive on

the basis of need, but previous experience and expertise are taken into account as much as

possible. Thereafter, teachers may be moved to another programme or may stay within the

same programme, perhaps moving up a level with their classes or staying at the same level.

At the end of each teaching block, teachers are asked to state their preferences for the

following semester. Account is taken of individual preferences, but the LC cannot

guarantee that teachers will be moved to their first choice. Students often put teachers

under pressure to change either the class time or the classroom, mainly because they do not

want to have afternoon classes on a Wednesday. Teachers must resist this pressure, and

should on no account unilaterally change their timetable. Even if students insist there is a

room free at a more convenient time, teachers must not change their timetable. Requests

can be made to the Course Coordinator who will decide if this is possible. No timetable

change is allowed without permission from Admissions & Registration.

79

Student Profiles: At the end of each course, teachers may be required to submit a ‘Student

Profile’ for certain students in their class(es). This provides a record of each student’s

progress through the FPEL that a student, or any teacher or Course Coordinator, or

University administrator, can access. This provides an objective record of a student’s scores

in exams and their classroom performance, plus any subjective comments that a teacher

may wish to add. Your CC will provide details.

General Behaviour Points: Teachers are expected to be on time for classes and to keep to

the required amount of time; i.e. if the class consists of a 50 minute lesson, then the lesson

should be 50 minutes, and if there are two consecutive lessons, then it is possible to forego

the break between classes and finish after 100 minutes, i.e. from 8.00 – 9.40. Teachers are

expected to dress in an ‘appropriate’ manner (further details are available in the LC

handbook on ‘Living and Working in Oman’) and to conduct themselves with professional

dignity. Teachers will vary in the kind of relationship they have with their students, but

most will find the students to be friendly, polite and respectful. It is sensible to avoid

controversial matters in the classroom, especially those related to religion and politics.

Points for Students

Attendance (currently under review - any revisions to the current policy will be

contained in supplementary documentation and the online version of the FPEL curriculum

document): Class participation and attendance are important elements of every student's

learning experience at SQU. Students in the FP are expected to attend all their classes.

Keeping track of the student's attendance and observation of the student's performance in

class are the responsibilities of the instructor. If a student fails to attend a class for whatever

reason, his/her absence will be recorded and the student will be held responsible for any

consequences resulting from his/her absence.

When a student has been absent for 5% or more of the course, s/he will be issued with a

Warning notice issued by his teacher and countersigned by the Programme/Course

Coordinator and the Student Affairs Officer (SAO). Should the student continue to record

further absences, s/he will be required to meet with the LC SAO for counselling.

A student in the FP may not miss more than 10% of the total hours of any course in a

semester irrespective of the reason for his/her absence. This 10% allows the student to be

absent without serious penalty for periodic illness (such as colds and flu) and the occasional

urgent or unforeseen situation. The student is not granted extra hours in lieu of such

absences. If a student exceeds this 10% limit, he/she will be issued with a Failure notice

and barred from the course. The student’s grade will be entered as FW (later to be

converted to an F) and any penalties arising from this FW/F grade will apply. If a quiz,

examination or continuous assessment event is held during a student’s absence and the

student is able to produce an official document that proves the reason for his/her absence,

the student will be given an opportunity to do the make-up quiz, examination, assessment

task upon his/her return. The Language Centre has the right to reject any document of

questionable reliability.

In certain circumstances, a student may be excused for absences of between 10% and 20%

of the total course hours. These circumstances include:

a) admission to hospital for extended, inpatient treatment

80

b) the death of a close family member [grandmother/grandfather, (step)mother /

(step)father, brother / sister, son / daughter, uncle / aunt]

c) the final stage of pregnancy and birth of own child

d) emergency circumstances which the LC Director recognizes as requiring extended

absence. The reasons for such absences are subject to review by the Language

Centre.

Students who fall into one of the above four categories and who miss more than 20% of

classes in a course will be required to withdraw from that course. Such students will be

exempted from the penalties associated with an FW/F and may repeat the course when the

students’ circumstances allow. A Failure notice may be withdrawn on recognition of any of

the situations listed in (a) to (d) above. However, if a Failure notice is issued a second time,

this notice cannot be rescinded.

The following rules are applied in determining attendance of the students:

1. If a student attends only a part of a class, the instructor determines whether he/she

is considered present or absent for that day based on the FP policy regarding

lateness.

2. Attendance records in the FP begin on the first official day of classes irrespective of

any period allotted to late registration.

3. Mass absences – when some students put pressure on other students to get

agreement on the whole class missing a class on a certain day – will be recorded by

the instructor.

4. If an instructor reschedules a class, the new timing must be suitable and agreed

upon in writing by all students; otherwise, instructors cannot hold a student

responsible for not meeting the attendance requirement.

5. If classes for a course are cancelled during a semester by the SQU or FP

Administration and not rescheduled, no student in that course will be recorded

absent from those classes.

Lateness policy: The following lateness policy is enforced at the Language Centre, effective

fall 2012: Students coming to class within the first ten minutes will be marked late. If a

student comes to class late three times, s/he will be marked absent for one hour.

1. Students coming to class after the first ten minutes will be marked absent for one

hour and will be allowed to attend the class if they choose to do that.

2. Students coming to class after the first thirty minutes will be marked absent for two

hours and may not be allowed to attend the class.

Collaborative Work: In some cases, it is helpful for students to work together, share ideas,

and produce a joint project, for example, but teachers should try and spot when students

have copied from one another, especially with more mechanical exercises. Some will try

and find the shortest route to a particular objective, and this may not entail any of their

own work or effort!

Classroom Behavior: Further details are available in the LC handbook on ‘Living and

Working in Oman’ mentioned above, but teachers who may be new to Oman should note

the following: in general, students here are co-operative, respectful, friendly, and eager to

learn, but sometimes problems arise. The male students are more boisterous, and an all

male class can be a handful. The girls tend to work harder and be more organized. The

classroom arrangement is normally boys at the front, girls at the back, with little contact

between them, although some teachers persuade them to sit boys on one side, girls on the

81

other, which is much better. Group activities are normally conducted in single sex groups.

Students are generally quite forthcoming in the classroom, so often there will be many

responses to open elicitation, not all of which may be accurate. If a teacher wants a clear

answer, it is best to nominate a specific student.

Study Skills: As has been mentioned earlier in this document, these tend to be poorly

developed in the students when they first come to SQU, so teachers need to keep reminding

them to organize their work, maintain portfolios, do homework on time, and so on. Many

students retain the habit of writing in the textbooks, usually with an Arabic equivalent over

the English word, but this should be discouraged and students need to be shown alternative

ways of recording and maintaining a vocabulary log.

82

5.4 Pedagogic Information and Guidelines

Introduction

The Language Centre accepts that there is considerable variation in the way that teachers

like to teach, and also in the way that learners like to learn, as will be seen in the next

section. We would regard the teaching/learning complex as a whole, and see methodology

as a means of trying to ensure that students reach as high a standard of achievement as

possible, in the time, and with the resources that are available. We do not advocate a

particular approach to classroom teaching, although with an increasingly wide range of

professional and training backgrounds among our teaching staff, we do need to ensure that

some common standards of teacher and learner behavior are being met. The ‘Best Practice’

document given in Appendix 5.3 gives a summary of the kind of activities we would like to

see going on in the classrooms in the FPEL.

At present, the main delivery mode for our courses is the conventional classroom setting,

with one teacher and around 20 students. Students have 18 contact hours of English per

week in this setting. In addition, they are expected to attend other FP courses and do work

on their own, making use of computer labs, of teachers’ office hours, the reading room

resources, and carrying out the normal homework/assignment tasks set by the teachers.

With an increasing use of computer-delivered learning materials and accompanying tasks,

accessed by students from a range of venues around the campus or outside, this pattern may

well change. Also, with varying class sizes according to the type of language skill being

practiced, for example, smaller groups for speaking and writing skills, this dominant

learning mode will no doubt change.

Thus, for the present, teachers and students alike normally have classroom contact for four

hours per day. In this context, we would like to stress the following aspects of the

teaching/learning of English:

Student motivation

Students are motivated by a range of factors, some internal and some external, but it is

clear that the teacher, and the way that he or she presents learning materials to the class,

encourages practice and study, and provides personal support and encouragement to

individuals, can have an influence on the motivation of students. A common complaint

from students is that lessons or academic materials are ‘boring’, which may be a cover for all

kinds of hidden emotions and attitudes, but which teachers need to be aware of. We have

tried to select materials which are stimulating to the students and which generally widen

their knowledge horizons as well as develop their English language skills, but it is not

possible to ensure that all students have the same level of interest. Therefore, the teachers

have a certain responsibility to try and maintain a level of student interest and to provide

sufficient variety in their lessons and procedures to help sustain motivation in the

classroom.

83

Variety

As indicated, we would encourage teachers to provide variety in the classroom, of activity

types, of modes of presentation, of informal assessment procedures, of extra support

material, and so on, to maintain interest and to stimulate the students. The curriculum

document is comprehensive, and together with the learning materials provided, furnishes a

rich educational resource which teachers will interpret in slightly different ways, so we

would encourage teachers to show initiative in sharing their teaching ideas with colleagues

and with their CC to continually develop the curriculum.

Differences in proficiency levels

Generally speaking, the lower the level of competence of the students, the more they need

the presence and support of the teacher. Thus, we would expect teachers at the lower

proficiency levels to create an active, positive classroom, with a variety of activities,

learning modes and focus on different skills, whereas at the higher levels lessons may be

more focused on one skill with more time spent on students’ individual work. Students at

the lower levels need to develop all skills, but there will be an emphasis on communication

skills and on confidence-building in using English.

84

5.5 Extracts from Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) document

for General Foundation Programs

6.2.3 Taking Notes

a) Recall and define main concepts.

b) Utilize abbreviations and symbols.

c) Use English rather than Arabic for notes in margins and glossing vocabulary.

d) Extract and record key information (the gist) from a written or spoken source based on

own interpretation of information.

e) Adopt a note-taking strategy (e.g. Cornell system; mind mapping).

f) Support key points with relevant additional details.

g) Organise information to enable quick reference at a later date.

h) Date one’s notes.

i) Use notes to create a summary.

j) Reproduce key information and supporting details from notes in one’s own words.

k) Sort out information and reject irrelevant pieces.

6.2.4 Giving Presentations

a) Outline and define main concepts.

b) Address questions from the audience.

c) Plan and conduct a presentation based on information from written material, interviews,

surveys, etc.

d) Speak in a clearly audible and well paced voice.

e) Follow a presentation format.

f) Use presentation language (discourse markers etc.).

g) Achieve the key aim of informing the audience.

h) Make use of audio/visual aids when giving oral presentations.

i) Tailor content and language to the level of the audience.

j) Maintain some eye contact with audience.

k) Speak from notes in front of an audience using index cards.

l) Observe time restrictions in presentations.

m) Organise and present information in a logical order at a comprehensible speed.

n) Invite constructive feedback and self-evaluate the presentation.

85

5.6 Guidelines for Materials Development and Use

Below are some guidelines to facilitate the development and production of core and

supplementary material for the FPEL.

Readability of texts

What distinguishes the level of difficulty of work from level to level is often the nature of

the reading texts that students have to deal with. The following notes give some general

guidelines on this, with first a reference to levels of difficulty in terms of readers, using the

levels of the Longman / Penguin Readers as a rough guide. This is only an approximation

but it suggests the levels that students should be able to cope with on their own when doing

outside extensive reading. (The table on page 83 indicates approximate equivalents of levels

for the different series of readers.) The second pointer is a Reading Index, based on the

Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, both of which are accessible on

Microsoft Word so are easy to use. The first is based on the number of syllables per word

and the average number of words per sentence, and gives a ‘score’ - the higher the number,

the greater the number of people who can understand it: ‘standard writing’ averages 60 –

70. The second uses a similar measure and indicates a grade-school level, so Grade 8 means

that an 8th grader in an American school would understand it.

The above paragraph scored 49.6 and Grade 12 on the above scales. They are only

approximate measures but can give a guide, especially for texts used for exams. However,

we know that the difficulty of a reading text depends upon many other factors over and

above the rather mechanistic features of sentence/word length, including propositional

content, lexical density, shared knowledge/assumptions between writer and reader, the

cultural knowledge/values implicit in a text, and so on, as well as other linguistic features

such as clause embedding which can make texts difficult to unravel. So, these measures are

to be taken as rough guides only.

The following two paragraphs are taken from a Level 2 test and scored 68.7 and Grade 7.6

on the two scales, so they do indicate a generally lower level of difficulty:

The first kind of air transportation was not a plane but a balloon. People traveled by balloon more than a century before there were planes or jet aircraft. Those early days of ballooning were exciting, but they were also dangerous. Sometimes the balloons fell suddenly or burned up. However, the dangers of ballooning did not stop the balloonists.

The first real balloon flight was in France in 1783 when two Frenchmen, the Montgolfier brothers, filled a very large paper bag with hot air which went up over 300 meters in the sky. Their invention was based on the idea that hot air is lighter than cold air, so it goes up.

The next paragraph scored 96 and Grade 3 on the two scales:

Once upon a time, there were three bears. They lived in a little house in a wood. One day, they all went for a walk to a distant part of the wood. While they were out, a little girl came to their house. She had never been to that part of the wood before. She went up to

86

the house and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so she opened the door and went in. She saw a large table in the middle of the room and on the table there were three bowls of porridge. She was hungry after her walk, so she started to eat the porridge in the biggest bowl. It was too hot. She then tried the porridge in the smallest bowl, but that was too cold. So she started to eat the porridge in the medium-sized bowl, and that was just right, not too hot and not too cold.

The suggestion is that these measures can give a guide as to relative levels of difficulty, so

that for example, the readability scores for students placed at the second proficiency level of

the LC Placement Test would be around 90 – 80 and Grade 4/5, whereas at level 6 the

scores might be around 60 – 55 and Grade 10/11; however, we should repeat that this is

only a very approximate guide and should not be considered an absolute measure.

Copyright policy

An increasing number of language centre courses use in-house teaching material either in

the form of handouts or entire textbooks. The laws regarding copyright matters in Oman

have not been fully articulated to the Language Centre’s staff in the past, but the Sultanate’s

recent enrolment in the World’s Trade Organization has prompted some changes which

will require more stringent practice from now on.

Below are certain guidelines to observe when using material from other sources:

A simple rule of thumb is not to use material that is intended specifically for ESL/EFL use

(i.e. English language textbooks and supplementary teaching material) without written

permission from the publisher, since this directly conflicts with the economic interests of

the copyright holders of this material. If a certain textbook is out of print, you should first

contact the publisher to determine whether they are willing to make the material available

for purchase before reproducing the material.

Material in the public domain (i.e. government documents or material old enough to be in

the public domain) can be used, but you should always acknowledge the original source of

the information in your material. In addition, any material that is made available through

news sources (newspapers, magazines, TV and radio news broadcasts, etc.) can also be used

for educational purposes as long as you cite the sources.

If any of our in-house material contains obvious copyright violations, it is the responsibility

of the Course Coordinator and the materials writer to correct the situation.

The material referred to in the guidelines above includes paper and electronic texts, audio

and video material as well as pictures and photographs.

For more information on Oman’s copyright laws visit the Ministry of Commerce and

Industry website at: http://www.mocioman.gov.om.

87

Target vocabulary

As mentioned earlier in the “General Information” section, the FPEL places a great

emphasis on the acquisition of vocabulary. The CU formed a team of teachers whose

responsibility was to identify the most frequent and useful vocabulary for students in this

context and establish vocabulary lists and sub-lists that can then be used for learning,

teaching and assessment. The vocabulary team has managed to establish sub-lists for all six

levels of the intensive programme. These lists along with the rationale appear on the next

pages. A tremendous amount of work and effort has been put into this project so it is hoped

that the teachers and materials writers will take advantage of this resource to help the

students learn English more effectively and efficiently. A wide range of online vocabulary

activities have been developed for vocabulary sub-lists for the first four proficiency levels of

the FPEL.

The role of vocabulary in language acquisition

There is increasing evidence that vocabulary plays a major role in facilitating the language

acquisition process. Ignorance of word meanings has been identified as the major obstacle

to the ability to communicate effectively and comfortably in the target language. In some

situations, there are shared vocabulary items between the first and second languages,

making it easier for the second language learner to acquire the vocabulary of that language.

However, in our EFL context, a common vocabulary basis is very limited between English

and Arabic. In addition, students’ exposure to English is confined to the classroom and

therefore they do not get a lot of opportunities for practice and input outside the classroom.

Furthermore, the role of vocabulary goes beyond reading to impact competency in all the

other skills. For these reasons, explicit vocabulary instruction should be a major element of

any preparatory language programme, be it intensive or credit.

What does it mean to know a word?

Knowing a word can take three different forms, namely word form, meaning, and use. Each

of these three levels can be further categorized into receptive and productive knowledge.

What counts as a word?

According to Paul Nation (2001) in his book Learning Vocabulary in Another Language,

there are four ways for deciding what counts as a word:

Tokens (or running words): Each word is counted as a word even if it is repeated.

Types (or different words): Each word is counted once only. Repeated words are not

counted twice.

Lemmas (or head words): Headwords with their inflected and reduced forms. Inflections in

English are: third person ‘s’, past tense, plural ‘s’, past participle, -ing, comparative and

88

superlative, and possessive ‘s’. Counting words based on lemmas reduces the number of

words in the corpus considerably. However, there are many things to bear in mind when

using lemmas as the unit of counting:

how will the regular nouns and verbs be treated (e.g. mice, taught, spoken, etc).

how will words with the same spelling but different part of speech be used (e.g.

original, display, present, etc).

what should be the headword, the base form or the most frequent form of the

word?

Word families: Word families include words used with other affixes such as –ly and –ness.

A word family consists of a headword, its inflected forms, and its closely related derived

forms. However, one major concern here is what should be included in the word family

and what should not. In addition, derived forms are learned gradually and it would

therefore be irrational to include all the derivations and teach them all at the same time.

Therefore, we might want to classify the words according to their difficulty and frequency

and introduce the more frequent ones first.

What and how many words should be considered as high frequency?

It is estimated that native speakers acquire 1000 words every year in their early years. This

includes both content and function words like a, an, some, while, when, because, to, from,

etc. In his plenary speech at the Language Centre’s 5th ELT Conference April, 2005, Dr

Eddie William gave the following statistics about the relationship between the number of

words one knows and their representation or coverage in texts.

Number of words Coverage 1, 000 71% (one word in every five words will be

unknown) 2, 000 79.7% 3, 000 84% 4, 000 86.8% 6, 000 88.7% 7, 000 89.9%

What are the common high frequency vocabulary lists?

There are three major vocabulary lists:

Common high frequency vocabulary lists List name Author Word count Description Examples General

Service List

(GSL)

Michael West (1953) John Bauman

and Brent

Culligan (1995)

2284 words Headwords, used

as a basis for

graded readers,

New, any, day,

also, own, sign,

call, another, etc

89

Academic

word List

(AWL)

Coxhead (1998)

in New Zealand

570 words

These are semi-

technical words

that are not in the

2,000 words. Not

restricted to a

specific

discipline.

Approach,

authority, data,

role, specific,

variables, issue,

legal, facilitate,

fundamental, etc

University

Word List

(UWL)

Xue and Nation

(1984)

808 words These are

advanced words. Alternative,

context, achieve,

abandon,

transmit, inhibit,

absorb, fallacy,

finite, etc

90

Why develop a common vocabulary list?

Having a common vocabulary list helps achieve several goals:

some words are more useful and common than others and thus should be part of

any effective language teaching programme.

being able to know and use the most frequent and useful words allows the learner

to use the language more meaningfully and effectively.

having a common list makes the coverage of the items in materials writing, teaching

and assessment more effective.

these words are so important and therefore all extra attention paid to them in the

curriculum can be justified for their frequency, coverage, and range.

Introduction to the Language Centre’s word lists

The creation of the vocabulary lists went through a number of stages. The purpose of

creating a vocabulary inventory for the Language Centre was to direct the students’

acquisition of vocabulary by identifying the most frequent and useful words relevant to

their context and study requirements. Instead of simply basing our lists on existing

international lists that were created for a certain audience and context, we devised our own

selection criteria in order to produce practical and meaningful lists in a scientific way. The

teaching experiences of the members of the vocabulary project group and also feedback

from other staff members played a very important role in including and excluding certain

words. The development of these underwent several stages some of which are listed below:

Choosing words for the initial word list: This was based on a set of criteria.

Choosing word forms: The word list and sub-lists were not solely based on head words. As a

rule, where the GSL list included both verb and noun forms of a particular lexical item (e.g.,

behave/behaviour, connect/connection, discover/discovery, discuss/discussion,

know/knowledge), the verb form was included in the Level 2 sub-list and the noun in Level

3 (with a few exceptions such as direct/direction and educate/education, where it was felt

that both forms were of immediate relevance). This was true also for adjective/noun pairs

(difficult[2]/difficulty[3], dirty[2]/dirt[3], healthy[2]/health[3], honest[2]/honesty[3],

hungry[2]/hunger[3], etc.). The rationale for this was that everything could not be learned

at once in Level 2, the verbs were more important and the adjectives more easily used, and

when the noun forms were encountered in Level 3 it would be a good chance to revisit and

remember the verbs and adjectives learned in Level 2.

Choosing words for teaching and testing: For each level and for practical reasons, we had to

create a sub-list of words that could be reasonably taught and tested in the classroom. If a

word or a word form appears 6 to 8 times or more in the three corpora combined it is in

bold.

91

Creating a list of known words: this includes the words which are assumed to be known by

the majority of the students upon admission to SQU. This list will be further refined based

on feedback from future diagnostic vocabulary tests.

The following criteria were developed for including and excluding certain words in or from

our lists despite their existence or non-existence in the GSL and AWL:

Inclusion criteria

Some of the words for colours were included

Although GSL formed the base list for the selection and choice of words, some of

them which are not in the GSL are also included, because of their high frequency

and because, they met the requirement of the selection criteria, e.g, "did", "does"

Words with a frequency of 6 and more in the corpus have found place in the list.

Generally speaking, only the base form of a verb or a noun is included and not the

derivatives and the inflected forms E.g. 'explain' is in the list but not 'explained',

'bear' is in but not 'bearable'. 'book' is included but not 'books' Some of the

derivatives are included because of their very high frequency

Words that appear in certain level do not normally appear in the higher level list(s)

Exclusion criteria

Any word which appears in one list does not appear in any other list

Words for months, days, numbers, professions do not appear in the lists

The comparative and superlative forms of regular adjectives and adverbs are not

included

Learning the vocabulary lists

The main purpose of creating these vocabulary lists is to enable the students acquire the

most frequent vocabulary items in English. The words in these lists came from a corpus

analysis. The corpus for each level was composed of texts from three main sources:

The teaching material for the level

A selection of graded readers used in the level

SRA boxes

It is therefore vitally important that the students are encouraged to read English texts

especially graded readers and SRA cards.

Below is a detailed description of an approach suggested by the vocabulary team to help

Language Centre teachers address vocabulary in their classrooms. The approach was based

on the work by Paul Nation.

92

The four strand approach:

Goal: To balance the 4 strands evenly across the entire programme, meaning that each of

the four separate skill classes in all five levels should contain a vocabulary-focus component

which includes three of the four strands woven into the methodology, syllabus, and course

materials.

THE four STRANDS:

1) Comprehensible Meaning-Focused Input

vocabulary through listening and reading activities (works best when there is 95%

coverage; cannot work when there are too many unknown words; graded readers,

dictogloss, communication activities)

2) Language Form-Focused Learning

direct teaching and study of vocabulary (vocabulary flashcards, vocabulary

notebooks, dictionary exercises, lists, quizzes, online exercises, CALL, reading

difficult texts, etc.)

3) Meaning-Focused Output

speaking and writing focus on vocabulary development (communication activities,

discovery learning, inter- and intra-group interactions, research-based

presentations and writing)

4) Fluency Development

working with vocabulary already known (not new words – without this, new gains

are quickly lost; review games, repeated reading, speed reading, below-level graded

readers, 10-minute writing)

93

The Essential Rubric

PROGRAMME

LEVEL

LANGUAGE

SKILL

STRANDS

TRIAD

ACTIVITIES/

TECHNIQUES

TIME

REQUIRED

MEANING-FOCUSED

INPUT

Reading

Listening

FORM-FOCUSED

LEARNING

Reading

Listening

Writing

Speaking

MEANING-FOCUSED

OUTPUT

Writing

Speaking

FLUENCY DEVELOPMENT

Reading

Listening

Writing

Speaking

94

READING

Meaning-Focused Input

Form-Focused Learning

Fluency Development

LISTENING

Meaning-Focused Input


Fluency Development

WRITING

Meaning-Focused Output


Fluency Development

SPEAKING

Meaning-Focused Output


Fluency Development

95

Vocabulary teaching plan for all proficiency levels

Skill

Strand

Activity

Time

Listening

Meaning-Focused

Input

Dictate words (wds), students (ss) sort

them into meaning categories using

dictionary. Title can be given or not

given by the teacher (T). E.g. Divide 12

wds into 3 categories. chair, lunch, town,

class, city, dinner, table, coffee,

breakfast, cup, country, tea.

2-3 mins

Form-Focused

Learning

Dictate a selection of wds that share the

same sounds, but may be spelt according

to different rules, E.g. date, great, wait,

eight etc

2 mins

+

feedback

Fluency

Development

Use only known wds and grammatical

features and preferably familiar content

knowledge. Allow ss to control the task

and help them to plan. Ss should be

interested in the message they are

sending or receiving, time pressure,

competition (with own earlier

performance or with others, or

opportunity to repeat a task.

Listening for several minutes.

May vary

Reading

Meaning-Focused

Input

Identifying lexical chains by e.g.

underlining or circling associated wds. Ss

then identify the type of relationship

between wds in chain such as

collocations, synonyms, antonyms,

hyponyms and their super-ordinates e.g,

collocations –shed skin, fish scale,

synonyms- found, discovered, antonyms

– harmless, dangerous, hyponyms snake,

python and its super-ordinate - reptile

5-7 mins

Form-Focused

Learning

Ss find wds in a text that are derivatives.

E.g., Find three wds in the text that are

derived from “sense” etc.

4 mins

+

feedback

Fluency

Development










Reading texts several hundred wds long.

96

Writing

Meaning-Focused

Output

Provide definitions, synonyms or L1

translations of the targeted wds and ask

ss to find the wds in the text that match

10 mins

Form-Focused

Learning

Ss write wds ending in a Schwa. E.g.,

mother, powder, father etc.

Give wds which share the same spelling

features but may be pronounced

differently, e.g. guess, magic, gym, gift

2-3 mins

+

feedback

Fluency

Development










Writing texts several hundred wds long.

May vary

Speaking

Meaning-Focused

Output

Ss construct a story from the list, either

choose 12 from 20 wds or use next word

on the word list to continue the story

10 mins

Form-Focused

Learning

Give wds which share the same spelling

features but may be pronounced

differently, e.g. guess, magic, gym, gift

2-3 mins

+

feedback

Fluency-

Development










Speaking for several minutes.

May vary

97

5.7 Function Words and Word Sub-Lists

Words assumed to be known by the majority of students upon admission to SQU

absent accident address afternoon all And Angry animal answer ask baby bad bag ball bank Be beach beautiful bed bedroom begin big black boat Book Book bottle box boy bread breakfast brother bus can (n) cap capital car Cat chair city classroom clock

close clothes coast coffee cold college colour/color come computer cook country cup cut day desert desk dictionary different difficult dinner do doctor dollar door draw dress drink each easy eat electric email evening exam exercise fail family father fine finish fish floor

flower food football friend funny game garage get girl give go

god good green had hand happy have he hello here history holiday holy Quran home homework hospital hot hotel house I ill it kilogram kilometre knife know lesson library like look at

lunch made make man many married million mistake money month morning mother mountain music my name new newspaper night no notebook now number oil old one open or page paper pen pencil people photo picture play please police pray question radio read

ready red restaurant river road room run said same sandal school science sea see she ship shop shower sick sir sister sit sleep small smile some something sorry speak spell stand stop story street student study summer sun table take talk taxi

98

tea teach teacher telephone test thank you thing think

time timetable today tomorrow tree understand university village

vowel walk wall want wash watch (v, n) water way (road)

we week weekend white window woman word write

wrong year yes yesterday you

FUNCTION words for Levels 1-2

a about after again ago also always an another any anybody/anyone anything as at away back because before between both but by can did does don't down every everybody/everyone everything everywhere

far few first for from her his how if in in front of into its more than much near never next to nobody/no one not nothing nowhere of off often on only other our out of so

somebody/someone sometimes somewhere that the their them then there these they this those to too under until up usually very what when where which who whose why will with without your

99

FUNCTION words for Level 3

above against almost along already although among around behind below beside during either else however inside just less

may maybe might mine most must neither none nor outside over per probably quite rather seldom several should

since somehow still such as therefore though through toward unless whatever whereas whether while within yet

SUBLIST for Levels 1- 2

age agree air alone arm aunt average back bath be beat bird blood blue body break bring brown build busy

buy call captain carry centre chance change chapter cheap child circle class clean clear clever cloud collect company complete compound

copy correct cost course cousin cover cry dance dark date daughter dead dear death deep department detective die direct discuss

disk drive dry ear early earth east education egg email empty end enjoy enough enter example expensive experience experiment extra

eye face factor factory fall fan farm fast fat feel fill finance find finger fire flat follow foot forget free

100

fresh fruit full future garden gas gate general gold grass great grey group grow hair handwriting hard hat head healthy hear heavy help high hour hungry husband hypothesis ice icon idea important island job keep key kill kind king kitchen lady land language late

laugh learn leave left leg let letter level life light line listen live long loud love machine main market marriage marry mean meet message mile milk minister minute miss mobile monitor month mouse mouth move neck need neighbour news nice noise north nose notice

noun ocean office officer oil ordinary pair parent park part partner pass past pay period person phone piece place plan plane plant plural pocket point poor power present press print problem put quiet rain reach real reason release remember reply rest result return rich

right ring round rubbish sad safe sand save schedule science scientist screen search seat second sell send sentence shift shirt shoe short show side sing size sky slow smell smoke soap soft son sound space special speed start stay store strong subject sure sweet

swim tall tasks taste tell temperature text throw ticket times tired top total touch town travel tribe try type uncle unit use verb visit visitor wait wear weather welcome well west whole wife win wind winter wood work world yellow young false true

101

SUBLIST for Level 3

accept across action add advertise advice aeroplane afraid agriculture airplane alive allow allowance amount apply approve area army arrange arrive article asked attitude available average basic beauty become behave behaviour believe bend best better bill blind bold bow brain breath breathe brown business businessman butter

camera capital card castle catch cause century chain check cheese chicken choice choose circle cliff climb cloth code collect commerce common compare confident confuse connection consumer continue control conversation corner cost cough crime crowd crown cruel current dad daily danger dangerous decide deep defend degree

demand describe destroy diamond difference difficulty dirty discovery dive doubt drag dream drop earn east edge egg else energy engineering equal equation even ever exactly excellent experiment explain export fact far fashion fear feet female figure finally fish foreign forest form forward friendship front fry

fun general goal grass ground guard guess half hall happen hard hate health heart

heat highway hit hold hole honest hope human hurry hut imagine immediately impossible improve increase industry inside interest introduce introduction join joke joke jump kick kingdom knock landlord large last

later lecture less lift liquid list little lock lose lovely low luck mad map mark match meal mean meat medicine member memory metal meter middle mind modern moon narrow nature nearly neighbourhood net nurse ocean

operation opposite organize own pain parent particular party passenger

102

patient pause pay pearl per perfect perhaps plant plate population position positive possible pour powder practice/practise previous price primary prison process proper pull punish push

queen quick race real record relationship remind rent repeat review rice river row rubber salary salt season secret self serious several shape share shelter shore

shout sign silent simple single skill skin snake snow soldier solution soon south spend spirit sport spring square stairs star statement stick stomach stone straight

stupid style suggest suit support suppose surface surprise swim sword taste team temperature tent term thick thief thin thousand together tonight total trouble tube turn

ugly usual valuable voice war warm warn waste watch wave

weak weed weigh weight west wet whistle wild wing wish wonderful worry worse

SUBLIST for Level 4

able act actor actress actually admire adventure afford agent ancient anxious apart appear apple asleep assistant astonish attack

autumn awake balance basin basket bathe battle bear beard bell belong bicycle birth bit bite blow boil bone

borrow bottom bowl brave bridge bright bush cake calm camp care carriage case cave cent ceremony character check

chief church claim coat comfortable commissioner compete connect consider contain count couple crash criminal cross culture

cupboard

cure custom customer deaf description detective develop device direct discover disease distinguish double drown duty employ enemy envelope

103

escape especially event evidence except exchange excite excuse expense experience express fair famous favour/favor field fight film fit fly force forgive fresh

frighten funeral furniture gather gift glad glass government greet ground guest gun hang hardly hide hill hunt hurt include indeed influence information inspector instead

international invent invite journey judge juice kiss knee knee ladder lake lamp law lay lazy lead lend lie limit lip literature local lord loss lot manage march master material matter meanwhile measure mention million mix

moment moral motion murder mystery native necessary note obvious offer orange order

origin outline owe paint passive path permission persuade photograph pick pig pin plenty polite polite political pool popular post pot pound prepare president press press pretty prevent priest private probably produce progress promise protect proud prove purpose railway realise receive reduce register religion repair replace report respect responsible

reward ride rise rob rock roof rope rule sail screw secretary seem sense separate servant service set shadow shake sheep shine shoot shoulder shut signal silence silver sink situation slave social soldier sort soup spoon spread staff stage state station steal step stock storm strange stream substance success

sudden suffer supper support surface system telegraph temple terrible tie tin title tooth total total tower train translation tribe tribe

trick trip trust union unite upset valley value veil view vote wake weapon western wicked wide widow wise wonderful worth

104

SUBLIST for Level 5

accord

account

achieve

active

adapt

advance

advantage

affect

aim

alarm

ambulance

analyse

annoy

apartment

append

appoint

approach

approximate

arrest

art

assign

attach

attend

author

avoid

bar

beyond

blank

block

boring

branch

brief

brush

burn

cage

canal

career

cash

cell

cellular

certain

challenge

channel

charge

chart

cheat

chemical

classmate

combine

communicate

complain

complicate

compose

concern

conclude

condition

consist

contact

content

context

contrast

cool

crazy

create

creature

credit

cycle

damage

deal

decrease

define

deliver

depend

design

detail

dig

dish

display

distance

divide

document

dot

drug

due

dust

edit

effect

effort

engine

enormous

environment

essay

etc

eventual

exist

expect

expert

explode

explore

extreme

fault

feature

feed

festival

flood

focus

fortune

freeze

frequent

furthermore

gap

gentle

giant

grade

graduate

grammar

groom

guide

gulf

honey

huge

hundred

hurricane

identify

independent

informal

injure

insect

instance

instruct

internet

interview

involve

iron

issue

jewel

lack

length

likely

locate

magazine

major

male

medical

method

mirror

model

motive

motor

nation

neat

nephew

nervous

normal

obey

observe

occur

paragraph

pattern

percent

phrase

physical

pilot

poison

prefer

pressure

product

profit

provide

public

punctuate

quality

raise

range

rat

really

105

recent

refer

refuse

regular

relative

remain

remove

request

require

research

robot

sale

sandwich

satellite

satisfy

scale

scan

scare

scene

scream

section

sex

sharp

sheet

shock

site

skim

society

specific

stare

strength

stress

stretch

string

structure

stuff

sum

summary

supply

switch

symbol

tail

tear

tense

theory

thunder

tight

tiny

tissue

tool

topic

tour

traffic

transport

typical

underline

uniform

van

variety

various

vary

violent

virus

vocabulary

volcano

web

wipe

106

SUBLIST for Level 6

absence absolutely accurate adjective admit adverb ahead aid aloud alternative apologize appropriate artificial associate atmosphere attempt attention attract automate aware bay behaviour billion blame boss breathe bury calculate camel cancer capable chest cigarette civilise clause clinic colleague community competition complex comprehend concept congratulate consequent construct convenience courage court data debate decline definite delay depress despite determine devote diagram diet disappoint disturb donate donor drama eager efficient eliminate emergency emotion emphasis encourage engage ensure entertain entire especial establish estimate evil expand expose extend factor familiar fatal finance firm float flow fool formal former frown function gain generate generation generous globe gradual grand grave guideline guilty habit handle headache heat heaven hire honour horizontal ignorant image income individual infect infinitive inquire instrument intelligence intend interrupt investigate joy laughter legal lone magic manner mass mood moreover multiply muscle niece occasion official opportunity ordinary pack passage perform pet pity plain poem pollute predict pretend proceed profession professional pronoun proof property propose psychology qualify quantity quiz radiate rate react recognise recover reference regard release relevant represent resource respond retire revolution rid risk role rough royal rude rural rush secure sequence service settle shame

107

sight singular slight smooth spite standard steady strike struggle sugar surgeon surgery surgical surround survive synonym tax technologist theatre threat throat thus trade treat urban urgent wealth western wheel whisper worldwide wound

108

5.8 CALL Programmes

The following table includes descriptions of the CALL programmes which are available

for students and teachers on Moodle and in the LC labs. It is expected that all of them will

be matched with skill areas, grammar and pronunciation items relevant to the FPEL

curriculum in the near future.

Ultimate Speed Reader

This programme offers speed-reading training and includes over 200 reading passages in

10 categories, e.g. business, technology, entertainment, etc. It addresses the following

skills:

Develop reading fluency and speed by regularly reading extensively outside the

classroom


Interpret texts using background knowledge



Predict the purpose of a text using topic sentences and introductory paragraphs



Tense Buster

Tense Buster covers 33 language areas at five levels from Elementary to Advanced. In

addition to grammar, Tense Buster helps learners with vocabulary, pronunciation,

listening, reading and study skills. Ten key learning features include the following:

1. Structured, guided discovery approach encouraging learners to form and test their

own theories.

2. Explanatory feedback, enabling learners to understand why they have made a

mistake.

3. Engaging and interesting contexts for learning, and a wide variety of activity types.

4. Comparative approach to grammar which encourages learners to look for patterns,

contrast usage and compare with their own language.

5. Extensive audio, enabling learners to listen both to models and to correct answers.

6. Video-based pronunciation activities focusing on the phonological aspects of

grammar: stress, intonation, elision, assimilation and so on.

7. A Recorder enabling learners to record their voices and compare to a model.

8. A learner development strand helping learners to improve their study skills.

9. A Progress function allowing learners to analyse their strengths and weaknesses and

plan their learning.

10. Each unit in Tense Buster includes a randomized test drawn from 50 questions

based on the grammar area covered in that unit. Additionally, learners can generate

random tests from multiple grammar areas in a level. The Tense Buster question

bank includes 1,650 items.

11. The Tense Buster Progress function generates reports on completed activities with

score, time, duration; average scores compared with all learners and relative

performance in different units (effort and outcome).

109

12. Teachers using Results Manager can generate and print reports for individual

learners and groups of learners.

Active Reading

Active Reading is a topic-based reading program at six levels from Elementary to advanced.

In addition to reading, this programme helps learners with vocabulary, listening, speaking,

writing, study skills. Here is a sample of the topics and reading skills covered:

Elementary Pre-Intermediate Intermediate

Reading an email

Finding a home

Reading words in groups

Reading for information

Health matters: food

Travel advice

Signpost words

Reading aloud

Different cultures

Texts and email messages

Inference

Email/SMS abbreviations

Grammar Item Relevant FPEL proficiency level

Elementary:

Am, is , are (simple structures) L1, 2

Simple Present L1, 2, 3

Negatives (don’t go) L 2, 3, 4

Questions (Does he?) L1, 2, 3, 4

I, me, my L1, 2, 3

A, an, the L4

Countable L4

Some, any L3, 4

Have got L1, 2

Lower Intermediate:

Comparative L4, 5

Simple Present L4, 5

Present Continuous L4, 5

Simple Past L3, 4, 5

Intermediate:

Equality L4, 5, 6

The passive L 5, 6

Relative clauses L 5, 6

Will and going to L4, 5, 6

Conditionals L4, 5, 6

Upper Intermediate:

Present Perfect Off the scale of FPEL

Must, Might, Can’t L5, 6

Past Continuous L5, 6

Conditionals L6

The future L6

Advanced:

Past Perfect L6 (SCI, AGR, ENG)

Articles L6

Reported speech L5, 6 (MED)

Passives (past participle) L5, 6

Phrasal verbs L 5, 6 (MED)

110

Upper Intermediate Pre-Advanced Advanced

Let’s love sharks!

The smoking ban

Skimming

Focusing on arguments

Reading a novel

Dangerous fashions

Prediction skills

Headings, topic sentences

Mythical beasts

Find it – FAST!

Ignoring unknown words

Scanning

The key learning features include the following:

1. Comprehensive coverage of reading sub-skills.

2. Engaging and interesting contexts for learning, and a wide variety of activity and

text types.

3. Explanatory feedback, enabling learners to understand why they have made a

mistake.

4. Extension activities including research, writing and discussion activities enabling

learners to develop the themes in the units.

5. Extensive audio, so learners can listen both to models and to correct answers.

6. A Recorder enabling learners to record their voices and compare to a model.

7. Motivational certificate on completion.



9. The Active Reading Progress function generates reports on completed activities

with score, time, duration; average scores compared with all learners and relative

performance in different units (effort and outcome).



11. Helps students to learn to love reading!

Many units in Active Reading include downloadable photocopiable worksheets which

teachers can use for class work or homework activities. Others have links to websites,

generally accompanied by research or reading tasks, where learners have to operate in an

authentic English environment.

Clear Pronunciation 1

Clear Pronunciation 1 (Sounds) takes learners through the 43 phonemes of English.

Learners study each phoneme individually, as well as contrasting it with one or more

similar or related sound(s). The 25 units of the program are based around these contrasts.

Each unit includes five separate activities, making a total of 125 exercises.

Consonants Vowels Diphthongs

1. Pill / Fill

2. Buy / My

3. Tie / Die

4. Ship / Chip

5. Yet / Jet

6. Game / Came

7. Wail / Veil

8. Think / Sink

9. There / Dare

10. Price / Prize

11. Asia / Hard

12. Ran / Rang

13. Right / Light

14. Ship / Sheep

15. Head / Had

16. Schwa

17. Luck / Look

18. Hat / Heart

19. But / Boot

20. Who / Her

21. Pot / Port

22. Hair / Hear

23. Pay / Pie

24. Boy / Buy

25. Know / Now

111


1. Comprehensive coverage of the sounds of English.

2. Each sound is illustrated with full-face videos as well as close-up videos of the

mouth and cross-sectional animations. There are more than 1,000 individual audio

items.

3. Explanatory text, enabling learners to understand how to make each sound.

4. Series of exercises enables learners to focus on the sound in isolation, in a word, in

the context of a sentence, in contrast with other sounds and in an authentic

context.

5. A self-learning tool, enabling learners to work on their pronunciation as a private,

self-paced activity.

6. A Recorder enabling learners to record their voices and compare with a model.




9. The Clear Pronunciation 1 Progress function generates reports on completed

activities with score, time, duration and average scores compared with all learners;

relative performance in different units (effort and outcome).



11. Helps students to enjoy pronunciation practice!

Clear Pronunciation 1 includes links to websites, where learners have to operate in an

authentic English environment. Screens and activities can be printed enabling learners to

keep a record of the activities they have completed.

Clear Pronunciation 1

Clear Pronunciation 2 (Speech) covers the five key suprasegmental elements of

pronunciation: 1. Word stress

2. Consonant clusters

3. Sentence stress

4. Connected speech

5. Intonation

The units are introduced by a teacher, explaining through video why each aspect of

pronunciation is important. Each unit is then broken down into five separate topics. For

example, the unit on Connected Speech breaks down as follows:

1. Short forms

2. Consonants to vowels

3. Joining consonants

4. Words ending in /t/ or /d/

5. Disappearing sounds

Each topic, in turn, includes at least five separate activities, making a total of more than

125 exercises.


1. Comprehensive coverage of the elements of pronunciation which make for

natural, comprehensible delivery.

112

2. Each aspect of pronunciation is clearly explained by a teacher, with animated

examples.

3. A focus on pronunciation as both a receptive and a productive skill.

4. A series of unscripted, authentic videos enabling learners to analyse pronunciation

in real life.

5. A self-learning tool, enabling learners to work on their pronunciation as a private,

self-paced activity.

6. Attractive, clear, easy-to-use interface.

7. A Recorder enabling learners to record their voices and compare with a model,

and to save their work as MP3 files.


9. A Progress function allowing learners to analyse their strengths and weaknesses

and plan their learning.

10. The Clear Pronunciation 2 Progress function generates reports on completed

activities with score, time, duration; average scores compared with all learners and

relative performance in different units (effort and outcome).



12. Helps students to enjoy pronunciation practice!

Clear Pronunciation 2 includes links to websites, where learners have to operate in an

authentic English environment. Screens and activities can be printed enabling learners to

keep a record of the activities they have completed.

113

Smaller Units of

Language

Full sentences

L. Problematic

Area Level of Complexity Examples Remarks

ON

E

Phonemes: Consonants &

Vowels

Consonants: /p/ /dʒ/ /θ/ /f/ /ŋ/ /tʃ/ /ʒ/ Vowels: Short vs. long

Consonants:

- "Park"/"bark"

- "Village"

- "Thin"/"then"

- "Fan"/"van"

- "Morning"

- "Cheap"/"sheep"

- "Vision"/"fashion" Short vs. Long Vowels:

- a: "mat"/"mate"

- e: "met"/"meet"

- i: "twin"/"twine"

- o: "not"/"note"

- u: "tub"/"tube"

These problematic

areas (in levels 1 – 3)

to be recycled

and reinforced across all

levels. These

problems are either universal,

Pan Arab or Oman-

specific.

Consonant Clusters

- Two-sound clusters - Clusters1 vs. Diagraphs2

Clusters:

- "sponge", "bright", "slight",

"flight", "drive", "school" Diagraphs:

- ch represents /tʃ/as in "watch"

- th represents /θ/ as in "thin"

- wr represents /r/ as in "write"

- kn represents /n/ as in “know"

Gemination3 in Arabic:

Doubling in English

- - Within one word

Doubling consonants with one word:

- "Baggage"

- "Correction"

- "Passage"

- "Collect"

- "Immigrate"

Pronunciation Syllabus

5.9 Pronunciation Syllabus :

114

Smaller Units of

Language

Full sentences

ON

E

Stress

- Introduction to the notion of ‘syllable’ as the phonological building blocks of words.

- Word/lexical stress:

relative emphasis may be given to certain syllables in a word.

Notion of syllable:

- The notion of syllables

(recognizing number of

syllables in words)

Word stress:

- Primary stress within multi-

syllable words

- Unstressed function words

(articles, monosyllabic

prepositions, conjunctions) and

auxiliary verbs

- Prepositions and verbs

(with more than one syllable)

with stress on the second

syllable

- Stressed syllables with

diphthongs and long vowels

- Stressed syllables before

doubled consonants

T

WO

Phonemes:

Consonants & Vowels

Consonants: /p/ /dʒ/ /θ/ /f/ /ŋ/ /tʃ/ /ʒ/ Vowels: Diphthongs

4

Consonants:

- "Park"/"bark" - "Village" - "Thin"/"then" - "Fan"/"van" - "Morning" - "Cheap"/"sheep" - "Vision"/"fashion"

Diphthongs:

- / /: "low"

- /a /: "light"

- /e /: "lane"

- / /: "loin"

115

TW

O

Smaller Units of

Language

Full sentences

Consonant Clusters

- Three-sound clusters - Clusters vs. Diagraphs

Initial Three-sound clusters:

- "straight" - "squeeze"

- "split" - "spring" - "screen"

Gemination in Arabic:

Doubling in English

- Across words and across morphemes5

Fricatives6, nasals & plosives7:

- "Calm man"

- "This saddle"

- "Back kick"

Minimal Pairs:

- "Night train"

- "Night rain"

Stress




Notion of syllable:



syllables in words)

Word stress:


syllable words




auxiliary verbs




syllable




doubled consonants

116

Smaller Units of

Language

Full sentences

TH

RE

E

Phonemes: Consonants &

Vowels

Consonants: /p/ /dʒ/ /θ/ /f/ /ŋ/ /tʃ/ /ʒ/ Vowels:

Monophthongs vs.

Diphthongs

Consonants:

- "Park"/"bark"

- "Village"

- "Thin"/"then"

- "Fan"/"van"

- "Morning"

- "Cheap"/"sheep"

- "Vision"/"fashion" Vowels:

- /ɪ/ in "rid" vs. /aɪ/ in "ride"

- /ɒ/ in "rod" vs. /oʊ/ in"road"

- /ʌ/ in "tub" vs. /juː/ in "tube"

Consonant Clusters

- Across words - Clusters vs. Diagraphs

Final sound clusters:

- "gift"

- "result"

- "exact"

- "twelfth" - "bursts"

Gemination in Arabic:

Doubling in English

- Absence of doubling affects the meaning

Absence of doubling affects meaning:

- "Unaimed" vs. "Unnamed"

- "Holy" vs. "Wholly"

Stress




Notion of syllable:



syllables in words)

Word stress:


syllable words



117

Smaller Units of

Language

Full sentences


auxiliary verbs




syllable




doubled consonants

FO

UR

Silent Letters8 and English

Spelling

Types of silent letters: 1. Diagraphs:

1.1 Sound of the

diagraph different from that of either of its constituent letters.

1.2 Sound of the digraph is the same as that of one of its constituent letters.

2. Letters with no

relation to adjacent letters and no correspondence in pronunciation:

2.1 Letters which are sounded in a cognate word.

Silent Letters:

1. Diagraphs:

1.1 - "thin"

- "show"

- "then"

- "enough"

- "physical"

1.2 - "clubbed"

- "fine"

- "heavy"

- "bread"

- "rate" 2. Letters with no relation to

neighbouring letters and no correspondence in pronunciation:

2.1 - (a) in "practically" not

sounded]/(a) in

"practical" [sounded]

- (g) in "phlegm" [not

sounded]/(g) in

"phlegmatic" [sounded]

Students need to know that silent letters are not entirely redundant as they can distinguish between homophones (e.g. in/inn, be/bee, etc.), give a clue to the meaning or origin of a word (e.g. vineyard suggests vines), and give a clue to where stress should be in a word (e.g. (fe) in giraffe indicates a final stress not initial).

118

FO

UR

Smaller Units of

Language

Full sentences

2.2 Letters which

never have a sound.

2.2 - Silent B: climb/comb

- Silent C: muscle - Silent D: Wednesday - Silent E: hope/drive - Silent G: sign/design - Silent GH: daughter - Silent H: what/when - Silent K: knife/know - Silent L: calm/half - Silent N: column - Silent P: psychiatrist - Silent S: island/isle - Silent T: castle/listen - Silent U: guess/guest - Silent W: answer/write

Homographs and

Homophones

- Homographs: same spelling but different pronunciation - Homophones: same pronunciation but different spelling

Homographs

- /ɪ/: "wind" vs. [aɪ]: "wind"

- /z/: "close" vs. [s]: "close"

- /e/: "lead" vs. [iː]: "lead"

Homophones

- /ˈkærət/: Carat, caret, carrot

- /wiːk/: Week, weak

- /tuː /: To, two, too

Different Pronunciations

of the same word

- Different pronunciations of the same word.

Pronunciation differences

BrE AmE Words

/ɛ/ /a / /ʃ/ /e / /ʃ/

/e / /iː/ /sk/ /æ/ /ʒ/

Ate neither schedule apricot asia

119

Smaller Units of

Language

Full Sentences

Stress




Notion of syllable:



syllables in words)

Word stress:


syllable words




auxiliary verbs




syllable




doubled consonants

FIV

E

Homographs and

Homophones

- Homographs: same spelling but different pronunciation

- Homophones: same

pronunciation but different spelling

- Homonyms: same

pronunciation and same spelling but different meanings

Homographs

- /ɪ/: "wind" vs. [aɪ]: "wind"

- /z/: "close" vs. [s]: "close"

- /e/: "lead" vs. [iː]: "lead"

Homophones

- /ˈkærət/: Carat, caret, carrot

- /wiːk/: Week, weak

- /tuː/: To, two, too Homonyms

- /left/: "left" (opposite of right)

vs. "left" (past tense of leave)

- /stɔːk/: "stalk" (part of a

plant) vs. "stalk" (follow/harass a person)

120

FIV

E

Smaller Units of

Language

Full Sentences

Different Pronunciations

of the same word

- Different pronunciations of the same word.

Pronunciation differences

BrE AmE Words

/ɛ/ /a / /ʃ/ /e / /ʃ/

/e / /iː/ /sk/ /æ/ /ʒ/

ate neither schedule apricot asia

Stress

- Sentence stress: stress placed on words within sentences.

Sentence Stress:

- Stress in compound nouns

(e.g. school bus, post office)

- Stress in compound verbs (e.g.

take off, make up)

- Content and function words

(content words receive stress)

- Highlighting the most

important words in utterances.

- Using stress to show feelings

and attitudes (e.g. bored,

happy, angry)

Intonation

- Introduction to the notion of ‘intonation’. It is variation of pitch while speaking:

- Rising Intonation:

means the pitch of the

voice increases over

time [↗]. - Falling Intonation:

means that the pitch

decreases with time

[↘].

Introduction to Intonation:

- Intonation is used to differentiate between wh-questions, yes-no questions, declarative statements, commands, requests, etc. It can also be used for emphatic/ contrastive purposes.

121

1 A consonant cluster is a string of consonants (two or more) which have no intervening vowel.

2 A digraph is a is a single sound which is represented by two letters.

3 Gemination is pronouncing a spoken consonant for a longer period of time than a short consonant.

4 Technically, a diphthong is a sound that consists of two vowels.

5 Absence of the doubling here doesn’t affect meaning though it might cause confusion to the listener.

6 A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a constricted space. There are voiced fricatives

such as the v and z sounds, and the unvoiced fricatives such as the f and s sounds. 7 A plosive is a stop consonant in which the oral passage is blocked so that all airflow stops. Examples of

plosives are: p, b and d sounds. 8 Silent letters are written but left unpronounced.

9 In attitudinal intonation, students are made aware of the strong link between intonation and attitude.

The effect of intonation changes according to the attitude the speaker intends to convey.

Smaller Units of

Language

Full Sentences

SIX

Stress

- Sentence stress: stress placed on words within sentences.

Sentence Stress:

- Stress in compound nouns

(e.g. school bus, post office)

- Stress in compound verbs (e.g.

take off, make up)

- Content and function words

(content words receive stress)

- Highlighting the most

important words in utterances.

- Using stress to show feelings

and attitudes (e.g. bored,

happy, angry)

Intonation

- Rising Intonation:

means the pitch of the

voice increases over

time [↗]. -Falling Intonation:

means that the pitch

decreases with time

[↘].

-Dipping Intonation:

falls and then rises

[↘↗].

-Peaking Intonation:

rises and then falls

[↗↘].

Uses of intonation can further be classified into the following categories: 1. Grammatical (e.g. yes-no Questions) 2. Attitudinal9 (e.g. showing excitement)

3. Informational (e.g. when answering an informative question) 4. Illocution10 (intention: question vs. suggestion) 5. Textual (to indicate continuation of thoughts in speech or end of thoughts) 6. Indexical11 (adopted by certain groups of people)

122

10

In illocution intonation, the pitch of the voice varies according to the intention of the speaker which is signaled in his speech. 11

Indexical intonation refers to the type of intonation adopted by a certain group of people with the same professional or social background.

foundation programm e english language … documents/fpel...1 1. introduction 1.1 purpose of the...

Documents