How and when to attend our first week of class

Our first class meeting is on Tuesday, August 25th. We will meet in Founders Hall (East Campus) room 251 at 11:10AM. This is a 16-week course. 
I'm looking forward to seeing you in person!

How this course works

ELIC 20/920  is for students whose first language is not English. This course focuses on introduction to and development of skills in active reading and composition incorporating analysis, interpretation, use of academic vocabulary, cited sources, and self-editing.  The emphasis is also on summary/response reading compositions of 200-300 words and text-based compositions of increasing development between 250-500 words.  Placement by satisfactory completion of ELW 906 or qualification by the MJC assessment process.  Students taking this course are also strongly advised to complete or concurrently enroll in ELIC 22/922. 

We will meet in person twice a week - on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:10AM-1:45PM. This is a hybrid class, so you will also be asked to do some work online. 

Assignments and due dates

You will submit some assignments in Canvas and you will be asked to bring some assignments to class. Clear instructions will be given in class and due dates will be posted in Canvas in weekly modules.

Important note: Please do not send your assignments to me via email as these may not count towards your grade. Instead follow the instructions in Canvas how to submit each assignment there. 

• Communicative Activities:  There will be activities where you will be asked to interact with one another.  These may include Discussion Board activities in Canvas and in-class participation.  This is the best time to practice your English, so please make sure to participate in them. 

• Q&A Café – This is an open discussion forum for students to post questions about the course and to interact with one another. This is a space where students can virtually ask questions to the entire class.  If you know the answer to any of the questions, please help your classmate by answering it.  I’ll check in on the discussion to help with any unanswered questions periodically.

• Quizzes:  All quizzes will be announced, so there will be time to prepare for them.  They will cover new vocabulary and material covered in class. 

• Homework:  All homework assignments and their due dates will be posted on Canvas, so please check it daily.

• La Linea/Leonardo da Vinci:  You will have weekly reading assignments from the books as well as reading comprehension and discussion questions to help you focus your reading.  We will start with La Linea and switch to Leonardo da Vinci in Weeks 8-9.

• Journal Entries: Weekly journal assignments will help you develop writing fluidity in English. You will have about a week to complete your journal entries.  Topics will be usually posted at the beginning of each week, and the deadline to submit your journals will usually be end of the week. 

• Writing Assignments/Reading Responses – You will write multi-draft compositions and reading responses to reading assignments using reading text as a source material for support.

• iQOnline - The online practice is required homework. You  will receive credit for each activity only with 100% accuracy. Repeat each activity as often as is necessary until you achieve 100%. Some activities require written work that can be completed and submitted online. You will find the required online homework posted along with other homework in Canvas.  

Preferred Communication Method

To contact me, please email me at heyk@yosemite.edu or call at (209) 575-6416 to leave a voicemail. The best way to reach me is through email; I usually respond within 24 hours (I may take a bit longer on the weekends).

Office Hours

Feel free to stop by my office on:

Mondays and Tuesdays 9:00-9:30AM
Mondays and Wednesdays 6:00-6:30PM (Sierra Hall B203)
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:45-2:15PM
Mondays 12:30-1:00PM
Wednesday 12:30-2PM

My office is located in Founders Hall room 240E.

Use Q&A Cafe

Q&A Cafe can be found in modules in Canvas. This is a non-graded discussion where you can ask your questions regarding this course and get them answered by peers or me. This space should only be used for questions you want to be public to the entire class. If you have a question for only me, please email me at heyk@yosemite.edu.

I am very excited that you are a part of this course. My goal is to create a trusting and inclusive learning community where you play an important role as a member. You will have an opportunity to learn reading and writing skills in this class that will help you succeed in college and also learn from and about your classmates who come from various countries and represent different parts of the world. Together, by constant encouragement and support, we will do our best for you to succeed in this course to become successful English language learners.

• Attend class meetings every Tuesday and Thursday and be on time.  It is important for your success in this class.  If you are going to miss class, please email me at heyk@yosemite.edu and let me know.  If you miss two days, you may be dropped from the class.

• Try your best not to miss any quizzes. If you miss a quiz, you receive zero “0” points.  If you miss the final exam, you may not pass the class.

• Try not to miss any classes.  Make appointments outside of our class time. However, I understand that emergencies happen. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate and check Canvas to find out what was covered in class and what the homework was. 

• Please log in to Canvas within the first two days of class. Enrolled students who have not logged in to Canvas to complete the Course Introduction Module within the first 2 days of class may be dropped from the class. In addition, if a student misses class meetings and does not contribute to class for the first week (this includes submitting assignments, participating in discussion board and email), the student may be dropped from the class. You must email me ahead of time if you are unable to participate in class.

• Pay attention to due dates for your assignments.  You will have two chances to submit late assignments.  Any late assignments after that will score 0 points. 

• Avoid plagiarism/cheating at all cost.  Unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI) is considered a form of plagiarism. This means that AI-assisted work is not allowed in this course, except when the instructor approves of its use and the student acknowledges using it.  Any plagiarized work will receive zero points and an official report will be filed.

• Please, use English only while in class.  If you have trouble understanding something, tell me so I can help you.  You may be asked to leave the class if you continue speaking a language other than English. 

• Please, turn off and put away cell phones while in class. They can be a great distraction while we try to focus on the class content. 

• Please participate in class.  Participating means raising your hand, asking questions, giving answers and working together to learn.  It also means to be on time, to have your homework completed and to be ready to discuss it.

• Check CANVAS every day for announcements and homework assignments.