Welcome to our class!
ESL 511 - Advanced
Welcome to our class!
ESL 511 - Advanced
Dear students,
I am so happy to have you in this course! Thank you for joining our class! Please take a few moments to read this course syllabus. It contains some important information about our class. Remember that this course is for you, and any comments, suggestions, and questions are welcome!
Melissa
Meeting Information
Start date - February 5th, 2024
End date - May 24th, 2024
Total weeks: 15
Days and times for Zoom meetings: Thursdays - 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Hello from your instructor
I believe I have already met most of you, but for those who don't know me, my name is Melissa Fornari and I am from the south of Brazil. I was born in a city called Porto Alegre. I moved from Porto Alegre to Mendocino in 2018. I love studying and teaching languages! I have been teaching English as a Second Language for about fifteen years. My first language is Portuguese. I started working at Mendocino College in the spring of 2019. I really enjoy working here! It is a pleasure to me to get to know all of you, know about your stories and experiences, and help you improve your language skills.
How to contact me
I am here to support you as you start you course! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
BEST WAYS TO CONTACT ME -
Text message (SMS) or WhatsApp message - (707) 813-4117
Email - mfornari@mendocino.edu
Once classes start, you can contact me via Canvas Inbox.
My teaching philosophy
I teach English as a Second Language because I believe that we all should have the opportunity to learn English if this is something we want to do. I believe that to learn a language, we need to have the chance to interact, to speak spontaneously, to discuss our questions, and to practice together, and this is what we will do in this class. We will study together and I am sure you will come across many things you already know. I want to help you develop and improve your skills, and become more confident when communicating in English. We will learn more together about the English-speaking world around us. We will work in class exchanging experiences, and focusing on real life situations and on content that is relevant to us. I will assist you with strategies to practice our language skills. I am sure we can learn a lot together, and I am very happy to be on this learning journey with you!
Course materials
You do not need to buy a book for this class. The ESL program has books available and you can borrow them for the semester when classes start!
We will use a textbook for this course: Grammar and Beyond 3 - Second Edition. The book will be available at the Mendocino College campus closest to you for you to borrow.
You will have reading materials and activities available on Canvas.
I also would like to include specific materials that you are interested in or anything that you need for your job or anything in particular. Feel free to bring those to class and we will explore and study them together!
Course description
This course will develop communicative competence in advanced grammar topics in the context of a variety of writing forms, reading comprehension and speaking, which are necessary for college work in English. Students will improve vocabulary and the ability to use English in the classroom and in other situations. ESL 511 will cover the topics necessary to complete the advanced of level ESL.
The purpose of this course is to help you develop and improve your skills in English and make you feel more confident and comfortable when interacting in English in different situations. Please see below the tangible skills you will have upon leaving the course. These skills are referred to as Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), and the SLOs for our course are:
Create written work which is clearly organized around one topic and demonstrates grammatical accuracy at the advanced ESL level.
Show oral proficiency by participating in classroom discussions about readings and other class content.
Read an academic essay and demonstrate understanding of the topics covered both orally and in written form.
Evaluation plan for our course
Your evaluation in this class will be based on the following points.
Attendance – Our time together in class is essential for your successful learning! I hope to see you in the morning or evening meetings!
Classroom participation – It means sharing comments and questions, interacting with your classmates in English, making an effort to be active and participate in speaking activities, asking questions and letting me know about any class-related issues you might be having.
Writing Assignments – You will have 5 writing assignments this semester to really work on your writing skills!
Disability Statement
The College is committed to creating a learning environment that meets the needs of its diverse student body. If you anticipate or experience any barriers to learning in this course, please feel welcome to discuss your concerns with me. If you have a disability, or think you may have a disability, you may also want to meet with a Counselor at the Disability Resource Center to begin this conversation or request an official accommodation. The staff at the Disability Resource Center can be reached at (707) 468-3031, drc@mendocino.edu, or by visiting the Ukiah campus in the Library and Learning Resource Center (LLRC), Room 4130. It is my goal to create a learning experience that is as accessible as possible. If you anticipate any issues related to the format, materials, or requirements of this course and would like to discuss it with me, we can meet outside of class so we can explore potential options.
A final note
As I said before, I am excited to be part of your learning journey! It is great to have you in this group.
Please click on all tabs in this syllabus and make sure you read the other pages included here.
Thank you for taking the time to read this syllabus!
I look forward to a great summer semester with you!