Test Preparation_TOEFL Professor Alessandra Sztrimbely - Fall 2015

SYLLABUS American University of Central Asia New Generation Academy TOEFL Test Preparation Syllabus Fall 2015 Course code: Prep 044, ID: 2845 Course Name: Test Preparation Class & Level: 5A - Upper Intermediate Credit Hours: 12 Meeting Times: Tuesdays & Fridays at 9:00-11:35am (4 classes/week total) Instructor: Sztrimbely, Alessandra (Ally) Phone No: 0550-75-0213 E-mail: Sztrimbely_a@auca.kg (preferred mode of communication) Office hours: By appointment, Room 415 I Course description This course introduces the one-year program in Test Preparation and is intended to build the skills necessary for successfully passing the TOEFL test with your desired score The course will familiarize you with the overall structure of the test as well as test taking strategies so that you can feel comfortable and confident in your knowledge and find the test-taking approach that is right for you, allowing you to succeed not only at the TOEFL test, but all exams This course will be based around the core components of the Paper Based TOEFL Test: Listening Comprehension, Structure and Written Expression, and Reading Comprehension, with some attenti on also paid to the Test of Written English component As this course is meant to help you gain knowledge and confidence, supplementary work on vocabulary and grammar will also be included should the professor deem necessary or should students require extra practi ce II Textbook and materials Core Text (on reserve for students under the Professor’s name at the library): Deborah Phillips, Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL® Test: The Paper-Based Test, Pearson Education, Inc., 2003 Supplementary Texts: Additional materials will either be provided in class as a handout or online on the Moodle e-course on a weekly basis III Outcomes & Objectives After having completed this course, students should: Be familiar and comfortable with the overall structure of the TOEFL Be familiar with a variety of test-taking strategies and have developed their own testtaking method best suited to them Have improved their scores on the three integral and additional writing components of the TOEFL test: • Listening Comprehension: Students should know how to deal with the three subsections of this part of the test, which strategies to use and what information to pay attention to They should also know the vocabulary used in the listening comprehension section, such as idioms and phrasal verbs, and know how to retrieve implied information, making logical conclusions based on the stated information • Structure and Written Expression: Students should be familiarized with simple and complex sentence structure as well as problems connected with common misuse of the sentence components They should also h a v e refreshed their knowledge of basic grammar taught at school and acquired the skill of intuitively locating parts in conflict with the rest of the sentence Reading Comprehension: Students should be familiarized with reading on academic • level, be able to make logical conclusions based on the information stated in the passage and guess the meaning of the unfamiliar words They should also have learnt the common vocabulary used in various academic fields s uc h a s science, arts and music Writing: Students should be able to develop ideas quickly and express these • clearly They should also be able to categorize and organize ideas given a limited period of time IV Grading Grades are given based on: Type of activity Worth Participation 10% In-Class Assessments 10% At Home Assignments 20% Full length TOEFL Practice Tests 30% Final Exam 30% TOTAL 100% A+ 97-100% C+ 74-76% A 94-96% C 68-73% A- 90-93% C- 64-67% B+ 86-89% D+ 60-63% B 80-85% D 54-59% B- 77-79% D- 50-53% F < 50% V Course Expectations We will strive to build a community where everyone is respected and accepted Although you may not always agree with your classmates, it is important to recognize that people hold different opinions and world views and come from different backgrounds In all of your communication, please be tactful and polite Online Access Each student should have access to the Internet and must register for the Moodle e-course in the first week of classes All class-related email communication will be done through the Moodle platform Attendance You are expected to attend all classes as your final grade includes participation Being regularly late or passive affects your final grade It is your responsibility to notify the professor if you are going to miss a class This can be done in person or via phone or email (email is preferred) unexcused absences will result in an F for the course Participation It is not enough to just attend classes; you are expected to actively participate in activities, both online and in class: asking questions in English, answering othering students’ questions, and expressing your viewpoints in discussions All of this together makes up your grade for participation/classroom activities All subjects occurring in the course of this program are to be discussed in English only In-Class Assessments In-class assessments can take the form of section tests, short practice tests and/or quizzes on additional supplementary material covered in class Not all in-class assessments will count for marks (some may be for practice) and students will be notified when marks will be counted Students will most likely be given at least one class notice in advance of an upcoming assessment, but the professor reserves the right to give pop quizzes that count for marks should she deem them necessary Homework & Assignments Homework will be assigned on the day of class but will not necessarily be marked as it will be mostly used to give students additional practice Students will be informed of upcoming marked assignments in advance and these will be posted on the Moodle e-course All assignments must be submitted by the due date Late work will not be accepted without an excellent reason and discussion with the professor in advance Work can be submitted electronically (preferred) or printed out and brought to class If you not understand a homework assignment, you can get clarification from your professor, tutor or another student The Moodle site will have the submission box for your assignments TOEFL Practice Tests In addition to the section and short practice tests, students will complete full paper based TOEFL practice tests under realistic TOEFL conditions and time limits Late students will not be given any additional time for tests Should a student miss a practice test, they will receive a score of zero on that test Students who are sick or must miss a test due to circumstances beyond their control must contact the professor in advance to work out a solution and provide some form of support for their excuse Final Exam The final Exam for this course will take place at some point during the exam period (12/12 19/12), and will be comprised of a full paper based TOEFL exam conducted under fully realistic TOEFL conditions Cell Phones All cell phones (including the professor’s) will be turned off or set to “silent” for the duration of the class Personal Issues If you have any problems concerning the course material or the classroom instruction, you are encouraged to discuss it with your professor or your advisor during “office hours” (by appointment) Please feel free to email with questions at any time, allowing 24hrs for response Academic Honesty Cheating or plagiarism in any form is unacceptable All work submitted by a student must represent her/his own ideas, concepts, and current understanding Any content that is referenced or has small amounts of material quoted should be cited using APA format Images or other media used in projects should be original, used with permission, or cited come from public domain You will find resources for the APA style on our Moodle course site VI Lesson Schedule* This course is 15 weeks long Homework assignments and deadlines will be given in class and posted on the Moodle e- course page Weeks Test Skills and Materials (pages) 1-2 01/09 04/09 08/09, 11/09 Course Introduction and TOEFL Test structure overview & Diagnostic Pre-Tests (NOT counted for marks) LC: Part A: Strategies (12-18); SWE: Sentences with one clause (98106), Sentences with multiple clauses (107-113); RC: Questions about the idea of the passage (251-258) TWE: Writing Pre-test 3-4 15/09 18/09 22/09 LC: Part A: Who, What, Where (19-27); SWE: More sentences with multiple clauses (107-122); RC: Directly Answered Questions (259-274); TWE: Sample Essays (338-343) 5-6 29/09 02/10 06/10 09/10 1st Practice Test 7-8 13/10 16/10 20/10 23/10 LC: Part A: Functions (38-45); SWE: Problems with parallel structure (152157) Problems with comparatives and superlatives (158-163), Problems with the form of the verb (164-168); RC: Vocabulary Questions (288-305); TWE: Before writing (348-349) LC: Part A: Negatives (28-37); SWE: Sentences with reduced clauses (123130), Sentences with inverted subjects and verbs (131-142), Problems with subject/verb agreement (144 -151); RC: Indirectly answered questions (275287); TWE: Before writing (344-347) 2nd Practice Test 9-10 27/10 30/10 03/11 06/11 LC: Part A: Contrary meanings (46-52); SWE: Problems with the use of the verb (169-177), Problems with passive verbs (178-181), Problems with nouns (182-189); RC: Overall Review Questions (306-337); TWE: While writing (350-355) 11-12 10/11 13/11 17/11 20/11 LC: Part A: Idiomatic language (53-58); SWE: Problems with pronouns (190195), Problems with adjectives and adverbs (196-203), Problems with Adjectives (204-209); TWE: While writing (356-361) 13-14 24/11 1/12 4/12 LC: Part B (59-69), Part C (70-87); SWE: Problems with Articles (210-216), Problems with prepositions (217-220), Problems with usage (221-227); TWE: After writing (362-374) 15 Post-Tests & Review 3rd Practice Test 8/12 11/12 16 LEGEND: Final Exams LC = Longman, Listening Comprehension SWE = Longman, Structure and Written Expression Section RC = Longman, Reading Section TWE = Longman, Test of Written English Section * This schedule is subject to adjustments and changes without notice ... 10% In-Class Assessments 10% At Home Assignments 20% Full length TOEFL Practice Tests 30% Final Exam 30% TOTAL 100% A+ 9 7-1 00% C+ 7 4-7 6% A 9 4-9 6% C 6 8-7 3% A- 9 0-9 3% C- 6 4-6 7% B+ 8 6-8 9% D+ 6 0-6 3%... Where (1 9-2 7); SWE: More sentences with multiple clauses (10 7-1 22); RC: Directly Answered Questions (25 9-2 74); TWE: Sample Essays (33 8-3 43) 5-6 29/09 02/10 06/10 09/10 1st Practice Test 7-8 13/10... and adverbs (19 6-2 03), Problems with Adjectives (20 4-2 09); TWE: While writing (35 6-3 61) 1 3-1 4 24/11 1/12 4/12 LC: Part B (5 9-6 9), Part C (7 0-8 7); SWE: Problems with Articles (21 0-2 16), Problems