Curriculum Portfolio

Course Description

This course is intended to move from an emphasis on spoken accuracy to an emphasis on written accuracy. Students will learn grammar principles and concepts, then apply those principles to spontaneously-produced written and spoken text.

Course Emphasis

• Grammar Form - 40% 
  
•  Meaning/Use
  • Speaking - 40%
  • Writing - 20%

Course Books and Materials

• Fundamentals of English Grammar, 5th Edition (chapters 8-14) (Pearson Education), 978-0134998824
• Fundamentals of English Grammar: Workbook, 5th Edition (chapters 8-14) (Pearson Education),978-0135159460

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Notices target grammar use in listening and reading both in isolation and in at-level text.
   1. Recognizes target grammar form
   2. Understands the meaning of target grammar 
   3. Understands when and why target grammar is used
   4. Uses grammar strategies to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words
2. Uses target grammar appropriately* in spoken and written English
   1. Generates target grammar form in isolation
   2. Uses target grammar to participate appropriately in informal and some formal conversations
   3. Explains the reasoning of target grammar use in different contexts (informal, formal, written, and spoken)  
   4. Uses target grammar to respond to a prompt with time constraints and/or preparation time 
   5. Uses grammar strategies to change the meaning and/or part of speech of familiar words
3. Engages in level-appropriate tasks and functions
   1. Asks questions using target grammar
   2. Answers questions using target grammar
   3. Narrates and describes in all major time frames
   4. Responds appropriately to complications with familiar tasks and topics
   5. Uses grammar to connect ideas at the paragraph level 
   6. Uses circumlocution to clarify meaning and maintain fluency

*Level-appropriate comprehensibility information is found on the Level Descriptors page.

Assessments and Learning Experiences

Grammar

1. Assessments. Give your students regular opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency under test constraints. Click to read more about the types of assessments you might require.


2. Form Practice. Form practice in class may be done through worksheets, controlled use practice, DWCF, or portfolios. Click to read more about how to practice grammar forms in this way.


3. Preparation Tasks. Whenever your students need to practice and prepare for a proficiency task, they should receive learning experience credit. This might take the form of group work, participation in an activity, or a practice test/quiz. Click to read more about this type of learning experience.


4. Presentations. Teachers have the option to assign presentations to their students in a grammar class. The purpose of a presentation should be clearly communicated to students when the assignment is given. The grade for it can be counted as either Learning Experience or Proficiency, but it is recommended that it counts as both Learning Experience and Proficiency. For example, the time the students spend preparing for the presentation should be counted as a Learning Experience grade. The presentation itself can receive a Proficiency grade when it has a clear purpose to test language skills and when it is accompanied by a detailed rubric which provides clear direction for both the students and the teacher in knowing how to prepare for it and how to grade it, respectively. Click to learn more about successfully planning a presentation assignment for this class.


5. Projects. Projects are a great way to get the students excited about using grammar in real-life situations. They are also useful tools in assessing students’ learning. Similar to presentations, projects can be assigned both a Learning Experience and a Proficiency grade. Teachers should allow class time for students to work on projects and that time should count as a Learning Experience grade. There can be writing and/or speaking components to every project. Click to read more about how to assign projects for grammar classes.

Speaking

1. Accuracy-focused Tasks. Students record their speech and transcribe it weekly (in or out of class). The teacher provides grammar feedback in the form of coded error symbols. Click on the title above for further information.

Writing

1. Dynamic Corrective Feedback (required). Students at this level should be introduced to the concept of dynamic corrective feedback.

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