Listening & Speaking: Goals, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Goals

• The students will acquire necessary listening skills in order to follow and comprehend discourse such as lectures, conversations, interviews, and discussions at their programs.
• The students will develop adequate speaking skills to communicate effectively to follow academic courses at a university level.

Objectives

• The students will identify main ideas in a lecture.
• The students will identify important details in a lecture.
• The students will distinguish more important ideas from less important ones.
• The students will use different listening strategies to listen actively.
• The students will take clear notes.
• The students will use their notes to organize their ideas.
• The students will identify words and/or phrases related to the topic.
• The students will draw inferences relying on the context.
• The students will express themselves fluently.
• The students will express themselves with acceptable accuracy.
• The students will convey their ideas clearly.
• The students will participate in discussions.
• The students will analyze and synthesize information presented in different sources.
• The students will paraphrase orally what they hear and/or read.

Learning Outcomes

     By the end of the program, the students will be able to:

• use cohesive devices to distinguish different ideas,
• identify key terms and definitions during conversations and/or lectures,
• identify cues the lecturers use when focusing on examples, cause and effect relationships, and comparison and contrast,
• make inferences based on what they hear,
• identify the lecturer’s point of view,
• use symbols and/or abbreviations to take effective notes,
• express their opinions in individual presentations of ideas,
• express their opinions in group discussions,
• use accurate linguistic structures in conveying their ideas,
• use appropriate vocabulary in conveying their ideas,
• paraphrase important information in the listening texts,
• produce a speech eliciting ideas from different sources.

*A listening text refers to any lecture at the upper-intermediate level of at least 600 words.

Reading:  Goals, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Goal

The students will acquire necessary reading skills to comprehend academic texts.

Objectives 

• The students will comprehend important information and facts that are stated in a reading text.
• The students will understand the distinction between main ideas and supporting details in a reading text.
• The students will understand the meaning of a word as it is used in a reading text.
• The students will draw conclusions based on the information given within a statement or section of a reading text.
• The students will perceive ideas that are suggested but not directly stated within a reading text.
• The students will recognize the organization and purpose of a reading text.
• The students will restate ideas from another source in their own words.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the program, the students will be able to:

• use context clues to figure out the meaning of a word and/or phrase in a reading text,
  • use surrounding information to understand meaning, details and/or inferences in a reading text,
• use surrounding information to determine what a pronoun, determiner, etc. refers to in a reading text,
• skim a passage for main ideas,
• scan a passage for specific information,
• paraphrase important points in a reading text,
• summarize information in a reading text,
• make and/or complete outlines of a reading text,
• categorize information in a reading text,
• infer a writer’s intention and/or purpose in a reading text,
• compare and contrast opinions and/or information from different sources.

*A reading text refers to an upper-intermediate level of at least 500 words.

Writing: Goals, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Goal

The students will develop important writing skills that will enable them to produce academic texts required in their undergraduate studies.

Objectives

• The students will brainstorm and organize their ideas.
• The students will use mechanics of writing appropriately.
• The students will use appropriate cohesive devices to improve their texts.
• The students will incorporate appropriate vocabulary to express ideas precisely.
• The students will write grammatically accurate basic and complex sentences.
• The students will write coherent and unified paragraphs.
• The students will learn how to paraphrase to improve their writing.
• The students will learn how to summarize to improve their writing.
• The students will express a clear opinion.
• The students will provide relevant support through examples or reasons.
• The students will produce a written response based on the information in the reading and listening texts.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the program, the students will be able to:

• make an outline.
• apply punctuation, capitalization, and spelling rules in writing appropriately.
• use parallel structures accurately and effectively.
• use a variety of conjunctions, transition signals, pronouns, and articles to improve their texts.
• use a wide range of vocabulary relevant to the text.
• use correct forms of the words.
• write texts avoiding fragments, run-on sentences, and/or comma splices.
• write a paragraph with a topic sentence stating their opinion.
• organize their ideas using ordering styles according to the content of the discussion.
• use examples, specific facts, and anecdotes to strengthen their opinion.
• use language structures and vocabulary to express agreement/disagreement or to introduce a new opinion.
• write a response identifying the main ideas and key points of a reading and a listening text.

*An response is at the upper-intermediate level and expected to contain a minimum of 100 words.

*A response is at the upper-intermediate level and expected to contain between 150-225 word

Main Course: Goal, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

     Goal

The students will attain useful and efficient linguistic structures and use them appropriately in their undergraduate studies.

    Objectives

• The students will use linguistic structures to read and understand well-structured texts encountered in academic or social contexts.
• The students will use linguistic structures to follow and comprehend a well-organized scripted lecture and take notes.
• The students will use linguistic structures to produce coherent written and/or oral responses on academic and social topics.
• The students will attain vocabulary to comprehend academic and social reading and listening texts.
• The students will use the correct form of the words in their oral and written language production. 
• The students will understand separate meanings of a word as it is used in a reading and listening text.

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of the program, the students will be able to:

• identify the use of linguistic structures in written and oral texts.
• use the linguistic structures they have learnt in different kinds of written and oral texts effectively.
• use appropriate words to convey accurate meanings in different kinds of speaking and writing.
• guess the definitions of the words using context clues.
• figure out a word’s part of speech in a sentence. 
• spell and pronounce each word and different forms of words correctly. 
• skim and scan a passage to understand the main idea and to find specific information.
• find direct and indirect answers about part and/or whole of reading or listening texts.
• make use of complex linguistic structures to understand a reading and listening text. 

Vocabulary: Goals, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Goals:

The students will expand their vocabulary so as to enhance their proficiency in reading and  listening to academic texts, writing, and speaking.

Objectives:

• The students will become familiar with formal vocabulary that is common in academic texts.
• The students will attain vocabulary to comprehend academic and social reading and listening texts.
• The students will become familiar with different spelling patterns for parts of speech.
• The students will learn strategies to understand vocabulary in the text.
• The students will use correct form of the words in their oral and written language production.
• The students will develop an understanding of collocations.
• The students will understand separate meanings of a word as it is used in a reading and listening text.

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of the program, the students will be able to:

• use appropriate words to give the correct meaning in speaking and writing.
• use derivatives of academic words.
• use a wide variety of words suitable for their written and oral work.
• find the meanings of words using context clues.
• use context clues to determine the correct meaning of the word.
• identify the types of words in the sentence.
• write sentences using collocation words.
• distinguish different meanings of words with more than one same word type.
• write words and different types of words correctly.
• pronounce words and different types of words correctly.

Independent Learning

Goal: The students will develop necessary strategies for successful independent learning.

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of the program, the students will be able to:

• study independently.
• manage time efficiently.
• become aware of their strengths and weaknesses as language learners.
• develop strategies of their own for language learning.
• use the library effectively.