Adv.

P&S

Community English Program Fall, 2014

Teachers College, Columbia University
Instructor: Allie Hope King
Email: ahk2151@tc.columbia.edu
Class: Advanced P&S
Classes: Monday & Thursday
Class time: 7:00pm 8:30pm
Classroom: Mondays GDH 535; Thursdays GDH 541
Class Website: http://alliehopekingadvps.weebly.com
Course Description:
Advanced P&S is designed to help non-native speakers of English to speak clearly, naturally, and
effectively in a variety of contexts such as the workplace, academic settings, or daily interactions with
native speakers. Although some attention is paid to individual sounds and their distinctions, the greater
focus is to help students improve their production of the broader features of spoken language. Considering
both formal and informal spoken English, students will learn how meaning is conveyed in features such as
pausing, stress, rhythm, and intonation and will get ample opportunity to practice these patterns through a
variety of activities such as self-recordings, discussions, and presentations. Attentive listening skills will
also be a focus as students will be trained to hear and recognize these patterns in spoken language
through interactions with the instructor and fellow students as well as through a variety of audio materials.
About the CEP
The Community Language Program (CLP) is a unique and integral part of the TESOL and Applied
Linguistics Programs at Teachers College, Columbia University. It provides English as a second
language and foreign language instruction to adult learners of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. In
addition, the CLP serves as an on- site language education lab in which TESOL and Applied Linguistics
faculty and students enrolled in the programs teach the courses and use the CLP as a setting for empirical
inquiry. Here at Teachers College we believe that observation and classroom research are the best way to
learn about how we teach and gain insights into how teaching might take place. Thus, we encourage
observation and classroom research and want people to use it as a tool for learning. Ongoing assessment
and program evaluation allow us to make the CLP a better program.

Important dates:

Week 1
Week 5
Week 9
Week 10

Monday, Sept. 22
Friday, Sept. 26
Thursday, Oct. 16
Monday & Thursday, Nov. 24 and 27
Monday Dec. 1
Thursday, Dec. 4

First day of classes

Last day for refunds and transfers
Midterm exam
Thanksgiving break: No classes
Final Exam (Presentation)
Last day of classes (final grades to students)

Course Materials:
There is no textbook for this class. Materials will consist of handouts, class Power Points and authentic audio
material from a variety of resources. Please always come to class prepared, bringing a notebook, a folder with
all class materials organized, and writing utensils (including a PENCIL and ERASER).

Adv.

P&S

Course Objectives:
Upon completing the course, students should:
Understand fundamental patterns of overall sentential stress and word stress, rhythm, and intonation in NAE
Be able to identify suprasegmental features of NAE while listening to authentic speech
Have addressed their individual pronunciation difficulties, including individual consonant and vowel sounds
Be able to self-monitor and correct their own speech
Utilize a dictionary and other resources to aid in pronunciation clarification and improvement
Feel more confident in giving short explanations and presentations in English
Participate more naturally in speaking conversations on a variety of topics and in varying contexts
Course Requirements:
Midterm exam: 30%
Final exam: 45%
Attendance and Participation: 10%
Homework & Blog Entries: 15%
Attendance Policy:
If a student misses 5 or more classes, s/he cannot pass the course. If the student
is late for 10 classes, s/he cannot pass the course
Grading:
A+/B+/C+/Fail/Repeat
W

Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
(pass)

A+ 97 100%
B+ 87 89%
C+ 77 79%

A 94 96% A- 90 93%
B 84 86% B- 80 83%
C 73 76% C- 70 72%

Poor (no pass)

69% or Below
D 63 66% D- 60 62%
Withdrawal (With permission from the teacher and the Director the
student withdrew from the course due to extenuating circumstances)

HOMEWORK:
Exact due dates or changes to the assignments on the syllabus will be stated when homework is assigned. Late
assignments will be accepted if a reason is communicated in a timely manner, but will have an automatic grade
reduction of 5% for each day it is late.
Audio Homework Assignments:
All audio assignments can be submitted via Google Voice. To submit an assignment, you will call
(646) 484-8654 and you will record your audio homework there. The audio file will come to me in my email,
which I will be able to forward back to you to keep for your records and study purposes.
STEPS
1. Call this number: (646) 484-8654
2. Listen to the outgoing message and wait for the tone
3. **SAY YOUR NAME** and record your homework response
**If you do not have a phone that can make calls in the U.S., please see me after class**
Alternatively, if you wish to create an audio file (.mp3) on your phone or computer, you can do so and
send it to me as an attachment. This is allowable unless otherwise specified. Please email any audio
attachments to ahk2151@tc.columbia.edu.
Blog Entries:
The class blog is meant to encourage you to practice outside class, as well as to enable you to share your
experiences and thoughts with your classmates. You can (and should!) post whenever you have something to
share (e.g. you have a problem communicating due to pronunciation on a phone call, but then find a way to

Adv.

P&S

make yourself clear; you find a really good resource online for the th sound and you want your classmates to
have it). These are weekly posts at the very least, and have a deadline of NOON on Mondays.
APPROXIMATE SCHEDULE
WEEK
1 9/22 & 25

2 9/29 & 10/2

3 10/6 & 10/9

4 10/13 & 10/16

5 10/20 & 10/23

ASSIGNMENT & TEST DATES

Goals > Independent Learning > Strategic Listening I > Classroom
Discussion

1. Diagnostic Speaking Due 9/25 by

midnight

Strategic Listening II > Thought Groups > Informal Discussion Topic

2. Self-Evaluation Due in Class 9/29

1. Blog Entry 1 Due 10/6 by noon

IPA Review > Focus Words > Peak Vowels > Stress Part I >
Classroom Discussion
Stress Part II > Reduction > Stress, Reduction & Meaning
Informal Discussion Topic
MIDTERM ON 10/16
Connected Speech > Intonation Part I > Phoneme Focus Forum >
Classroom Debate

6 10/27 & 10/30

Intonation Part II > Giving Short Explanations > Elevator Talk

7 11/3 & 11/6

Negotiating Meaning > Informal Topic Explanations > Informal

Discussion Topic

8 11/10 & 11/13

9 11/17 & 11/20

2. Listening for Thought Groups

Due in class 10/6
1. Blog Entry 2 Due 10/13 by noon
2. Focus Word Assignment Due in
Class 10/13
1. Blog Entry 3 Due 10/20 by noon
Midterm Self-Evaluation Due 10/20
in class
1. Blog Entry 4 Due 10/27 by noon
2. Two-Sided Topic Assignment Due
by noon 10/24 (Friday)
1. Blog Entry 5 Due 11/3 by noon
2. Elevator Talk Due in class 10/30
1. Blog Entry 6 Due 11/10 by noon

Formal Speech/Explanations > Formal Discussion Topic

2. Presentation Topic & Outline Due

in class 11/10
1. Blog Entry 7 Due 11/17 by noon

P&S for Presentations > Preparing for a Presentation

2. Presentation Prep Assignment Due

by noon 11/15 (Saturday)
1. Blog Entry 8 Due 11/24 by noon
2. Work on final presentation

10 11/24 & 11/27

11 12/1 & 12/4

NO CLASS ~ THANKSGIVING BREAK

Final Presentations > Plans, Prescriptions & PARTY!!

Final presentations on Monday, 12/1