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AN10001BA-K3/AN18001BA/ANL10001BA

Skills Development: Reading and Speaking

(first-year full-time and second-year minor students)

Course description
This course is designed to develop students’ reading ability and oral communication skills
in English to prepare them for the English Yardstick Exam (EYE). Students will be
introduced to a variety of authentic texts, including, for example, newspaper and
magazine articles, film or book reviews and other sources to help them develop essential
reading skills such as prediction, reading for the general idea, reading for specific and
detailed information, understanding text organization, reference, inference, and deducing
meaning from context, and thus, become more efficient readers.
Classes will be organized around a major topic, to which various texts and complementary
exercises will be assigned. Vocabulary building as appropriate to the topics of the sessions
also forms an integral part of the course to help students to develop their oral
communications skills. Therefore, each topic will also be explored through language
games, role-plays, discussion activities and individual presentations.

Readings
The authentic texts to be used during the semester will be selected from various sources
which will, most importantly, include:

 E. Moutsou-S. Parker. Reading Comprehension for the FCE Examination. MM

Publications, 1999.
 Peter May, First Certificate Trainer. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.
 Charles Osborne and Carol Nuttall. CAE Practice Tests. Heinle: Heinle Cengage
Learning, 2009.
 Nick Kenny and Lucretia Luque-Mortimer. Teaching Not Just Testing. London:
Longman and Pearson, 2008.
 Martin Hunt. Ideas and Issues. London: Chanceler International, 2000.

Scanned COPIES of the readings and exercises for class and homework will be made
available in a Course Packet (CP) for the students during the first week of classes!

Requirements
Students will be graded on the strength of their
 class performance and participation (pair-work, group work, role-play
activities): depending on the total number of students in the class, at least once
during the semester each student has to take part in such activities ‘on the spot’
and present their ideas in front of fellow students; these individual long run, or
pair-work activities will be evaluated and graded by the tutor;
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 one short presentation (5-7 minutes) based on a pre-approved topic of the

students’ interests relevant to the week-by-week discussion points. The oral
presentations will be supported by a one-page outline distributed before class. A
typed handout strictly not longer than one page should be sent or handed in to
the instructor ONE WEEK before the presentation for overview. Only handouts
approved by the instructor can be presented. The handout should be only a
guideline to the presentation and not a word-by-word transcript. You must not read
out your presentation. The content of your talk, the lay-out of your handout, your
performance and presentation skills as well as your pronunciation will be
evaluated. If someone does not show up when his/her presentation is due and does
not notify the instructor in advance, he/she will lose all the credit points on the
assignment.;
 occasional vocabulary tests;
 two written practice tests to be submitted until October 11 (not graded, but
required);
 one reading summary (a cca. 500 words summary of a longer text) to be
submitted by Week 12 (December 6): see guideline later;
 a short mid-term and a comprehensive end-term test.

During the semester the students will read numerous texts and do related exercises of
different kinds (gap-filling, multiple choice, etc.) to develop and practice different
reading strategies and skills and at the same time prepare for the Reading and the
Reading-Writing parts of the EYE exam.

Class performance and participation: 25%, one short presentation: 10%, occasional
vocabulary tests: 5%, one reading summary: 10%, mid-term: 15% and a
comprehensive end-term test: 35%

The end-term paper may not be missed or rescheduled under any circumstances.
More than three absences will result in a “not fulfilled” grade. Grades will be assigned
according to the following conversion formulae: 0-60% = fail; 61-70% = satisfactory; 71-
80% = average; 81-90% = good; 91-100% = excellent.

Further rules of the game

It is an essential part of the course requirements to attend all class meetings. If you must
miss a class because of illness or emergency, please let me know, and make all the
necessary arrangements to complete any work missed. Students may not miss more than
three classes under any circumstances. Students are kindly requested to contact their tutor
at least a day before class if they are to make a presentation but cannot attend.

Academic dishonesty or Plagiarism (failure to acknowledge and note the use of another
writer’s words and ideas) is both unethical and illegal and will result in a failure of the
course.
Tardiness and early departures are not allowable. They are offensive to your fellow
students and to the instructor because they disrupt class work. If you have a compelling
reason for arriving late or leaving early, speak with your instructor about the problem. If
you regularly cut the beginning and/or the end of class sessions, it can add up to
unexcused full-class-time absences.
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Schedule of classes and topics

REGISTRATION WEEK (September 10-14)

Week 1 (September 20): Introduction and Orientation

For this first occasion please bring into class two or three things (photos, objects, anything
you can think of, and, of course, fits your bag) which are kind for you, and/or you think
tells the most about you and represents the best who you are. We will use this for the
purposes of introduction.

Text: “Language Learning” in First Certificate Trainer p. 113.

Developing Strategies
Week 2 (September 27): Developing Strategies: Answering Multiple Choice
Questions I, Completing Gapped Texts with Missing Sentences
sample texts from Reading Comprehension for the FCE Examination and CAE Practice
Tests pp. 7-29.

Week 3 (October 4): Developing Strategies: Multiple Matching I-II, Multiple Choice
Questions II, Gapped Texts with Missing Paragraphs
sample texts from Reading Comprehension for the FCE Examination and CAE Practice
Tests pp- 30-37, 54-77.

Practice
Week 4 (October 11): Prospects and Career
Homework text for the class: “Homeboys” in Ideas and Issues, pp. 28-29; “Travelling to
Learn” in Teaching Not Just Testing, 44-45.
Texts to be studied in class: “Turning a Hobby into a Career,” “Tell Us Something About
Yourself” in CAE Practice Tests pp. 38-39 and pp. 106-108;

 PRACTICE TESTS ARE DUE!!! tests from Reading Comprehension for the FCE
Examination pp. 39-45, and pp. 78-85.

Week 5 (October 15-19): CONSULTATION WEEK

Week 6 (October 25): Some Time Off: Hobbies, Leisure and Entertainment
Homework text for the class: “American Pop Penetrates Worldwide” in Ideas and Issues,
pp. 2-3.); “Anyone for Extreme Sports?” in Teaching Not Just Testing, pp. 68-69.
Texts to be studied in class: “Reaching for the Stars,” and “Facing the Music” in CAE
Practice Tests p. 77, and pp. 82-83;

Week 7 (November 1): HOLIDAY

Week 8: (November 8): Short midterm test + Media: videos

Week 9 (November 15): Travelling

Homework text for the class: “A Lonely Planet? Not Remotely” in Ideas and Issues, pp.
52-53; “Thinking of A Career Tourism?” in Teaching Not Just Testing, 88-89; “Writing
Guidebooks” in First Certificate Trainer pp. 108-109.
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Texts to be studied in class: “Winter Weekend Break,” “Green Valley Travel,” and “A
Charming Hotel” in CAE Practice Tests pp. 165-167.

Week 10 (November 22): Literature

Homework text for the class: “The Bestsellers” in Teaching Not Just Testing, 108-109;
excerpt from a novel in First Certificate Trainer pp. 146-147.
Texts to be studied in class: “Books for Children” in CAE Practice Tests pp. 62-64.

Week 11 (November 29): Are We Green? Environmental Issues

Homework text for the class: “Wind of Change” and “Hybrid Homes” in CAE Practice
Tests pp. 80-81 and pp. 124-125;
Texts to be studied in class: “How Much Does the Environment Matter?” “Overfishing
Alert!”, How Green Is My House!” and “On Your Bike” in CAE Practice Tests pp.55-57,
60-61.

Week 12 (December 6): The Holiday Season

Text to be announced later.

Examination
Week 13 (December 13): Final Test

Week 14 (December 20): Evaluation and Grading