Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus

Communication Skills – Level 8 – Section 1

Fall 1 2021

 

Instructor: Kenny Willis                                     Course Location:  304  GB

E-mail:  Kenny.Willis@ucf.edu                           Course Days/Times:  M – Th 12 pm             

Office Hours:  M-Th 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm on Zoom

 

Textbooks

Lee, C.  (2017). 21^st Century Communication: Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking 3.  

Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning. (Units 5-8)  

 

Supplies that Students Need 

Notebook/paper, pencil, eraser, access to Webcourses and Zoom

Course Description

  

This course is intended to help advanced level students understand conversations and lectures that take place in academic and social settings. The conversations and lectures may include difficult vocabulary, abstract or complex ideas, complex sentence structures, various uses of intonation, and a large amount of information, possibly organized in complex ways. In addition, the course continues to build students’ presentation and speaking skills, so that they can communicate fluently and effectively on a wide range of topics with little difficulty.

 

Course Goals and Objectives

Goals

Students continue to hone their advanced communication skills by supporting their opinions and justifying viewpoints in academic discussions, as well as recognizing tone, using imagery, and negotiating. Academic presentations will continue to be well structured with clear purpose and prolonged content.

 

Objectives

 

1. Listen for signal words that indicate relationships.
2. Utilize graphic organizers to take notes ore reorganize notes.
3. Recognize a speaker’s tone.
4. Distinguish between main idea and supporting ideas in an academic lecture, with little or no support.
5. Make connections between ideas when speaking by utilize cohesive devices.
6. Tell a story, using imagery and voice
7. Justify and sustain views by providing relevant explanations
8. Justify a viewpoint by providing advantages and disadvantages
9. Discuss controversial issues and negotiate
10. Ask for clarification and elaboration when discussing academic topics.
11. Present an argument and defend one’s position in an academic discussion.
12. Plan, deliver an extended presentation with a clear introduction, body and conclusion, refer to sources and visuals
13. Participate in an academic discussion or debate, interrupting and bringing discussion back to main point
14. Initiate, maintain and end discourse with effective turn-taking strategies.
15. Employ rules of supersegmentals.

 

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 

1.Prepare and deliver a well-structured academic presentation, with sustained content and clarity in delivery.

2. Identify and restate speaker’s main ideas, supporting ideas and details with support of written notes.
3. Justify opinions and arguments in an academic discussion.
4. Use voice (intonation, rhythm and phrasing) to aid in communicating meaning when speaking.

 

Course Prerequisites  

Completion of Communication Skills Level 7 or placement exam equivalent.

 

 

Anticipated Course Schedule

Course Activities

Week	Course Activities/Grading Opportunities
One	What is formal and informal language? Noticing organizational patterns and structures in academic presentations Ideation-brainstorming and presentation outlines
Two	Note-taking strategies Unit 5- Stress Friend or Foe Listen for signal words that indicate relationships. Utilize graphic organizers to take notes or re-reorganize notes. Recognize a speaker’s tone. Cloze listening activity Listening Quiz
Three	Unit 6 - Treasured Places  Distinguish between main idea and supporting ideas in an academic lecture, with little or no support. Make connections between ideas when speaking by utilize cohesive devices. Fluency building activity Presentation
Four	Unit 7 – Live and Learn  Tell a story, using imagery and voice Justify and sustain views by providing relevant explanations Storytelling activity Listening Quiz
Five	Unit 7- Live and Learn Justify a viewpoint by providing advantages and disadvantages Discuss controversial issues and negotiate Ask for clarification and elaboration when discussing academic topics. Role Play Presentation
Six	Unit 8- DIY Do It Yourself  Present an argument and defend one’s position in an academic discussion. Plan, deliver an extended presentation with a clear introduction, body and conclusion, refer to sources and visuals Think Tank activity Listening Quiz
Seven	Unit 8- DIY Do It Yourself  Participate in an academic discussion or debate, interrupting and bringing discussion back to main point Initiate, maintain and end discourse with effective turn-taking strategies. Employ rules of supersegmentals. Debate Activity
	Comprehensive Final Listening Exam  - Final Presentation

Assignment Submission

All assignments, unless otherwise indicated will be submitted via Webcourses@UCF. Assignments must be submitted on the due date. No late submissions are accepted.

Final Exam

THERE ARE NO EARLY FINAL EXAMS GIVEN

You are responsible for making travel plans AFTER all your final exams.

 TBA

To pass this class, students should have a cumulative average of a C- (71% or higher).

 

Course Evaluation 

The grading breakdown is as follows: 

 

Presentations:                                                                     40% (2 Presentations – 20% each)

Quizzes/Test                                                                         35% (3 quizzes – 11.67% each)

Final Exam:                                                                           25%  (presentations)          

                                                                                Total =   100%

*3 presentations total including Final Exam

 

Excellent	Good	Average	Repeat*
A+   98-100       A   95-97       A-   92-94	B+   88-91       B   85-87       B-   82-84	C+   78-81       C   74-77       C-   71-73	R   0-70

The Intensive English Program (IEP) remains an eight-level program; advanced levels 9 and 10 will allow students to choose when they want to complete the IEP (level 8, 9, or 10).

IEP students will be required to submit an Intent to Graduate form in order to communicate their desired completion level. Please direct students to Academic Advising for additional information regarding this new process.

 

 

Make-Up Quiz/Test Policy 

All written work that is submitted past the deadline will be considered late and the grade will be reduced by one letter grade for each day it is late. There are NO make-ups for quizzes. However, your lowest quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the term. Students are allowed to make up ONE test if a valid reason is provided in advance (or in case of emergency – this is up to the discretion of the instructor). Exceptions may possibly be granted in situations deemed extreme by the director.

 

COVID

To protect members of our community, everyone is required to wear a facial covering inside all common spaces including classrooms (https://policies.ucf.edu/documents/PolicyEmergencyCOVIDReturnPolicy.pdf. Students who choose not to wear facial coverings will be asked to leave the classroom by the instructor. If they refuse to leave the classroom or put on a facial covering, they may be considered disruptive (please see the Golden Rule for student behavior expectations). Faculty have the right to cancel class if the safety and well-being of class members are in jeopardy. Students will be responsible for the material that would have been covered in class as provided by the instructor.

Notifications in Case of Changes to Course Modality

Depending on the course of the pandemic during the semester, the university may make changes to the way classes are offered. If that happens, please look for announcements or messages in Webcourses@UCF or Knights email about changes specific to this course.

COVID-19 and Illness Notification

Students who believe they may have a COVID-19 diagnosis should contact UCF Student Health Services (407-823-2509) so proper contact tracing procedures can take place.

Students should not come to campus if they are ill, are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for COVID, or if anyone living in their residence has tested positive or is sick with COVID-19 symptoms. CDC guidance for COVID-19 symptoms is located here: (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html)

Students should contact their instructor(s) as soon as possible if they miss class for any illness reason to discuss reasonable adjustments that might need to be made. When possible, students should contact their instructor(s) before missing class.

In Case of Faculty Illness

If the instructor falls ill during the semester, there may be changes to this course, including having a backup instructor take over the course. Please look for announcements or mail in Webcourses@UCF or Knights email for any alterations to this course.

Course Accessibility and Disability COVID-19 Supplemental Statement

Accommodations may need to be added or adjusted should this course shift from an on-campus to a remote format. Students with disabilities should speak with their instructor and should contact sas@ucf.edu to discuss specific accommodations for this or other courses.

 

 

Class Expectations

Respect                  Respect each other, respect me, and respect our room and building. No exceptions.

 

Plagiarism             No plagiarism and no cheating. No exceptions! Please see the policy below.

& cheating

 

Participation         You are expected to raise your hand, ask questions, and participate every day.

 

Cell Phones           Cell phones may be used for study purposes only (translating, looking up information, etc.). Cell phones should not be used for socializing in class (Facebook, Snapchat, etc.) Occasionally we may use cell phones or tablets, but I will tell you when this is the case.

 

No cell phones may be out during or after an exam.

 

Language              English should be the primary language for classroom communication. Any usage of

your native language should serve the purpose of learning English.

 

 

Academic Honesty / Cheating Policy

You must produce and turn in original work. You may not copy sentences or paragraphs from books, from other printed material or from other students’ papers. You may not look at other students’ tests or quizzes, and you cannot give your answers to other students. You cannot look for answers in a textbook, on papers or in any other place unless the teacher gives permission. Copying another’s work or the use of electronic devices during quizzes or exams will result in a grade of “0” for that assessment.

 

Plagiarism Policy

In the Intensive English Program at UCF Global, plagiarism is unacceptable. Plagiarism is defined as copying words or sentences from someone else’s work (e.g. websites, articles, or books) without including a citation to show where those words come from. In doing this, a student who plagiarizes “steals” the words or sentences from another writer. With no information or citation about where the words are from, the writer wrongly claims that the words are his or her own. Students may come from different backgrounds where copying somebody’s words without their acknowledgement is acceptable; however, in the United States plagiarism is a serious matter. It is the responsibility of the students to learn what plagiarism means and its negative consequences.

 

It is expected that all assignments, papers, projects, and any other work submitted for a grade will be the students’ own (except for group assignments). Instructors will show students how to avoid plagiarism; therefore, there will be no excuse for plagiarism for the reason of not knowing about it. The following are the most common examples of plagiarism:

• Copying from somebody’s paper;
• Having a different person write your paper;
• Copying five or more words from the Internet, a book, or an article without saying where the information comes from;
• Using exact words from your writing assignments which you had submitted for a previous class.

 

Students may NOT copy someone else’s words in print or online and present them as their own. A student must provide source information (such as author’s name, the title of the book/article, the name of the website, etc.) if he or she does one of the following:

• Quotes another person’s actual words, either spoken or written;
• Paraphrases another person’s words, either spoken or written;
• Uses another person’s idea, opinion, or theory; or
• Copies facts, statistics, or other material unless the information is common knowledge (Common knowledge is general information that most people know, and you do not have to write where the information comes from. For example: Paris is the capital of France. However, you must provide source information for the following sentence: 8% of people in France speak German. This sentence contains information that an average reader does not know).

 

Students will be taught proper ways to cite sources and are expected to be familiar with them. Students who are not sure about using citations, should consult their instructor before work is submitted. If a student makes an attempt to cite outside sources but does not cite them correctly, it will not be considered plagiarism. Instead, he or she will be advised to attend the Writing Center at UCF for assistance.

 

Students may be punished for not adhering to the plagiarism policy and helping others to plagiarize. The following penalties will be applied to students who plagiarize:

• Students may get a grade of 0% on any assignment in which they plagiarized, and the teacher will decide if the student can do the assignment again on a different topic.
• Students who are reported for plagiarism a second time in the same class, will receive a grade of 0% on the assignment.
• In case of repeated plagiarism, the violation will be reported to the Director or the Assistant Director and indicated on students’ academic records.

 

Course Accessibility

The University of Central Florida is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need access to course content due to course design limitations should contact the professor as soon as possible. Students should also connect with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) <http://sas.sdes.ucf.edu/> (Ferrell Commons 185, sas@ucf.edu, phone 407-823-2371). For students connected with SAS, a Course Accessibility Letter may be created and sent to professors, which informs faculty of potential course access and accommodations that might be necessary and reasonable. Determining reasonable access and accommodations requires consideration of the course design, course learning objectives and the individual academic and course barriers experienced by the student. Further conversation with SAS, faculty and the student may be warranted to ensure an accessible course experience.

 

Campus Safety

Emergencies on campus are rare, but if one should arise during class, everyone needs to work together. Students should be aware of their surroundings and familiar with some basic safety and security concepts.

• In case of an emergency, dial 911 for assistance.
• Every UCF classroom contains an emergency procedure guide posted on a wall near the door. Students should make a note of the guide’s physical location and review the online version at <http://emergency.ucf.edu/emergency_guide.html>.
• Students should know the evacuation routes from each of their classrooms and have a plan for finding safety in case of an emergency.
• If there is a medical emergency during class, students may need to access a first-aid kit or AED (Automated External Defibrillator). To learn where those are located, see <https://ehs.ucf.edu/automated-external-defibrillator-aed-locations>.
• To stay informed about emergency situations, students can sign up to receive UCF text alerts by going to <https://my.ucf.edu> and logging in. Click on “Student Self Service” located on the left side of the screen in the toolbar, scroll down to the blue “Personal Information” heading on the Student Center screen, click on “UCF Alert”, fill out the information, including e-mail address, cell phone number, and cell phone provider, click “Apply” to save the changes, and then click “OK.”
• Students with special needs related to emergency situations should speak with their instructors outside of class.
• To learn about how to manage an active-shooter situation on campus or elsewhere, consider viewing this video (<https://youtu.be/NIKYajEx4pk>).

Religious Observances

Students must notify their instructor in advance if they intend to miss class for a religious observance. For more information, see the UCF policy at <http://regulations.ucf.edu/chapter5/documents/5.020ReligiousObservancesFINALJan19.pdf>.