Course Description
This course is designed to support English language learners as they work toward the communication skills necessary for professional and academic achievement. Students will receive instruction and practice in professional and academic communication, both verbal and written, with a focus on situational and interpersonal communication.
Topical Outline
- Reading
- Active reading strategies
- Writing
- Writing effectively for particular audiences and purposes
- Focus, organization, development
- Planning, drafting, revising, editing
- Speaking
- Speaking effectively for particular audiences and purposes (code switching)
- Eye contact and body language
- Using collaborative skills in a group
- Effectively using and interpreting verbal cues
- Listening
- Minimize distractions
- Eye contact/body language
- Oral instructions
- Ask clarifying questions
- Grammar, Spelling, & Punctuation
- Sentence construction - fragments, run-ons, comma splices
- Diction
- Capitalization, italics, and quotation marks
- Information Literacy
- Library databases and Internet searches
- Evaluating sources
- Technology
- Microsoft Word and Google Docs
- Formatting documents
- PowerPoint, Google Slides, and other presentation software
- Employability Skills (aka Soft Skills)
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Time management
- Professionalism
- Self Advocacy
- Finding and using resources
- Asking questions
- Grit and Perseverance
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Appropriately and effectively communicate with a variety of audiences (e.g. professors, supervisors, colleagues, community officials).
- Apply active reading strategies to increase understanding and engagement with a variety of texts.
- Develop written communication skills through a process of planning, drafting, revising, and editing with feedback from the instructor and peers.
- Identify and correctly use standard English grammar across a variety of academic and professional writing situations.
- Demonstrate verbal communication skills for particular audiences and purposes.
- Apply listening strategies to increase understanding and engagement.
- Develop information literacy by finding and evaluating sources and selecting and citing relevant information for specific purposes.
- Utilize technology to research and compose texts.
- Develop employability skills such as locating resources, collaborating, and demonstrating professionalism.
- Understand the role of self-advocacy in academic and professional situations.