EFS 689E - STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Learning English on Your Own

Syllabus

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EFS 689E: Learning English on Your Own

Tuesdays, 3:15-5:05 in 50-51P

Instructor: Phil Hubbard                
260-302G; 725-1557
efs@stanford.edu
Course website: www.stanford.edu/~efs/689e

Objective. 
As the title says, Learning English on Your Own is designed to help you learn how to continue your English learning without the necessity of a teacher or formal classroom setting. Basically, you will be trained in fundamentals of independent learning, of becoming your own language teacher. To do this you will need to know some of the same things a teacher does about language learning, language materials and resources, human psychology, and the individual strengths and weaknesses of your student—yourself.  I assume you are taking this course for one or more of the following reasons:

• your schedule doesn't allow you to take regular courses during the year

• you can't find the courses that you would like

• you don't have the funding for courses

• you like the idea of being an autonomous learner, controlling your own time and goals

Whatever your reason, if you follow the advice in this course and devote the necessary time and energy once it is over, you will discover you can make significant progress in improving your selected areas of English proficiency.

The focus of the course will be on helping you

• set reasonable learning objectives,

• identify readily available materials and tools,

• use appropriate techniques, strategies, and procedures to achieve those objectives,

• monitor progress toward desired outcomes,

• and finally, recognize the importance of planning and maintaining motivation

The materials will include both those designed specifically to help you learn English and authentic materials aimed at native speakers. We will focus primarily on free online materials and tools with occasional reference to books, DVDs and other materials. 

Please note that this course is not primarily an opportunity for English practice: we will be spending most of our time instead on learning about the concepts and tools that underlie successful practice, experimenting, and discussing them.

Requirements. 
There are three critical requirements for this course.

1. Attend regularly—you are expected to be at all of the six classes if you want to receive credit. If you know you are going to miss a class because of some compelling reason (for example, a required academic conference in another city), let me know in advance and we can work out a way for you to make up the missed work.

2. Do the homework assignments, which will be aimed at giving you experience in trying out the materials, tools, and techniques. The final assignment will be to prepare a plan for the what to do after the course is over: essentially, you will be designing your own curriculum.

3. Prepare for and attend five individual meetings. I will meet with you weekly during the course to help you plan, answer questions and discuss your progress.

Meeting these requirements will result in an S (Satisfactory) grade, and more importantly, a satisfactory experience!

Course content.
Week 1 will introduce the course and the foundations for independent language learning, weeks 2-3 will cover specific skills and introduce some examples of materials, weeks 4-5 will focus on techniques, procedures, and strategies as well as expand the base of materials and tools, and week 6 will include presentations on your individual learning plans and a course conclusion. Homework will be assigned regularly and then discussed in the following class and/or individual meeting. The scheduled course time is Tuesdays 3:15-5:05. In addition to the class meeting, you will meet with me for at least 20 minutes each week (weeks 1-5) to discuss your learning objectives, understanding of course materials, progress toward independence, and other topics of interest.

Note that I will be updating the website (www.stanford.edu/~efs/689e) on a weekly basis. The material will remain there once the course is over so you will be able to refer to it later.

Topics by week (Subject to change)

1) Introduction -- course overview; your language learning profile; learning on your own; the importance of motivation; determining content; what we know about second language learning; example websites.

2) Listening, Reading, and Vocabulary Development -- listening for comprehension vs. listening for learning; some basic listening techniques and procedures; learning resources on the web; authentic materials on the web; vocabulary range; building a better vocabulary; improving reading comprehension; improving reading speed; finding appropriate reading materials.

3) Pronunciation, Speaking, Writing, and Grammar -- understanding pronunciation; pronunciation practice techniques and resources; fundamentals of speaking; keeping an oral journal; finding conversation partners;

4) Techniques and strategies for improving language skills -- overview of techniques and strategies; rethinking your language learning objectives and long-term goals

5) Procedures and planning -- creating your own language lessons; assessing progress; staying motivated; making your individual learning plan.

6) Conclusion -- Individual learning plan presentations; course review 

DISABILITY NOTICE: Students who have a disability which may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of auxiliary aids and services in a class, must initiate the request with the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), located within the Office of Accessible Education (OAE).  The SDRC will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend appropriate accommodations, and prepare a verification letter dated in the current academic term in which the request is being made.  Please contact the SDRC as soon as possible; timely notice is needed to arrange for appropriate accommodations.  The Office of Accessible Education is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone:  723-1066; TDD:  725-1067).