Beginner-Level Course Curriculum

Draft by Andrew Santos, February 18th, 2012 Level Description This level provides the foundation of the structure of the language, gradually building students understanding of the basic grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and functions of English. The course is aimed at students who have little knowledge or experience with English and are not yet ready for Elementary-level tasks and material. Upon completing this level, students should be able to accomplish basic life tasks in English (e.g., ordering food, asking for simple directions) Performative goals (things students should be able to DO) Students will be able to

Exchange Greetings and (self) introductions using

Required Grammar o V- to be, o Formulaic expressions for selfintroductions (e.g. I am from England, I speak Romanian) Required Vocabulary Basic greetings & introduction expressions Pronouns Names in English Countries/languages Expressions for gratitude, apologizing, getting someones attention

Give and ask for Personal information using

Required Grammar o Question formation (e.g. Where are you from?) o Negation o Possessive determiners; o Expressing age o V-to have (for family members) o V-to live" o Singular and plural nouns o Indefinite article a/an Required Vocabulary Professions Numbers 1-100 (for expressing age) Family members Address information Interrogative pronouns who, what, when, where

Make requests/ Giving and receiving using

Required Grammar o Modal (can) in questions and answers o Ellipted answers (e.g. Yes, you may) o Singular and plural nouns o Direct and indirect objects Required Vocabulary Classroom vocabulary (e.g. pen, desk) Object pronouns Demonstrative pronouns/determiners (e.g. this, that, this assignment, that paper)

Use travel expressions, ask for and give directions using

Required Grammar Required Vocabulary o Locative prepositions (e.g. next to the Places in town (e.g. school, book store, to, from) hospital, mall) o Adverbs of place (e.g. here, there, Forms of transportation where) o Instrumental prepositions (e.g. travel by car, go with her) o V-Present o V-Past

Talk about the home using

Required Grammar o Locative prepositions o Non-referential There (e.g. There is a table near the sofa) Required Vocabulary Rooms in the house Furniture and appliances

Describe things and people using

Required Grammar o Basic adjectives (e.g. big, small, good, bad) o Colors o Body parts o Adjectives for people (e.g. thin, tall) Required Vocabulary Correctly placed adjectives V-Present

Tell time, talk and ask about personal schedules using

Required Grammar o Time prepositions (e.g. at 5:00, on Tuesday) o V-Past o V-Future Required Vocabulary Time vocabulary (clock reading, days of the week, months, years)

Go shopping using
Required Grammar o Numbers 1 - 9,999? o V-Future o Demonstrative determiners/pronouns (e.g. this, these, that, those) Required Vocabulary Clothes Food items (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meats) School supplies V-buy, cost, will take, would like Quantifiers (e.g. a lot, many, not much)

Express wants, likes & dislikes, hobbies, habits using

Required Grammar o Correctly placed adverbs o V-Present continuous Required Vocabulary Hobbies (e.g. sports, music) Adverbs of frequency V- want, like, dislike, love, hate

Talk about weather using

Required Grammar o Non-referrential it (e.g. It is cloudy today) o V-Present progressive o V-Future (using will) Required Vocabulary Weather adjectives (e.g. sunny, rainy) Weather verbs (e.g. snow, rain)

Additional topics that may be covered at this level are: Pets/animals; Talking on the phone; Giving reasons/excuses using other modals (e.g. have to, must); and Feelings/emotions. Cognitive goals (things students should KNOW or KNOW ABOUT) Students will know or be familiar with The teachers classroom policy ALCs student attendance/payment policy The alphabet Basic pronunciation and spelling rules Simple sentence structure (SVO) Simple syntax of other parts of speech (e.g. adjectives, articles, determiners, adverbs) Back-channeling expressions (e.g. uh huh, oh I see) Requests/expressions in Middle register English Noun types (singular/plural/count/noncount) Everyday verbs (quantify?) Regular and irregular verb structures (affirmative/negative/questions/short answers ) Polar and information seeking question formation Reasons why different verb tense/aspects are used Common collocations (words that go together, like listen to or talk about) Affective goals (students attitude towards the target language and the classroom) Students should feel Comfortable communicating with the teacher in and out of the classroom That the assignments and lessons are relevant and helpful towards their personal goals That the level of the class is appropriate for their language level Comfortable working with other students on in-class tasks Personally interested in the target-language speaking community

Metacognitive goals (students awareness of the language learning process) Students should understand/be aware of o Simple listening strategies (e.g. listening for keywords) o Simple reading strategies (e.g. pre-reading to guess the nature of the content) o How to self-check writing for errors o When to focus on Form and when to focus on Meaning in oral communication o At least 2 non-textbook resources to assist in self-study (e.g. website, TV show) ***Recommended texts for this level 1. American Headway Starter ( Students Book, Workbook, Teachers Book, CDs / Cassettes, Tests ) 2. Side by Side ( Book 1 ) ( SB, WB, TB, CDs, Video) ***Recommended ancillary materials : Round-up Starter ( Gr. ) Beginning Interactive Grammar Irene S. McKay ( Gr. + Functions ) Recent English Workbook 1 Robert J. Dixson ( Gr. ) Basic English Grammar Betty Azar ( Gr. ) Grammar Step by Step 1 McGraw Hill ( Gr., Pron., Listen., Contextualized practice ) Focus on Grammar Irene Schoenberg ( Gr. ) Grammar Express Basic Marjorie Fuchs, Margaret Bonner ( Gr. ) Fun with Grammar for the Betty Azar Grammar Series ( Gr. + Communication ) All Star 1 Linda Lee ( Vocab. + Functions ) New American Streamline Departures ( SB, WBs, TB, Audio ) ( Listen. + Functions + Gr. ) Grammar in Context Basic Sandra Elbaum, Judi Peman ( Gr. + Contextualized Practice ) All about the USA 1 ( Reading ) Target Listening 1 Jeff Zeter Active Listening 1 Steven Brown Beginners Communication Games Jill Hadfield

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