Syllabus:  PreTOEFL Reading
Summer 2007
  
INSTRUCTOR: Margaret Young  OFFICE HOURS:  by appointment
OFFICE: 113A East Hall  CONTACTS: (503) 725-4143; e-mail youngm@pdx.edu

Textbook:  The Heinle and Heinle TOEFL Test Assistant:  Reading; by Milada Broukal; Heinle & Heinle 1995

Grading: Grading is based on attendance and participation.
Attendance.  It is important to come every day and be on time, especially when practice tests are scheduled.
    *There are no excused absences.
    *If you are late more than 10 minutes, it counts as an absence.
    *If you are late more than 5 minutes, these are recorded; three of these  late arrivals count as one absence.
    *It is your responsibility to sign the attendance sheet at the beginning of each class, or when you arrive.
    *If you do not bring the book, you will be marked absent and asked to leave.  You MAY NOT share books.
    *In order to receive a particular grade, you are only allowed a certain number of absences, shown below:

Grade

Absences (hours)

 Grade
 Absences
(hours)

A/A-

0-1

 D+/D 8-9

B+/B

2-3

 D- 10

B-/C+

4-5

 F 11 or more

C/C-

6-7

Cell phones.  Cell phones must be turned off at all times. If your cell phone rings during a test or other timed activity, you will be marked absent for one hour.

Participation.  Participation includes several elements:
    *Being on time and ready to start class;
    *Having all of your materials (book, paper, pencil) ready to use at the beginning of class;
    *Working well in groups by sharing work equally and paying attention to the task;
    *Paying attention in class and asking questions

Objectives:  In this course you will practice different types of questions on the Reading part of the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT)  in order to become familiar with them.   You will also learn about and practice strategies so that you can maximize your effectiveness on this part of the test.  In addition, you will take some full-length practice tests in class for the purpose of becoming more comfortable with and working more effectively under simulated testing conditions with time constraints.  

Homework:  This is not required.  However, we will not be able to cover all of the material in the book this term. If you wish to improve your TOEFL score significantly, you might wish to do extra work in the book, and practice outside of class, especially in the Learning Center.

The Learning Center:  To find out the open hours for the LC, call 503-725-9199, or drop by.  There are several software programs in the Learning Center which can help you improve your scores on the TOEFL.  In addition to the TOEFL software, I strongly recommend Ultimate Speed Reader.  This program has eye movement exercises as well as reading passages to help you read faster.

Tentative Calendar
DATE
 CONTENT
JUNE 29
 Presentation: Whole-test and general reading strategies (handout) 
PRACTICE TEST (PT) G (not in the book--handout) 
Group work as time allows:  Analysis of PT G
JULY 6
 Presentation and Practice:  Details (Chapter 1) 
PRACTICE TEST 1 (BOOK) 
Group work:  Analysis and vocabulary of PT 1
JULY 13
 Presentation and Practice:  Reference and Vocabulary (Chapter 2) 
PRACTICE TEST 2  (BOOK) 
Group work:  Analysis and vocabulary of PT 2
JULY 20
 Presentation and Practice: Main Ideas (Chapter 3) 
PRACTICE TEST 3  (BOOK) 
Group work:  Analysis and vocabulary of PT 3
JULY 27
 Presentation and Practice: Inference (Chapter 4)
PRACTICE TEST 4  (BOOK) 
Group work:  Analysis and vocabulary of PT 4
AUGUST 3
 Presentation and Practice: Additional Skills (Chapter 5)
Group work:  Analysis and vocabulary of practice exercises Chapter 5
PRACTICE TEST 5  (BOOK) 
Group work:  Analysis and vocabulary of PT 5 

AUGUST 10
  Strategy review
PRACTICE TEST  H (not in the book--handout) 
Group work as time allows:  Analysis and vocabulary of PT H
Course evaluations

June 24, 2007 
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