EFS 693B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Advanced Listening and Vocabulary
EFS 693B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Advanced Listening and Vocabulary
EFS 693B: Advanced Listening and Vocabulary Development: Winter 2012
Sect 1: We 3:15-4:30 460-334
Sect. 2: Tu 9:30-10:45 EncinaW 106
Instructor: Phil Hubbard
Office: 260-302G
Phone/email: 725-1557 efs@stanford.edu
Course website: www.stanford.edu/~efs/693b
Introduction.
EFS 693B is an advanced course in listening intended both as a followup to EFS 693A and as an additional opportunity for you to work on listening and vocabulary development simultaneously. The course materials reflect both academic and non-academic language, but with more emphasis on the latter. In particular, we will be looking to significantly improve your ability to understand English language media such as radio, TV, and movies, especially the online versions of these.
Course Description
The class will meet as a group once a week for 75 minutes. Note that this differs from other EFS courses that meet twice a week. An important reason for this once-a-week model is that listening is most effective when it is controlled by the listener, so the majority of your listening activities will be done outside of class. During class time we will discuss strategies for listening effectively, review the previous week's material and introduce new material for classroom practice and discussion, some of which will be completed independently in the following week. In addition to providing regular listening practice, a significant focus of the course is to help you become more efficient listeners and language learners through the application of techniques and strategies. Homework includes computer-based listening and vocabulary development tasks and individual listening/vocabulary projects. You may anticipate up to 6-7 hours of homework per week, ideally distributed so that you are doing some focused listening or vocabulary work every day.
Individual Projects
You will have an individual project (or projects) aimed at improving some specific area of your listening. You will report on this regularly through email and in class--this will typically be about half of your weekly homework. You will also meet with me individually at least three times during the quarter to discuss the individual projects and progress. Additional meetings may be arranged by mutual agreement.
Materials
There is no textbook for the course. Students will need to purchase or rent a copy of the movie Groundhog Day: ASIN: B000Z8GZYW DVD Retail $14.94. ($2.99 to rent; $4.99 to buy on Amazon Video on Demand. $7.49 for DVD on Amazon). There is a recommended learner’s dictionary, Oxford Advanced American Dictionary for Learners of English, ISBN: 9780194399661; Retail $49.38 ($35.53 through Amazon).
Criteria for Passing.
EFS 693B is a 3 unit course offered on a Satisfactory/No Credit basis, though like other EFS courses it may be taken for one or two units if that is all you have available (the workload is the same). Criteria for receiving the S (Satisfactory) grade include the following.
• 90% or better class attendance (i.e., you may miss no more than one class)
• Active and cooperative participation in class activities
• Completion of all homework assignments: note that these assignments are expected to be handed in on time
• Completion of independent project assignments
• Completion of meetings with the instructor
Schedule of Topics
Below is a tentative schedule of topics for EFS 693B. Note that 1) most of this material will be online (even if it was originally broadcast or presented live) and 2) we may add or delete items from this as the course progresses.
Listening/vocabulary basics
Learning to listen
Identifying and learning vocabulary
Sound system overview
Understanding accents and dialects
Listening for information
Listening to lectures and other presentations
Listening to news
Listening to science and history shows
Listening for entertainment
Listening to movies
Listening to TV comedies and dramas
The general approach will be to take a particular domain for language and present one or more samples of it. Through those samples, we will discuss strategies for both comprehending the language of that domain more effectively and using practice in that area to improve overall listening proficiency. Behind all of these domains is one area to which you can--and should--devote significant attention: vocabulary. We will regularly work toward increasing both the size of your vocabulary and your ability to deal with new words, making informed decisions about what to take the time to learn.
DISABILITY NOTICE: Students with documented disabilities: Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) located within the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). SDRC staff will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is being made. Students should contact the SDRC as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone: 723-1066, 723-1067 TTY).