Reading Course Outcomes
Below you can see the material that students need to accomplish to succeed in an ELI Reading Course. Please contact the ELI Director, Julie Mowrer, at email@example.com, if you have questions.
Expected Student Learning Outcomes
ESL 083 - Introduction to Academic Reading
By the end of the course, at the advanced level, successful ESL 083 students will be able to:
- Expand vocabulary through practice and the use of a monolingual dictionary.
- Guess definitions of words by using semantic and grammar clues.
- Skim and scan UH Hilo 100 level authentic texts in order to determine general content and locate specific details
- Read both advanced level ESL textbooks and passages from authentic texts at the UH Hilo 100 course level and annotate effectively to correctly answer detail questions, distinguish fact from opinion, recognize stated information, draw appropriate inferences, identify or determine main ideas, and identify organizational patterns.
- Identify the five common types of support in arguments, common argument flaws, and opposing points of views.
- Infer the meanings of figurative language introduced in advanced ESL textbooks and 100 level text materials.
- Distinguish between definitions and any accompanying negative and/or positive connotations.
- Read and respond critically to a variety of authentic college level readings: academic prose, literary forms, journalistic articles and scientific readings.
- Identify correctly written and formatted academic summaries.
- Produce summaries that include correctly written introductory sentences and accurate paraphrases of the main ideas, approximately 25% in length of the reading passages, without plagiarizing.
- Become familiar with the wording and expectations of college exam questions.
ESL 073 - English Reading Skills
By the end of the course, at the high-intermediate level, successful ESL 073 students will be able to:
- Correctly identify definitions in an English-English dictionary of target words used in a high-intermediate level ESL academic textbooks by using grammar, word parts, context clues, and the dictionary’s sample sentences.
- Guess the meaning of vocabulary assigned from high-intermediate level texts using word parts, grammar, and context clues.
- Expand targeted vocabulary assigned from high-intermediate level texts and academic passages.
- Use pre-reading skills to predict content.
- Skim for main ideas and scan for details.
- Locate stated main ideas and important details, recognize transition signals to determine patterns of organization and distinguish fact from opinion from reading passages in a high-intermediate level ESL textbook.
- Infer main ideas and details in academic, journalistic, and literary prose at the high-intermediate level.
- Write a summary of an academic multiple-paragraph reading passage from a high-intermediate ESL text or high-intermediate level reading that is 50-75% the length of the original in which the main ideas and major details are accurately paraphrased.
- Be able to identify the setting, main events, climax, resolution and theme of an ESL reader at the high-intermediate level and summarize the novel in writing.
ESL 063 - Basics of Reading in English
By the end of the course, at the intermediate level, successful ESL 063 students will be able to:
- Use a paper English-English dictionary to determine syllable breaks, primary stress, and secondary stress.
- Select the correct definition in an English-English dictionary by using grammar, word parts, context clues, and the dictionary’s sample sentences.
- Use grammar, punctuation, word parts and context clues to identify definitions of target vocabulary that are given in the context of intermediate level reading passages.
- Determine the meanings of pronouns in context.
- Expand targeted vocabulary from intermediate level ESL textbooks.
- Use grammar, word parts, and context clues to improve vocabulary quiz- and test-taking ability.
- Use pre-reading skills to make predictions about content.
- Identify topic sentences and main ideas, transitions, and patterns of organization; discern major from minor details, distinguish fact from opinion, and make inferences, from intermediate ESL textbooks.
- Write a summary of 8-12 sentences which paraphrases the topic sentence, main ideas, and major details from a short, intermediate level ESL academic reading paragraph.
- Be able to identify the setting, main events, climax and resolution of ESL readers at the intermediate level and summarize the novel in writing.