ACADEMIC VOCABULARY Semester: Spring 2006 Days/Time: Tues/Thurs, 1:00-2:15 pm Room: 503B Eiesland

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1 ACADEMIC VOCABULARY Semester: Spring 2006 Days/Time: Tues/Thurs, 1:00-2:15 pm Room: 503B Eiesland Instructor: Helen Huntley Office: 116 Eiesland Hall Tel: x 1102 Office Hours: 11:00-1:00, Tues/Thurs hhuntley@mail.wvu.edu Course Texts/Materials Essential Academic Vocabulary (2006 Houghton Mifflin), by Helen Huntley An English-English dictionary (preferred) Longman Advanced American Dictionary 2000, Pearson Education Limited. ISBN: (paperback) Course Website Textbook Website x.html Course Objectives You will participate in activities designed to enable you: to comprehend and use the 570 words on the Academic Word List to become aware of techniques for remembering new vocabulary to develop personal strategies for learning and reviewing new vocabulary to use an English-English dictionary to aid in word pronunciation, to determine the part of speech of a word, to choose from multiple meanings in the dictionary according to context, and to recognize and analyze related word forms, roots, and affixes. to utilize learned vocabulary in a variety of academic speaking, listening, writing, and reading activities to recognize and use the different forms of a word (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) to learn the meanings of word parts (roots, prefixes, and suffixes) and apply them to interpret unknown words in a text. to learn and use common phrases (collocations) associated with the Academic Word List to read and understand a variety of academic texts which contain words from the Academic Word List to use context clues to deduce the meaning of new vocabulary items without the aid of a dictionary in order to facilitate comprehension to become knowledgeable of the computer resources available for vocabulary building (the Houghton Mifflin website and other academic vocabulary Internet sites) 1

2 to distinguish between formal and informal vocabulary and idioms to learn and use vocabulary in your own academic field to learn and use common idioms Course Activities You will combine independent study and classroom activities to learn and practice the academic vocabulary in each chapter, which is focused on a specific academic field. You are expected to prepare for class sessions by looking up unknown words in each chapter and recording them in a detailed vocabulary journal (details on page 3). You will also give 2 short vocabulary presentations to the class (details on page 4). Class time will be spent actively reviewing and practicing these words in a variety of activities which will include the following: Preview questions on the chapter topic Academic reading from an undergraduate textbook Vocabulary in context Reading Comprehension: Text analysis and inferences Dictionary skills Word forms: Chart completion and word forms in sentences Collocation identification and practice Word parts analysis and application Personal and academic writing: summaries, paraphrases, definitions, reports Academic speaking activities: role plays, surveys, interviews, presentations, discussions Participation and Attendance You must be prepared in advance for each class session, attend each class, and participate actively in individual, pair, and group activities. You are expected to observe the IEP attendance policies. Homework All assignments are due on the day indicated. It is also expected that you review vocabulary independently on a daily basis. Grading Vocabulary journals 30% Homework activities and pop quizzes 15% Presentations (2) 15% Tests (3) 30% Preparation and participation 10% NOTE: This class requires extensive personal study outside class in order for you to learn a great deal of vocabulary which will help you to be successful in your academic fields as well as in the TOEFL exam. 2

3 Vocabulary Journals Each chapter of the textbook introduces a list of words from the Academic Word List. Some of these words may be familiar, while others may be totally unknown to you. Definitions of these words are not provided for you in the text. Therefore, you must learn to use an English English dictionary effectively to extract a variety of useful information about the words; this information should be written down in a vocabulary journal and reviewed from time to time in order to help you commit the words to long-term memory. A complete entry on a vocabulary card or in a vocabulary notebook might contain the following information, all of which can be found in a dictionary: word meaning, explanation, or synonym with an optional translation multiple meanings of the same word illustration of the meaning to help visualize the word phonetic pronunciation any spelling irregularities (e.g., plural forms) other word forms (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) prefixes and suffixes included in the word prefixes and suffixes which can be added to form new words collocations (words that are commonly used together) formal or informal style negative or positive connotations topic associations an original sentence Sample Vocabulary Journal Entry environment Meaning Sentence Pronunciation Related word Forms Associations Collocations 1. The surroundings and conditions that affect the growth and development of living things 2. The social and cultural conditions affecting the nature of a person or community Animals adapt to the local environment en/vi/ron/ment environmental (adj), environmentally (adv), environs (n. plu) nature, animals, endangered species, pollution, neighborhood Safe/friendly/dangerous/economic environment Explore/adapt to/improve/protect the environment Damage to the environment Conservation/protection/pollution of the environment Harmful to the environment 3

4 Vocabulary Presentations 1. Each student will choose one vocabulary item from the Academic Word List to present to the class for study, review, and practice. To prepare for the presentation, you should prepare in advance detailed information about the chosen word, consider how to present it most effectively in class, and create an individual or group activity for the class in order to evaluate the effectiveness of your presentation. 2. Each student will make a short presentation about an online vocabulary website listed on the course website. You should include an overview of the website, the usefulness of it for individual vocabulary study, and a critique of its effectiveness. You must also teach the class three words that you have learned from this website. Note: The vocabulary items introduced to the class in both types of presentation will be included in the course tests. Therefore, it is essential that you take notes and review these items regularly. Essential Academic Vocabulary Chapter/Topic Schedule Week 1 Chapters 1-4 (brief overview of vocabulary); Chapter 5: Review Week 2 Chapter 6 Education: Shifting Challenges in Education Week 3 Chapter 7 Business: Procter & Gamble: An Optimistic Scheme Week 4 Chapter 8 Marketing: Marketing Tobacco Products Around the World Week 5 Chapter 9 Economics: The Economics of Diamonds and Water Week 6 Chapter 10: Review and Test #1 (Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9) Week 7 Chapter 11 Psychology: Innate and Cultural Influences on Emotional Expressions Week 8 Chapter 12 History: The Impact of the Industrial Revolution Week 9 Chapter 13 Political Science: Political Campaigns and the Media Week 10 Chapter 14 Linguistics: Can Nonhumans Use Language? Week 11 Chapter 15: Review and Test #2 (Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14) Week 12 Chapter 16 Environmental Science: Renewable Alternative Energy Resources Week 13 Chapter 17 Geology: What Caused the Extinction of the Dinosaurs? Week 14 Chapter 18 Chemistry: Chemistry Facts: The Good, the Bad, and the Odd Week 15 Chapter 19 Information Technology: Privacy in the Digital Age Week 16 Chapter 20: Review + Test #3 (Chapters 16, 17, 18, 19) 4

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