COUNCIL OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES OF JAMAICA
COURSE NAME: Foundations in English Language II
COURSE CODE: ENGL0002
CREDITS: None
CONTACT HOURS: 45 hours (45 hours theory)
PRE-REQUISITE(S): Foundations in English Language I
CO-REQUISITE(S): None
SEMESTER: All
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed for students with no pass in CSEC English (i.e., Grade IV and
above) and those who have completed English Language I. It is therefore, aimed at
developing basic communicative competences in the target language by equipping students
with both receptive skills (listen, read) and productive skills (speak, write). The course aims
to build upon previous learning in English Language I and develop in students the ability
and desire to use English effectively for purposes of practical communication.
COURSE OUTCOMES:
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. listen to and understand spoken and written English in varying situations
2. extract specific/relevant information from written and spoken English
3. use the spoken and written language, Caribbean Standard English (CSE), with
precision, clarity and grammatical correctness;
4. use, understand and respond appropriately to spoken and written Caribbean Standard
English;
UNIT I – Exposition I (12 hours)
Learner Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. use the writing process in the completion of written tasks
2. use transitional words to create cohesion in essays
3. identify the distinct differences/purposes of the expository, literary and persuasive
essay
4. draft a five (5) paragraph expository essay
5. draft the following: email, letter, notice, and an article.
Content
1. The writing process – pre-write, draft, edit and revise, proof read, publish
2. Organization- Introductory, body and concluding paragraph
3. Transitional word, cohesion
4. Revise types of paragraph patterns
5. Expository to inform, explain; Literary: to entertain, stir feeling; Persuasive: to
convince, direct.
6. Email: Parts of the email; Letter of request, complaint, apology, others,
7. Notice: format of notice, the five Ws, organization of an article
UNIT II – Persuasive Discourse (9 hours)
Learner Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. distinguish factual statements from opinion expressed in various forms
2. detect connotations in the use of words and in the presentation of ideas;
3. evaluate the effectiveness of language devices used to persuade
4. recognise the range of techniques of persuasion employed in social intercourse and
by the mass media and assess the persuasive effects.
5. critically analyse issues that have come to public attention
6. Draft a persuasive discourse in the form of a speech, letter to Editor, and essay
demonstrating the ability to employ, wherever necessary, a range of argumentative
techniques for emotional impact;
Content:
1. appeal is to reason; if opinions are given without grounds which can be verified then
they are unreliable.
2. Bias and slant may be detected in the choice of words, especially those carrying
relevant connotations.
3. Rhetorical questions, repetitions, hyperbole, litotes, irony, sarcasm, paradox,
oxymoron, pathetic fallacy, rhyme and other devices of sound, and figurative
language.
4. Appeals to authority, desires, fears and other emotions; use of statistics; association
of ideas; contrast, ridicule; rhetorical questions and other language devices; visual
and auditory effects
5. Differentiate between gossip/ propaganda and information
6. Characteristics of a speech -
7. Characteristics of a letter to the editor
8. Review essay writing
UNIT II – Literary Discourse I (6 hours)
Learner Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. identify types of imagery used to describe some scene/person/object
2. comment on the imagery/word choice in terms of the effect created
3. focus on and analyze the effect of the word choice made by an author in a given
passage
4. write a five (5) paragraphs descriptive essay
5. appreciate the importance of appropriate word choice to create a certain effect
Content
1. Types of imagery – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory, gustatory
2. Review - Word choice: formal, informal, non-standard, Creole, literal, figurative
use, fixed phrases, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms
3. The different focuses and facets (e.g. background vs. foreground; main focus vs.
peripheral details)
UNIT IV – Literary Discourse II (9 hours)
Learner Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. infer reasons and motives for particular spoken and written communications (other
than those with an overt persuasive intent);
2. distinguish between the purpose of the writer, the speaker, and the narrator.
3. value the aptness of different uses of tone, mood, register, code and style in talks and
speeches, and in literary forms (prose, verse and drama), in relation to the author’s
intention;
4. perceive connotations in the use of words and in the presentation of ideas and
distinguishing between connotative and denotative meaning;
5. assess the appropriateness of using devices such as pun, innuendo, exaggeration,
irony and symbolism;
6. write a story which uses and responds to literary devices
Content:
1. Purpose of the writer, the speaker, and the narrator - The narrator’s or the persona’s
voice is not necessarily the author’s; thus, two motivations may exist in the same
piece of writing
2. Tone: attitude expressed by the speaker or “voice”, mood or atmosphere: emotion
conveyed in a work; register: selection of language in indicating level of formality;
code: language peculiar to a specific group; style: manner of statement, including
form, structure, language.
3. Metaphors, simile, proverbs and other idiomatic expressions across genres
4. Connotative: emotional, cultural, social associations given to words; Denotative:
standard meaning necessary for precise understanding of meaning.
5. Story writing – plot, characterization, conflict, setting and resolution
6. Appropriate use of dialogue in story writing
UNIT V – Literary Discourse III (9 hours)
Learner Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. envisage the situation, attitudes, mood and setting of a story or poem
2. appreciate how attitudes, mood and setting influence the actions and interaction of
characters in a story or poem;
3. recognize implicit themes;
4. make critical appraisal of values and concepts expressed in poetry
5. Compose verses of poetry
Content
1. Identification and use of verse, stanza, dialogue, punctuation, formal and informal
writing, first and third person narratives, flashbacks,
2. Recognition of the importance of the narrator and characters to the interpretation of a
literary work
3. Theme: a dominant view or one of the recurring ideas, stated or implied in a work,
for example, love, jealousy, heroism, freedom
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES – Persuasive Writing
• Identifying verifiable and unverifiable statements in a passage. Judging the
soundness of selected verifiable assertions. Identifying the more reasonable
(logically presented) of two persuasive passages.
• Identifying and evaluating the persuasive effect of given devices.
• Identifying examples of techniques in given persuasive items; explaining the purpose
of the technique used in a given example; analysing and assessing the effectiveness
of a piece of persuasive language.
• Stating a position for example on new laws, school projects) orally (in a meeting) or
in a letter to the newspaper Editor
• Writing advertising copy to dissuade children from using illegal drugs;
• writing to a disillusioned teenaged relative to persuade him or her not to give up
hope.
• Writing argumentative essay, letters, and media articles and commentaries.
• Write a letter of complaint. Write a letter of appreciation.
• Debates
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES – Literary Discourse I
• Ranking words according to their negative and positive connotations; Identifying
bias in given examples; Identifying reasons for effect produced in examples of
biased writing or speech
• Identifying and explaining the effect of devices in given written passages, oral
extracts.
• practise “think aloud” in which students say what they are thinking after reading or
hearing the spoken word
• Submitting outline, drafts and fair copy of imaginative piece, for assessment of both
final product and process of writing;
• Practising independent revision of imaginative writing done under test conditions.
• Creating short stories/poems which use and respond to such devices.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES – Literary Discourse II
• Identifying and describing form and structure found in poetry and plays;
• Explaining links between setting, action, motives, character;
• Identifying and tracing themes in literary works;
• Assessing a theme’s importance to the plot, with supporting evidence.
• Identifying values expressed in texts;
• Assessing these with reasons and supporting opinions;
• Assessing identity of a character and explaining motivation.
METHODS OF DELIVERY:
1. Lectures
2. Discussions
3. Role play
4. Dialogues
5. Use of authentic materials for reading
6. Exercises to enhance grammar (in oral and written forms)
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION:
1. There will be continuous assessment throughout the course and at the end. The
course evaluation will comprise of tests on the areas of reading, speaking, writing
and reflection.
a. Continuous Assessments: 40%
i. Speech 10%
Individual students may make an oral presentation reflecting on a piece
(story, poem, or essay) they created. Say what they created, why and how
ii. Group Portfolio 30%
The portfolio may consist of the following
• Groups of 4 persons who choose a theme for the portfolio – All items within
the portfolio should be directly linked to the theme
• An expository piece of their choice (email, or an article)
• A persuasive essay – letter to the editor
• Write a story related to the theme
• Create a poem related to the theme
b. Final Examination: 60%
i. Writing
End of term examination consist of:
• students responding in the form of a report, notice, or letter to given stimulus
materials
• a story and
• an argumentative essay responding in the form of a speech, or an essay.
All sections all compulsory and have no options within each. Each value 25 marks – a total
of 75 marks. This exam would last 2 hrs.
RESOURCE MATERIALS:
Noel, K., Garcia-Bisnott, S., & Drepaul, M. (2007). Carlong English A for CSEC with study
guides. Kingston: Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited
Narinesingh, R. & Narinesingh, U. (1994). A Comprehensive English Course: CXC
English A. Royards Publisher
• Selected Short stories
• Newspaper articles
• Magazines
• e-dictionary
• e-thesaurus
• Internet
• Printed dictionary
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Books
