Descriptions of Courses Taught

1. Developmental English
2. English Composition
3. Linguistics
4. Literature
5. English as a Second Language (ESL)
6. Cultural Anthropology

Learning Support English (ENGL-0999), Middle Georgia State University
This Learning Support course is intended to provide co-requisite support for students requiring remediation in reading and/or writing while they are enrolled in ENGL 1101. Topics will parallel topics studied in ENGL 1101 as well as the essential reading and writing skills needed to be successful in ENGL 1101. Taken with ENGL 1101, this is a composition course focusing on skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also including introductory use of a variety of research skills.

Developmental Reading II (READ-072), Delgado Community College
This course is designed to improve reading through an integrated language arts (reading, speaking, listening, and writing) approach. This course includes basic techniques for literal and critical comprehension, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and application. This is a skills improvement course that may not be used as credit toward an associate degree. This course is designed to help students improve basic reading skills and increase language competency.

Developmental Reading I (READ-071), Delgado Community College
Basic reading course designed to improve reading through an integrated language arts (reading, speaking, listening, and writing) approach.Basic techniques for literal and critical comprehension, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application. May not be used as credit for a certificate or a degree. Students with a final grade of “D” or “F” must repeat the course. A final grade of “A,” “B,” or “C” indicates advancement to the next level of Developmental Reading. Prerequisite(s): Score of 20-52 on the Accuplacer Reading Comprehension placement exam.

Developmental Composition II (ENGL-099), Delgado Community College
Foundation of basic writing skills. Concentrates on well-constructed paragraphs and essays. Includes application in the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics in the context of writing. This is a skills improvement course that may not be used as credit towards certificate, diploma, or associate degree. Prerequisite(s): ENGL 061 or ENGL 098 with a grade of “C” or higher, or a score of 60-85 on the Accuplacer Sentence Skills placement exam, or a score of 46-70 on the Compass placement test within the last three years.

Developmental Composition I (ENGL-098), Delgado Community College
This course is designed as a foundation of basic writing skills that concentrates on well-constructed sentences, paragraphs, and essays. This course includes intensive practice in the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics. This is a skills improvement course that may not be used as credit toward an associate degree. The course is designed to help students improve basic writing skills and increase language competency.

Basic Writing II (COM-051), Reading Area Community College
This course helps develop basic writing skills. Students will develop a sense of themselves as writers and a sense of the elements that constitute effective academic writing. They will compose short expository essays through guided practice in a variety of activities. Students will also be introduced to basic methods of library research.

Research Writing (ESC-2002E), Universidad San Francisco de Quito
This course provides a multidisciplinary approach to the theory and practice of academic research writing. Building on academic writing and rhetorical analysis skills gained in foundational writing courses, this class aims specifically to develop your skills as a scholarly researcher. Along the way, you will learn to craft focused research questions, examine existing scholarship, write effective research proposals, and develop your own potential intervention in an academic discipline.

Writing and Rhetoric (ENG-1001E), Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Composition and Rhetoric is a writing course with the expressed objective of developing academic writing skills and critical thinking. The expected outcome is to have students write academic essays, using different rhetorical patterns. The ultimate objective of Composition and Rhetoric is to have students develop creative thinking skills through reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The course is based on the premise that by reading and having to discuss our ideas thoroughly, we are in a better position to write about any given topic. Thus, great emphasis is given to cooperative work and group discussion. In the course students will develop communication skills in speaking and writing, and will learn to develop an inquisitive and creative mind, capable of questioning and finding answers.

Freshman Communicative Skills I (ENC-1101), Florida A&M University
This course is the first of two three-credit, mandatory composition courses. Its purpose is to improve students’ oral and written communication skills as well as their research and critical thinking abilities through narration, exposition, and argumentation. It provides students with basic communicative skills, including dictionary and library usage and analysis and development of paragraphs, themes, research papers, and business communications.

Freshman Communicative Skills II (ENC-1102), Florida A&M University
This course is the second of two three-credit, mandatory composition courses. Its purpose is to improve students’ oral and written communication skills as well as their research and critical thinking abilities through narration, exposition, and argumentation. It provides students with basic communicative skills, including dictionary and library usage and analysis and development of paragraphs, themes, research papers, and business communications.

Advanced Composition (ENC-3320), Florida A&M University
This course focuses on and further develops the writing, analytical, critical thinking, close reading, and revision skills that students acquired in ENC-1101 and ENC-1102. In this course, students will learn, explore, and recognize rhetorical modes and patterns and useful writing templates to assist them in producing argumentative and analytical writing that is clear, concise, and persuasive. Much of this writing will require students to respond to literature, creative non-fiction, and critical essays.

English Composition I (ENGL-1101), Middle Georgia State University
This is a composition course focusing on skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also including introductory use of a variety of research skills. Satisfactory placement test score or successful completion of Learning Support English and Reading are required prior to admission to this course.

Foundations of College Writing (ENG-101), Bloomsburg University
This course provides foundational writing experience and instruction to facilitate first-year students’ transition to writing at the post-secondary level by exploring the implications of writers’ rhetorical situations (audience, purpose, media, and genre) and of individual and social writing processes (e.g., drafting, peer review, and reflection) on the texts they generate. Engages students in critical reading and use of source materials. All students will compile and submit an ePortfolio to the English department. Satisfies the General Education requirement of a foundational course in English Composition that students are expected to fulfill in their first year of enrollment.

Language, Culture, & Identity (MTSL-6001E), Universidad San Francisco de Quito
This course explores the relationship between language, culture, and identity through a sociolinguistic perspective. In particular, it considers not only how cultural practices are represented through language, but also how language influences the development of cultures and the construction of social identities. The course will include both theoretical and empirical study of language, with an eye toward the implications for teaching English to diverse learners.

Structures of English (MTSL-6005E), Universidad San Francisco de Quito
This course studies the grammatical structures of the English language. Students will analyze morphology and syntax and describe the construction of and relationship between phrases, clauses, and sentences, as well lexical and grammatical categories. The course seeks to develop advanced knowledge of English grammar for teaching purposes.

History of the English Language (LIN-4060), Florida A&M University
This course is an introduction to the linguistic history and development of the English language and focuses on fundamental understandings of ’linguistics’ as a field of scientific inquiry, addresses issues related to descriptive and prescriptive approaches to language study, raises awareness of issues connected to English phonology and orthography, and ultimately foregrounds the origins and development of the language in terms of its Indo-European roots, conventionalized historical periods, internal and external influences, and phonological, syntactic, and semantic changes.

Advanced Grammar (LIN-4680), Florida A&M University
This course provides an in-depth examination of prescriptive and descriptive approaches to the study of English grammar and usage. Topics include a broad overview of linguistics as a field, traditional grammatical terminology, the definitional criteria for lexical categories, and morphological and syntactic analysis. In pursuit of this goal, students will engage with readings about English grammar, in addition to completing exercises to apply and improve their skills.

The English Language (ENG-350), Southern New Hampshire University
This course is an introduction to the following topics in English linguistics: history of English, etymology, vocabulary (morphology), phonology, dictionaries, syntax, semantics, dialects, discourse analysis, and child language acquisition. The course is designed for students who want to learn about the English language as preparation for teaching, or for becoming better writers, or for studying literature. Students will have the opportunity to research, write about, and present on a linguistic topic of individual interest such as the language of advertising or propaganda.

African American Literature (LIT-2401E), Universidad San Francisco de Quito
This course surveys the major periods, movements, themes, and genres in African American literature from its origins in African oral storytelling through the twenty-first century. The required readings for this course have been selected to reveal the fundamental diversity of African American literature as well as common themes, ideas, and rhetorical strategies that give coherence to this literary tradition. This course also encourages students to explore connections across literary genres and periods as well as the interplay between literature, art, music, history, and politics.

English II (Grade 10), Roxbury High School
Effectiveness and style in writing and speaking as well as understanding of reading assignments are the major goals of English II. A variety of writing assignments will give students experience in applying the rules of grammar and standard written English while practicing the writing process. Students will continue to develop good speaking habits by delivering an informative speech. Vocabulary development is also an integral part of English II. The focus in reading is on the historical development of American literature. Through exposure to a wide range of authors, genres, literary styles, and periods, students will reinforce and improve their reading skills along with enhancing their awareness of American culture. While the goals will be similar for all English II students, materials, techniques and pacing will be modified to address individual students’ needs and abilities. Students will be placed in one of the following levels based on standardized test scores, past performance, and teacher recommendations.

English IV (Grade 12), Roxbury High School
Students in English IV will be afforded the opportunity to integrate their accumulated language arts skills into two semester-long courses. Students will choose from a list of course offerings that reflect a variety of genres and interests. These options will allow students to engage with the complexity of a specific literary topic with greater depth and focus. Each course stresses reading, writing, speaking, listening and critical thinking skills to prepare students for college and the workplace. Students will continue to explore expository, critical, and argumentative modes of expression in essays.

Academic English (Grade 10), Schuylkill Valley High School
Students will read and analyze literary selections which provide an overview of American literature from the 17th Century to the early American Romantics. In addition, they will study a variety of texts that include The Crucible, Julius Caesar, and To Kill a Mockingbird. A study of selected short stories will develop students’ understanding of this literary form, and a unit on mythology will introduce students to archetypes and forms in literature. Both individual and group-based oral presentations will develop fluency and confidence in communication. This course prepares students for the Keystone Literature exam. This course is appropriate for those students who plan to pursue some form of post-high school education, such as a two- or four- year college, trade school, or business school.

Academic English (Grade 11), Schuylkill Valley High School
Students will study an overview of American literature from the late 19th Century through the mid-20th Century, supplemented by a variety of works of classic literature in the form of novels, short stories, drama, and poetry. Students will read a variety of literary texts, including Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Writing assignments, formal and informal, will be based on literature. Students will learn and practice the research skills of annotation and paraphrasing in order to effectively incorporate them into a literary-based text-dependent research paper. Grammar instruction will accompany the writing program as the need arises. Students will receive instruction, particularly intensive in the first quarter, in P/SAT preparation. This instruction will include exercises in critical reading skills, as well as etymology and vocabulary instruction.

Intermediate Composition II (ESLN-018), Delgado Community College
This is a composition course for students who have demonstrated proficiency at the low-intermediate level. Emphasis is placed on increasing students’ organizational, informational, and grammatical complexity. Students will be able to utilize the process approach, using multiple drafts to produce essays using various rhetorical styles such as explanatory, problem-solution, comparison-contrast, and persuasive.

Cultural Anthropology (AN-225), Caldwell University
This course is designed as an introduction to the field of cultural anthropology through the investigation of the varieties and similarities in different societies and cultures. This is accomplished through cross-cultural study of communication, social institutions, and cultural practices, combined with a holistic examination of select societies around the world. As such, this course attempts to introduce broadly the concepts, methods, and findings of the field.