Syllabus

Speech and Communication Skills

National University - ELP

July 28, 2006

 

 

Instructor: David Hamrah                                                             Email: [email protected]

                                                                                     Web: http://geocities.com/hamra56/nu/

                                                                                                 Important links         

 

Dates and Times: Mondays and Wednesdays                                                     

 

Text and Supplies:           Newspaper, Businessweek, Harvard Business Review and many other periodicals. No required Textbooks.

 

Course Description: Students will improve their communication and presentation skills through the use of appropriate presentation technology.  Individual attention will be will given to pronunciation and accent reduction for developing effective communication. Teacher’s objective is to provide stimulating, challenging and comfortable environment in order to develop confidence, practice and skills in presenting. Each day every student will receive an evaluation and feedback on their pronunciation, grammar and speaking presentations and summaries.

 

Course Objective: The purpose of the class is to help Non-Native speakers have more meaningful experiences and to become more effective participants in professional and academic group situations. Additionally, students will have practice giving presentations on business or professional topics while receiving specific, individualized help with pronunciation issues which impede effective communication. The course is intended as the last opportunity to learn  the most important skills for functioning effectively in university classes.

 

Special focus on helping non-native speakers of English to develop academic skills and practice communicating in study groups while learning how to be effective presenters and participants in native English speaking academic and professional contexts.

 

 

Assignments: Students will be required to make several presentations during the course session of four weeks, including a minimum of:

 

 

·        Daily Power Point summaries of magazine articles describing and discussing main ideas, new expressions and vocabulary.  Class participation in the form of class discussion, questions and elaboration is expected and required.

 

·       Final day academic or professional presentation will be based on your Final Research project. This is your chance to further your understanding of your topic and prepare for the work that is required in the Graduate program. (If you are not in 800 level, then you will be required to present a article as usual on this last day.

 

 

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Special Note: This Speech Communication Class is designed to prepare you to participate and succeed in your Graduate program at National University. In this class you have a tremendous opportunity to expand your vocabulary, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills.  This is addition to improving your speaking, grammar and pronunciation. At the same time, you will have daily opportunities to develop, practice, and refine your presentation skills using presentation technology such as PowerPoint.

The work that you do for and in the class are essential for your success as you continue to develop your ability to read, understand, interpret, summarize and clearly and effectively present complex ideas to groups of native English speakers.

David Hamrah