Bridge Course in English for
The first year B.E./B.Tech.
Students
(26 hour programme)
Sessions: 13
Duration: 2 hours each
A tentative syllabus
1
Mission
To enable learners to employ English with ease in all authentic contexts at all times
Shift in pedagogic practices:
Not teaching but practising English
Not teacher-centric but learner-centric approach
Not only oral and aural but also multisensory based
Not only formal but also informal contexts
2
Session 1
Warm up
Objectives:
Creating love for the language
Explaining the Significance of the language
Building Self-confidence for using the language for functional purposes
Teaching Materials:
Video Clips – Youtube
Film Clips (The King’s Speech, Pursuit of Happiness, etc)
Lyrics
Teaching Methods:
Screening of film clips and videos
Listening to lyrics
Home Tasks:
Watching selected English films and video clips
Watching English TV channels
Reading newspapers, magazines, best selling writings
Listening to lyrics
3
Session 2
Listening
Objectives:
To enable learners to listen to native speakers
To enable learners to appreciate films
To enhance critical thinking skills of the learners
Teaching Materials:
Short Films (varied themes)
Documentaries (Places, celebrities, issues, animals)
Teaching Methods: (Integrated approach)
Watching films
Reviewing the Films
Written Review
Oral Review
Published Reviews
Home Tasks:
Watching more films / Writing Reviews / Reading Reviews
4
Session 3
Listening
Objectives:
To enable learners to listen to different kinds of listening texts
To familiarize learners with different accents
To train learners to listen for specific details and gist
Materials:
Audio files
TV programmes
Podcasts
TED Talk
Video Clips of Speeches
Narration, Short-lectures, Conversations
Teaching Methods:
Pre-listening, While-listening and Post-listening tasks
Discussion based on the materials
Worksheets based on the listening texts / descriptive Q&A
Home Tasks:
Paraphrasing and Summarizing of listening materials from varied sources
5
Session 4
Reading Strategies
Objectives: To familiarize learners with multiple reading strategies depending on texts and
purpose
To enable learners to enrich their repertoire of vocabulary (ESP)
To enable learners to read variety of texts
Materials:
Newspapers,
Stories
Subject texts
Methods:
Practice
Demo class
Theoretical input
Home task:
Reading the dailies, magazines
Maintaining journals
6
Session 5
Habitual Reading
Objectives:
To inculcate the habit of reading newspapers daily
To express opinions/ideas about contemporary happenings
To get familiarized with the journalistic lingo/style of writing
Teaching Materials:
Newspapers and magazines Online/Printed version
Teaching Methods:
Reading the Newspaper – Individual Sharing/Group Sharing
Reading Editorials – Individual Sharing/Group Sharing
Home Tasks:
Reading Newspapers/magazines on a regular basis
Letters to the editor
7
Session 6
Extensive Reading
Objectives:
To enable learners to read extensively based on their competence level and preference
To enable learners to develop their creative thinking
To enable learners to improve their presentation skills
Materials:
Essays
Short stories
Novels
Novelettes
Best sellers
Methods:
Individual Presentations
Group Work
Completing a story
Home task:
Reading novels, short stories, best sellers and so on…
8
Session 7
Intensive Reading
Objectives:
To enable learners to read intensively paying attention to every detail
To facilitate the process of learning for total comprehension
To enable learners to apply their understanding in unfamiliar contexts
Materials:
Authentic Physics/Chemistry textbooks
Methods:
Reading Intensively
Oral Questioning
Written tests
Group discussion
Home task:
Reading their prescribed textbooks
9
Session 8
Informal Writing
Objectives:
To enable learners to convey their message effectively
To enable learners to employ different channels like mobile phone, Facebook, Twitter,
Blog s
To develop learners’ ability to convey their ideas/opinions precisely and accurately
Materials:
Messages, texts, chats from online
Blogs
Methods:
Individual writing
Pair work
Group work
Home task:
Blogging/messaging/texting/chatting
Journal writing
10
Session 9
Formal writing
Objectives
To help learners to write error-free sentences
To familiarize learners with the basics of grammar
To enable learners to identify good writing and model them
Materials
Emails (Letters)
Sentences
Paragraphs
Essays
Methods
Error Correction
Production of texts of different genres/kinds
Home Tasks
Emailing
Writing different kinds of texts
11
Session 10
Effective Writing
Objective
To enable learners to identify common errors in sentences and beyond sentences
To enable learners to rectify the errors and to write accurately and effectively
To familiarize learners with the good standard of writing
Materials
Texts for teaching grammar:
Cartoons
Poems
Stories
News stories
Emails
Jokes… so on
Methods
Error identification
Grammatical rules
Exercises – words, sentences and discourse levels
Home Tasks
Activities online/paper and pen
12
Session 11
Speaking
Objectives
To enable learners to speak in groups explaining their positions
To enable learners to take part in a discussion appropriately
To familiarize learners with the dynamics of group discussion
Materials
Topics for group discussion
Plays (one act)
Methods
Dividing the class and giving them topics
Discussions
Reports
Enacting plays/skits
Home Tasks
Preparation for GD such as reading, discussing with others, jotting down ideas and so on
13
Session 12
Speaking
Objective
To enable learners to engage in activities such as role play, debate and extempore
To enable learners to speak spontaneously with minimum preparation
To develop learners’ public speaking capability
Materials
plays
Topics to be assigned
Sample speeches
Methods
Reading out plays
Role play: in pairs/groups
Debate
Dumb charades
Home Tasks
Scripting and rehearsing for presentations
14
Session 13
Test
Test along the lines of TOFEL/IELTS to measure their linguistic competence
15
Resource Persons
1. Dr. K. Elango, Professor and Head
2. Dr. T. Shrimathy Venkatalakshmi, Professor
3. Dr. S.Soundiraraj, Associate Professor
4. Dr. Veena Selvam, Assistant Professor
5. Dr. Stars Jasmine, Assistant Professor
6. Dr. P.R. Sujatha Priyadharsini, Assistant Professor
Outside Resource Persons
1. Dr. P.N. Ramani
2. Mr. Shane Jordan
3. Mr. John Joseph
4. Dr. Padma Ravindran
5. Dr. Mangalam Neelakandan
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