Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Students can identify and acknowledge cultural perspectives and values different from their own, respond in a variety of ways, and formulate and articulate ideas in written and spoken English about the culture of the United States.

1. Present a satisfactory prepared public speech
   • Receive 70% or higher score on prepared informative speech
   • Prepare a detailed outline for the speech
2. Perform at a minimum of 70% on quizzes and tests
3. Interview native English speakers and complete written survey
4. Produce a written journal responding to cultural issues
5. Produce and organize a portfolio of course materials

Themes, Concepts, Issues

1. Cultural Themes and Values
2. Public Speaking and Discussion
3. Listening Comprehension
4. Critical Thinking Skills
5. Writing
6. Reading Strategies
7. Academic Study Skills
8. Pronunciation

Competencies and Skills

A. Cultural Themes and Values:

Relate course materials to the following themes and values:

1. Personal control over the environment
2. Time and its control
3. Individualism and privacy
4. Competition and free enterprise
5. Action and work orientation
6. Change
7. Equality
8. Self-help concept
9. Future orientation
10. Directness, openness, honesty
11. Materialism and acquisitiveness
12. Practicality and efficiency
13. Competition and free enterprise

B. Public Speaking and Discussion

1. Contribute to and show satisfactory evidence of benefiting from small group and one-on-one discussion or exchanges
   1. Participate by contributing and connecting ideas
   2. Perfect strategies to communicate in a variety of ways
2. Present information orally
   1. Give informative speeches
   2. Perform role-plays and skits

C. Listening Comprehension

1. Comprehend presented audiovisual materials and apply information to cultural themes
2. Outline main ideas and details of oral presentations and videos
3. Improve listening skills by taking useful notes and asking clarifying questions that show evidence of critical thinking
4. Contribute to and show evidence of benefiting from small group and one-on-one discussion or exchanges

D. Critical Thinking Skills

1. Demonstrate an awareness of cultural values in course materials
2. Distinguish among facts, opinions and beliefs related to American culture
3. Relate course materials to personal needs and experiences
4. Express ideas and opinions about cultural themes

E. Grammar and Writing

1. Review and reinforce advanced level sentence structure
2. Write level-appropriate journal entries regularly
3. Prepare detailed speech outlines and reports

F. Reading Strategies

1. Use a variety of resources to find information
2. Identify main ideas and secondary details in written material
3. Synthesize information from multiple sources as a basis for a response

G. Academic Study Skills

1. Read, understand and follow directions
2. Develop questions based on class materials
3. Use note-taking techniques including outlining
4. Work in groups to extract relevant cultural information
5. Organize course materials into a portfolio
6. Use a monolingual, adult ESL dictionary of American English and other references

H. Pronunciation

1. Consonants, Vowels, Sentence and Syllable Stress
   1. Recognize and consistently use word endings
   2. Review vowel/ consonant pronunciation
   3. Continue to practice sentence and syllable stress
   4. Review problematic English consonants and vowel