Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Apply a beginning-level understanding of U.S. culture in order to interact and function inside and outside of class.

• Identify components of U.S. culture and compare and contrast with one's own culture.

• Respond to level-appropriate written and spoken English.

• Apply a beginning-level understanding of academic expectations in order to succeed in a U.S. classroom.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

• Prepare and deliver a public presentation

• Produce journal entries (written/drawn/audio/video)

• Perform at 70% or above on quizzes and tests

• Complete homework

• Engage in conversation, small and large group discussion, and classroom activities

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

Competencies and Skills

A. Cultural Themes and Values:

Relate course materials to the following themes and values:

1. Surface culture themes:

   1. Food, flags, festivals, fashion, holidays, music, performances, dances, games, arts & crafts, literature, and language

2. Deep culture themes:

   1. Communication styles and rules

   2. Notions of courtesy and manners

   3. Concepts of time

   4. Attitudes towards others

   5. Approaches to social constructs

B. Public Speaking and Discussion

1. Contribute to and show satisfactory evidence of benefiting from small group and one-on-one discussion or exchange

   • Participate by contributing and connecting ideas

   • Develop strategies to achieve intelligibility

2. Present information orally

   • Give an informative presentation

   • Perform role-plays and skits

C. Listening Comprehension

1. Comprehend and respond appropriately to presented audiovisual materials

2. Understand main ideas and details of oral presentations and videos

3. Demonstrate listening skills by taking notes and asking clarifying questions

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

2. Compare and contrast cultural values

3. Recognize facts, opinions and beliefs related to American culture

4. Relate course materials to personal needs and experiences

5. Form ideas and opinions about topics that have been introduced

E. Writing

1. Write journal entries

2. Prepare level-appropriate presentation outlines

3. Write short responses to prompts, topics, experiences, etc.

F. Reading Strategies

1. Use available resources to find information

2. Identify topics and key points in written material

G. Academic Study Skills

1. Read, understand and follow directions

2. Develop questions based on class materials

3. Work in groups to extract relevant cultural information

4. Appropriately use spoken and electronic communication with instructor