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Welcome to the ESL and Foreign Language Department.
The following notes are designed to provide you with the information that will
help get you started on your career in the ESL and Foreign Language Department
at MDC-Kendall.
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Miami-Dade College is
accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools (SACS), and the ESL and Foreign Language Department abides by the
policies and procedures required by this agency.
Students in the ESL
program are predominantly from countries in Latin America. Approximately
20% hold student visas, and the other 80% are residents. Because the
program provides instruction in academic English, nearly all students in the
program have an interest in preparing for further university studies upon
completion of the ESL program.
Students in the foreign language program are regular
College students who are studying a foreign language to satisfy academic
requirements or to advance their knowledge of a language and culture they have
already studied.
The English program consists of six
levels. Students
take all six courses in their level before moving on to the next level.
The six courses are: Grammar, Reading, Speech, Speech Lab, Writing and
Writing Lab. Five of the courses are three-credit courses. Only the
Speech Lab is one-credit.
The foreign language program offers five foreign languages
in multiple levels. Students must take two sequential levels of a foreign
language to meet the state university requirements for earning a Bachelor’s
degree. If students have not already met the requirement in high school,
they can complete it by studying one of the languages offered by the department.
Most classes in the foreign language program are predominantly four credits.
If a student has already met the foreign language requirement but wishes to
continue studying a foreign language, any course at the 2000-level will satisfy
the general education requirement, but the course will be considered a 3-credit
(not a 4-credit) elective.
Due to accreditation requirements, instructors in the ESL
program must have a minimum of a Master’s degree, preferably in TESOL or a
related field such as a foreign language or linguistics. Foreign language instructors must have a master’s
degree in the foreign language, or a master’s degree and 18 graduate credits in
the foreign language.
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Each of the courses at the College has three letters to
designate field. EAP stands for English for Academic Purposes. SPN
is for Spanish; FRE is for French; ITA is for Italian; POR is for Italian; SPA
is for American Sign Language. Four numbers follow each
course abbreviation.
In the EAP numbering system, the second number
indicates
the level of the course. (Example as 1201 tells you that it’s a
second level; 1540 tells you it is a fifth level course). The last
two digits tell you the content: --00 or --01 is for speech; --20 or --21
is for reading; --40 or --41 is for writing; and --60 or --61 is for grammar.
If the course is a lab, the four numbers will finish with L, as in EAP 1441L
which is a level 4 writing lab; EAP 1201L is a level 2 speech lab.
In the foreign language numbering system, 1120 and 1121
represent the first two levels of the language. Courses with 2200 or 2201
are second year classes. American Sign Language uses 1612 for the first
semester, and 1613 for the second semester.
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In the English program, students take the
ACT/ESL and are placed into an appropriate level. Students can be exempt from taking EAP classes by scoring as follows:
- 95% or higher on the ACT/ESL
- 213 on computer version of the TOEFL
- 550 on written version of the TOEFL
- 550 on the institutional version of the TOEFL from FIU.
When this happens, they take the CPT and gain access to
regular classes offered at the College.
The first time a student registers for classes in this
department, the departmental advisors direct him into the classes he needs.
Once he has been registered in EAP classes, he will subsequently self-register
for classes in the next semester in the atrium of Building 3 or on the Internet. If he runs
into problems, he can come back to 3207 and ask for assistance.
Foreign language students,
except those studying Spanish, self-register with no intervention from the
foreign language department. Students who want to study Spanish must take
a placement test to determine the appropriate level before they register.
The test is administered in room 6237.
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The department tries to limit enrollment in its classes to
approximately 30 students. On the first day of class, there
may be a group of students who would like to join a class, and they will ask the
instructor for an override. The override is a document that tells the
computer system that the class size has been met, but that the instructor is
willing to take additional students into his class. Instructors should
make a decision on the first day of class about accepting more students.
Some of the issues an instructor should think about before agreeing to have a
larger class are these:
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Is there physical space in the room for more students? (Some
of the rooms in Building 9 are small, and there are no other rooms available to
move to).
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Will there be time to manage the assignments generated by extra
students?
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Will other students in the class be adversely affected by an
increase in the class size?
When an instructor agrees to give an override, he signs and
dates the document. The student must take it within 24 hours to the
registrar’s office to register in that class. A delay in registering
invalidates the override. Instructors should NOT sign overrides before the
first day of class.
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Availability to meet with
studentsFaculty must
be available to meet with students in addition to class time for one hour
per week for each 3-credit course.
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Class rolls are available to
instructors online. These rolls should be checked
carefully to be sure that no one is sitting in a class if his name is not on the
roll. Every student must be registered for the class he is
attending. Occasionally a student will wait until the end of the
semester to “realize” that he wasn’t registered. It is the duty of the
instructor to eliminate this from happening. Students in this situation
should be told to report to an advisor in room 3207 to straighten out the
problem. They must bring back a paid registration form as proof they are
correctly registered.
All instructors are required to keep accurate attendance records. These
records will assist the instructor during purges and in assigning final grades.
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Approximately halfway through the semester, the instructor
will have the chance to “purge” students from his official roll. The purge
is conducted online. The
purge gives the instructor a chance
to withdraw students from a class instead of having to assign them failing
grades at the end of the semester. These purges are limited to students
who have never attended class, or who have come so seldom that even if they were
to start attending, it would be impossible for them to make up all the work they
have missed. Purges are not used for students who are earning a
failing grade and attending classes. If the instructor purges
a student but later changes his mind, the student can be re-instated in the
class. When purging a student, the instructor writes the last date
of attendance. On subsequent electronic class rolls, students who
have been purged will have a “WI” (withdrawn at the instructor’s request) next
to their names.
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A faculty textbook committee selects the books used in the
EAP program. Desk copies are ordered from the publishers and made
available to instructors for their use during the semester. At the end of
the semester, textbooks should be returned so that they can be used by another
instructor.
A list of textbooks that will be used in the program is
given to the bookstore months in advance of the start of a new semester.
This permits the bookstore to buy back textbooks from students and to resell
them. Sometimes the bookstore runs out of required texts. Either the
bookstore didn’t order enough, or perhaps the department opened new sections of
classes and the original order was not adequate. When this happens and the
instructor hears from his students that the books are not available, instructors
should call Elizabeth Granados, 237-0512 with the title and an approximate
number of students in class who still need the text. The sooner the
shortage is reported, the sooner the books will be available.
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A syllabus for each class should be prepared and ready for
distribution to each student on the first day of class. Every syllabus
should contain the following basic information:
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Instructor’s name
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College email address and telephone number so that students
have the means to communicate with the instructor outside of class, and a
statement about willingness to meet with students outside of class by
appointment
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Name
and reference number of course
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Name of textbook(s) used
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Description or list of the course objectives
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Description
of how final grades will be determined
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Breakdown with dates of material to be covered, quizzes and
final exams
A syllabus template for each
EAP class was developed by a faculty committee, and is available to all
instructors to use in their classes.
A copy of the syllabus should be sent to Elizabeth
Granados, who keeps it on file throughout the semester. SACS requires that
a syllabus be on file for each course offered.
The syllabus is a road map for students. It lets
students know what to expect in a class and how they will be evaluated.
Certain things should be kept in mind while preparing a syllabus.
Sometimes students come into the office and say they feel they have been treated
unfairly. The Chair or Assistant Chair will take out the syllabus and look
for statements that defend those practices that the student is complaining
about. If an instructor has handed out a well-prepared syllabus, it is
usually possible to show the student that the instructor did what he said he was
going to do. When writing a syllabus, it is important to imagine the
different scenarios that could cause dissension later on, such as:
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How many absences are permissible before penalizing
students?
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What constitutes an acceptable absence?
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What is the instructor’s policy on late arrivals or leaving
early?
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What are the requirements for student participation in
class?
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What happens when a student doesn’t do the homework?
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What is the policy on cheating?
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What is the policy on giving make-up tests?
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Note
important dates!
The first day of class is very important because it sets
the tone for the following sessions. Instructors should plan on conducting
a full session in terms of time. The syllabus will
be handed out at the first session. At this first meeting, instructors will
thoroughly discuss the planned learning activities and set the expectations and
parameters of the course. In addition, many instructors take
first day copies of materials needed, knowing that some students will not have
the required texts. Preparing first-day copies ahead of time means that
valuable class time is not lost due to students not having their books.
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During the last week of class,
instructors can input final grades online.
In the fall and spring semesters,
the date that has been
assigned for administering the final exam must be observed. This date is
not flexible. It is important to allow enough time for correcting
the final exams, and inputting the final grade by the deadline, usually by noon on the final Friday
of the semester.
Instructors should check their email messages for the actual deadline.
Grades in the EAP and Foreign Language program are A, B, C, D, or F. The
department does not assign pluses or minuses.
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Here is the College policy on Incompletes:
“Incompletes are given only in case of illness certified by a medical
certificate or extreme emergency occurring at the very end of the term to
students who are on good academic standing.”
The instructor will fill out the form called “Agreement for
Grade of Incomplete.” This is a contract between the instructor and his
student specifying the assignments the student must complete during the next
major term (Fall or Winter). Both parties sign the document.
If the student successfully completes the
assignments, a second document, “Student Grade Change Form,” will change the “I”
to the final grade. If the student doesn’t
complete the work, the “Incomplete” will automatically convert to an “F” at the
completion of the semester.
When an instructor hands in the “Agreement for Grade of
Incomplete” at the end of the semester, all required work which the student must
complete in order to meet the requirements of the course (such as a final exam),
must be attached. This is so that if the instructor is not working at MDC in
the next major semester, the Department will have the materials needed to
administer and to determine the student’s final grade. If the instructor
is working in the program during the next major semester, he will be asked to
administer his tests and to determine the final grade of the student.
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When the semester ends, all instructors must hand in their
course documentation before the deadline. Course documentation should be submitted
to the department at the same time. It consists of the following:
Occasionally a student will challenge his final grade.
Because the documentation for that course is available in the department, the
Chair or Assistant Chair can usually do the math and show the student why he
earned the grade he did. If an error was made, it can be corrected.
Each department is required by SACS to keep course documentation for three
years.
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Another SACS requirement is that all students be provided
an opportunity to evaluate their classes once during the semester. Adjunct
instructors will administer a student feedback survey every semester and in
every class they teach. The
department’s student assistants will prepare a packet of survey materials for
each class and will place it in instructor mailboxes. Each packet contains
an instruction sheet, a student volunteer form, the red and white bubble sheets,
and questionnaires. Questionnaires in Spanish are available for those
instructors who prefer it. Instructors should read the instructions before
administering the surveys. A student volunteer will sign a document
accepting responsibility for collecting and delivering the completed surveys to
designated receptacles on campus. Feedback from the surveys will be
available to instructors at the start of the next semester.
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There are occasions when an instructor will need a
substitute. In this program, instructors are responsible for contacting a
sub and making arrangements to cover their classes. There is a short list
of EAP teachers available for subbing. The pay is $16.32 an hour, and an
hour is 50 minutes. When there is a last-minute emergency, an
instructor should give the office staff as much lead time as possible so that a
sub can be located to cover the class. It is very much appreciated when
instructors agree to sub for other instructors on short notice.
Click here to print the Department's sub form.
Use this form to get paid for your substitution hours. Submit the form to
the department secretary, Norma Sierra, in room 3212 as soon after subbing
as possible.
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It is very important for instructors to keep abreast of
deadlines and to stay informed about the program. For these reasons, the
Department has secured both a College telephone and an email address for all
instructors so that they needn’t give out their personal contact information.
College email messages should be checked frequently.
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- Open the College home
page; www.mdc.edu.
- Click on "Employees."
- Click on "Employee Web
Mail."
- Type your user name and your
password. Press Enter.
- To learn to use the
email system, click on "tour" under the Help menu.
Please read the College's
Policy and Procedures for more information about email accounts.
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Most
instructors have their mailboxes in the lab in room 6237. The mailboxes should be checked
each day before going to class.
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Instructors must have a valid
parking decal and a gate card to park in the faculty lots.
To get a parking
decal, you must first have a College identification card. To
get this, print the College Employee page which says, "Good morning,
your name." Take this page to Student Life in Building 100, next
to the Coffee House, where your photo will be taken and your i.d. card
prepared. Take the i.d. card to Security in Building 5, and ask
for your decal.
If you need a gate
card, Elizabeth Granados will request authorization for it from the
Dean of Administration. Several days later when the approval is
granted, you may go to Security to request your gate card. Be sure
to update your vehicle information in the College data base. Open:
My personal records, and then click on "Update my personal information."
At the bottom of this page, you will provide information about your
vehicle.
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Quick Copy duplicates the
material which
instructors need for their classes. Quick Copy forms are available in
rooms 3212 and 6237, and turnaround time is approximately 2 business days. Copies should
be requested the day before they are needed. Instructors should leave the
master and the Quick Copy form clipped together. Once a day a student
assistant will take the items to Quick Copy and return the duplicated items to
the department. Items left for duplicating in room 6237 will be returned
to 6237 and then distributed to the instructor’s mailbox there. The same
is true for items left in 3212.
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Each credit pays $700. A 3-credit class pays $2,100,
and a 4-credit class pays $2,800. Payday is every other Friday, and
instructors are paid by automatic deposit to their bank account.
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Instructors are permitted to teach up to 108 points in the
academic year, or from the start of the Fall semester to the end of the summer.
Each credit is worth 4 points. A three-credit class is worth 12 points.
Another way of looking at the points is that an EAP instructor can teach the
equivalent of nine three-credit classes during the academic year before running
out of points. Most of the foreign language classes are 4-credit classes.
Therefore, each 4-credit class is worth 16 points. A foreign language
instructor could teach six 4-credit classes and still have a few extra points
left over. When the 108-point cap has been reached, the instructor will
have to wait for the start of the next academic year before being permitted to
teach at the College. The point system is cumulative College-wide.
Regardless of the campus where the points were earned, the instructor may not
exceed 108 total College-wide points.
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In the ESL and Foreign Languages
department, all faculty,
staff and administrators are expected to have or acquire a degree of
computer literacy that will allow you to use the College e-mail and language lab management software system
effectively. You are expected to know how to type and send
important information (e.g. syllabi, course requests, etc.) via
e-mail. To facilitate your own training needs / interests, and to
enhance any teaching or technology skills you might want to enhance, we
encourage you to take part in our campuses' College Training and Development
(CT&D) workshops, open labs, and one-on-one training
opportunities. These are open to Adjunct Professors at
all campuses. Browse
through the workshops and Open Lab schedules and Sign up HERE.
If you do not have time to take a workshop in person, you can take one
online. Click here for ONLINE
training information.
The purpose of CT&D is to prepare all College employees
to develop the skills needed for current jobs, assist them in effectively
responding to job changes and prepare them for future job requirements. The
variety of workshops offered through CT&D includes:
Professional Development Workshops such as:
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Teaching Strategies
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Teaching with Technology
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Student Support
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Supervisory Skills
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Policies and Procedures
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Personal Success Skills
Technology Workshops such as:
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Desktop Applications (Word, Excel, Frontpage,
PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, Outlook, etc.)
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Topic Worskhops
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Web Enhancing Your Courses
Contact
Bertha Sanchez to learn to use equipment in the ESL laboratory.
Contact
the staff of CT&D if you have further questions.
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New instructors enter the program by two principal means.
A year-round posting in Human Resources for part-time ESL and Foreign
Language instructors, and through faculty referrals. All potential
employees must fill out an online employment application which shares applicant
information with the same departments at all the campuses.
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Many committed professionals teach in the ESL and Foreign
Language department, and they provide high quality language courses to the
College’s students. We hope that you will enjoy your teaching experiences at the
College.
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