english purpose

1. BEL 462

2. Course Description
This course is designed to develop
students’ ability to read analytically
and think critically. It focuses on the
relationship between reading and
critical thinking and provides
students with a structured method
for interpreting content and
organization of written texts. Tasks
and activities suggested are
discipline-based.

3. Course Outcomes
By the end of the course, students
should be able to:
◦ apply vocabulary skills to
determine the meaning of words
◦ identify and classify the ideas
presented in the texts read
◦ analyse and evaluate the texts
read

4. Syllabus Content
 Determining the meaning of words
 Identifying main ideas in texts
 Recognising the various types of
supporting details
 Identifying logical reasoning
 Making inferences and drawing
conclusions
 Analysing and evaluating the texts
read

5. Assessment
On-Going Assessment 90%
Test 1 30%
Graded Assignment 20%
Test 2 40%
Attendance and 10%
Assignments

6. Test 1 Test 2
 Questions that test  Questions that test
ability to: ability to apply all the
◦ determine the reading and critical
meaning of words thinking skills taught
◦ identify main  Argumentative
ideas in texts
◦ recognise the
supporting details
◦ distinguish
between fact and
opinion
 Argumentative

7. Graded Assignment
 Questions that test ability to:
◦ identify the various types of supporting
details
◦ identify logical reasoning: deductive and
inductive reasoning
◦ make inferences and draw conclusions
◦ evaluate validity and credibility
 Argumentative

8. Dictation!
 ðizɑr ðə rulz fɔr maj klæs:
1) bi punctual
2) ɒlwez fɑlo ðə drɛs kod
3) ɒlwez spik ɪn ɪŋglɪʃ
4) dɪkʃənɛri ɪz compulsary
5) dont smok bəfɔr, dʊrɪŋ ænd
æftər klæs
6) ətɛndəns ɪz maj prajɔrəti
7) æktɪv partɪsəpeʃən ɪn klæs

9. Answer
 These are the rules for my class:
1) Be punctual
2) Always follow the dress code
3) Always speak in English
4) Dictionary is COMPULSARY
5) Don't smoke before, during and
after class
6) Attendance is my priority
7) Active participation in class

10. What is reading and critical
thinking?

11. Definition Reading
 interacting with and absorbing the text.
interacting with and absorbing the text.
◦ primary goal is to understand the first
level on which the text operates –
what the author actually says.
◦ first reading –trying to get the gist of
what the author is saying and sense
of his or her tone.
◦ rereadings – after the first reading,
plan on at least one other. this time
read slowly. your main concern
should be to grasp the content and
how it is constructed.

12. Reading process

13. Cont.. Reading Process

14. Can you read this?
Then which of the favours o f your
Lord will ye deny?

15. Definition Critical
 Critical means “sceptical,” “exacting,”
“creative.” When we operate critically,
we question, test and build on what
others say and what we ourselves
think.
◦ Critical does not mean “negative” in this
context.
 In Greek it means “to separate” and
“to discern”:
Thus a critical thinker, reader, or writer
separates a subject into parts, discerns
how the parts work together and how the
subject relates to other subjects, and
(often) judges the subject’s quality and
value.

17. Reading + Critical Thinking?
1 • Identify the main issue
2 • Evaluate the evidence
3 • Recognise underlying assumptions
4 • Evaluate authorities
5 • Recognize bias and propaganda
6 • Interpretation and action

18. Commentary article
 To read critically, you need to read actively.
 Writing back gives lots of ammunition.
 In addition, after your initial reading it is useful to
do some invention work
 Commentary on the article includes the analysis
of the author's reasoning:
◦ Assumptions
◦ Logical and emotional arguments
◦ Conclusions
◦ Did he miss any good arguments or
counterarguments?
◦ Did he cover the range of the issue he set out to
address?
◦ Are his basic social assumptions valid, or has he
overgeneralized some of his statements?

19. Example of commentary
article
Breeding evil. (2005, August 6). Economist, 376(8438), 9.
Retrieved from http://www.economist.com
 This editorial from the Economist describes the controversy
surrounding video games and the effect they have on people
who use them. The article points out that most critics of
gaming are people over 40 and it is an issue of age not of the
games themselves. While the author briefly mentions studies
done around the issue of violence and gaming, he does not
go into enough depth for the reader to truly know the range of
studies that have actually been done in this area, other than
to take his word that the research is unsatisfactory. The
author of this article stresses the age factor over violence as
the real reason for opposition to video games and stresses
the good gaming has done in most areas of human life. This
article is a good resource for those wanting to begin to
explore the controversy surrounding video games, however
for anyone doing serious research, one should actually
examine some of the research studies that have been done in
this area rather than simply take the author's word that
opposition to video games is simply due to an issue of
generational divide.

20. Task
 Read the article on “Shyness” and
share your thoughts regarding what
you’ve read.
 Write your comments on the article in
i-Learn.