Course Details
Methodology
Throughout the program, teaching strategies aim to nurture independence of thought, learning autonomy, creativity, critical thinking, and self evaluation. Teaching is basically student-centered, encouraging class participation, and pair and group interaction.
Evaluation
For their performance in ENG 100, students receive a final grade of PASS or FAIL. The final, cumulative grade is determined by the three exams administered during the semester, one at the end of each stage, and by teacher evaluation, as illustrated below:
| Instrument |
Focus |
| Stage 1 Exam |
MCQ reading/vocabulary, composition |
| Stage 2 Exam |
Summary, Composition |
| Stage 3 Exam |
MCQ reading/vocabulary, composition, summary |
Course Structure
The course is divided into three stages and the stages are divided into rounds. Reading selections are culled from a different discipline every round, and language development is reinforced by activities based on themes from that particular discipline. At the end of each stage, the students are given a formal test that forms part of their overall assessment. The table below illustrates the breakdown of rounds and instructional focus:
| Stage |
Length |
Discipline Taught |
|
| |
|
Fall |
Spring |
| Stage 1 |
|
|
|
| Round 1 |
2.5 weeks |
Education |
Education |
| Round 2 |
2.5 weeks |
Anthropology |
Psychology |
| Stage 2 |
|
|
|
| Round 3 |
1.5 weeks |
Business |
Biology |
| Round 4 |
1.5 weeks |
History |
Computer Sc. |
| Round 5 |
1.5 weeks |
Gender |
Sociology |
| Stage 3 |
|
|
|
| Round 6 |
1.5 weeks |
Philosophy |
Philosophy |
| Round 7 |
1.5 weeks |
Political Sc. |
Literature |
| Round 8 |
1.5 weeks |
Development |
Mass Comm. |
Materials
The ENG 100 coordinator and instructors have co-authored, and continuously update, two books, one for each of the Fall and Spring semesters:
Hafez, Mohga (ed.). Interactive Reading: A Discipline-Based Approach. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2000. Fall Edition and Spring Edition.
The books consist of a number of discipline-based units that provide the core reading component. Within each unit, students read texts selected from the university introductory course books and supplemented with language development exercises. The themes and language learnt from these texts, then, generate further discussion, debate, writing and summarizing activities.
Other materials used for ENG 100 include:
- an extensive file for summary passages, compiled, and sometimes tailored, by the teachers.
- over 150 teacher-designed composition topics related to the various discipline-based themes. The topics may prompt different patterns of development such
- 12 multiple-choice reading/vocabulary practice tests
- a variety of audiovisual and CALL material