CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
1. Student group
a. Age: 18-20 years old (first year students)
b. Gender: Male and Female
c. School: University of Technical Education Ho Chi Minh City
d. Number of students in a class: about 25
e. Level: Elementary
f. What can students do? (based on TOEIC Can-do: Linking TOEIC
Scored to Performed Using English – TOEIC Scores of 105-225)

LISTENING SPEAKING READING WRITING

♦ understand simple ♦ introduce myself in ♦ read, on storefronts, ♦ write a list for
questions in social social situations and the type of store or items to take on a
situations such as use appropriate services provided weekend trip
“How are you?” greeting and leave- (e.g., “dry cleaning,” ♦ write a one- or
“Where do you live?” taking expressions “book store”) two-sentence thank-
and “How do you ♦ state simple ♦ read and you note for a gift a
feel?” biographical understand a
friend sent to me
♦ understand a information about restaurant menu
♦ write a brief note
salesperson when she myself (e.g., place of ♦ read and
or he tells me prices birth, composition of understand a train or
to a co-worker
of various items family) bus schedule explaining why I
♦ understand ♦ order food at a ¨ find information that will not be able to
someone speaking restaurant I need in a telephone attend the scheduled
slowly and ♦ describe my daily directory meeting
deliberately, who is routine (e.g., when I ♦ read office ♦ write a postcard to
giving me directions get up, what time I eat memoranda written to a friend describing
on how to walk to a lunch) me in which the writer what I have been
nearby location has used simple words doing on my
♦ understand a or sentences vacation
person’s name when ♦ read and ♦ write clear
she or he gives it to understand traffic directions on how to
me over the telephone signs
understand directions
get to my house or
♦ read and
about what time to apartment
understand simple,
come to a meeting and step-by-step
the room in which it instructions
will be held ♦ read and
understand a travel
brochure
♦ read and
understand directions
and explanations
presented in computer
manuals written for
beginning users
♦ read and
understand a letter of
thanks from a client or
customer
* Note: Students can do such activities with difficulty.

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 g. What can’t students do? (based on TOEIC Can-do: Linking TOEIC
Scored to Performed Using English – TOEIC Scores of 230-350)

LISTENING SPEAKING READING WRITING

♦ understand ♦ describe the plot of a ♦ read and understand ♦ fill out an
explanations about movie or television an agenda for a application form for a
how to perform a program that I have meeting class at night school
routine task related to seen ♦ read and understand ♦ write a letter
my job ♦ describe a friend in magazine articles like requesting information
♦ understand a co- detail, including those found in Time or about hotel
worker discussing a physical and Newsweek, without accommodations for
simple problem that Personality using a dictionary a future vacation
arose at work characteristics ♦ read highly technical ♦ write a short note to
♦ understand ♦ describe my material in my field or a co-worker describing
announcements at a academic training or area of expertise with how to operate a
railway station my present job no use or only standard piece of
indicating the track my responsibilities in infrequent use of a office equipment (e.g.,
train is on and the time detail dictionary photocopier, fax
it is scheduled to leave ♦ talk about topics of ♦ identify machine)
♦ understand headline general interest (e.g., inconsistencies or ♦ write a
news broadcasts on the current events, the differences in points of memorandum to my
radio weather) view in two newspaper supervisor explaining
♦ understand a client’s ♦ talk about my future interviews with why I need a new
request made on the professional goals and politicians of opposing time off from work
telephone for one of intentions (e.g., what I parties ♦ write a letter
my company’s major plan to be doing next ♦ read and understand
introducing myself and
products or services year) a popular novel describing my
♦ understand play-by- ♦ tell a co-worker how
qualifications to
play descriptions on to perform a routine accompany an
the radio of sports job task employment
events that I like (e.g., ♦ telephone the airline
application
soccer, baseball) to change my flight
♦ write a
♦ understand an reservations to a
memorandum to my
explanation given over different time and day
supervisor describing
the radio of why a road ♦ tell a colleague at
the progress being
has been temporarily work about a
made on a current
closed humorous event that
project or assignment
♦ understand someone recently happened to
who is speaking me ♦ write a complaint to
slowly and ♦ adjust my speaking
a store manager about
deliberately about his to address a variety of my dissatisfaction with
or her hobbies, listeners (e.g., an appliance I recently
interests, and plans for professional staff, a purchased
the weekend friend, children) ♦ write a letter to a
♦ understand a ♦ tell someone
potential client
discussion of current directions on how to describing the services
events taking place get to my house or and/or products of my
among a group of apartment company
persons speaking ♦ give a prepared half- ♦ write a 5-page
English hour formal formal report on a
♦ understand an presentation on a topic project in which I
explanation of why of interes participated

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one restaurant is better ♦ write a
than another memorandum
summarizing the main
points of a meeting I
recently attended

2. Objectives
This course aims at helping students from non-English majors of the University of
Technical University Ho Chi Minh City:
- improve their listening skills in daily-life topics.
- provide students with useful structures that they can apply in
making conversations related to daily-life topics such as asking for and giving
advice, accepting and declining an invitation, etc.
- practice reading and writing about those simple topics.
- extend their active vocabulary of general English.

3. Length: 15 weeks with 4 periods / a week

4. Frequency of meetings: 1 meeting / a week

II. COURSE OUTLINE

- Core material
1
Saslow and Allen, Ascher. Top Notch 1. 2006. Pearson Longman.

- Supplementary materials
2
David Bycina, Lewis Lansford, Jack C Richards, and Ingrid Wisniewska.
Person to Person 1. Oxford University Press
3
Leo Jones, C. von Baeyer. Functions of American English. Cambridge
University Press

* Note: (3) is used as a self-study reference.

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WEEK UNIT LANGUAGE FOCUS MATERIALS
LISTENING SPEAKING READING WRITING
1-2 2. Going Out - Invitations to events: - Offer, accept, and - Newspaper - Describe your hobby - Top Notch 1
Identify the events and decline invitations entertainment listing (p. 16 – p. 27)
times - Ask and answer - People’s descriptions of - Person to Person 1
- Phone calls to a box questions about events their hobbies (Unit 6)
- Speaking naturally
office: Identify events, - Ask for and give
(Unit 3)
times, and ticket prices directions
3–4 4. Coping with - Complaints about - Ask for and make - Ads from electrics - Describe one of your - Top Notch 1
technology machines: Identify the suggestions catalogs machines (p. 40 – p. 51)
machines - Offer reasons for - Describe all the - Person to Person 1
- Radio advertisement: purchasing a product problems in a picture (Unit 9)
Listen for adjectives - Describe features of
that describe machine machines
- Complaints to a hotel - Complain when things
front desk: Identify the don’t work
problem and room
number
- Problems with
machines: Listen and
write the problems
5–6 6. Staying in - Conversations about - Suggest and plan an - Article about Brooke - Report about a - Top Notch 1
Shape immediate plans: activity Ellison’s daily schedule classmate’s typical day (p. 64 – 75)
Identify destination - Provide and excuse - Recount your own
- Ask about and describe typical day
daily routines
7–8 7. Finding - Conversation about - Ask a clerk for help - Article about clothing - Give advice about - Top Notch 1
Something to clothing needs: choose - Shop and pay for tips for travelers clothing for visitors to (p. 76 – 87)
Wear the clothing item clothes your country - Person to Person 1
- Direction in a store: - Ask for and give (Unit 4)
Mark the store directions within a
departments building
- Conversation about
clothes: Determine the

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 location of the
conversation
9 Mid-term Test
Listening and Speaking
10 – 11 8. Getting - Description of - Greeting someone - Vacation ads - Describe a past - Top Notch 1
Away vacations: identify the arriving from a trip - Travel agency brochure vacation (p. 88 – 99)
vacation problems - Describe travel - Students articles about - Person to Person
- Descriptions of travel conditions vacations (Unit 11)
experiences: Choose - Talk about leisure
the correct adjective activities
- Discuss vacation
preferences
- Complain about travel
problems
12 – 13 9. Taking - Requests for travel - Ask for and give advice - Airport departure - Recount transporation - Top Notch 1
Transportation services: Identify the - Book travel services schedule problems on a past trip (p.100 – 111)
service requested - Describe transportation - News clippings about
- Airport problems transportation problems
announcements: listen
for delays and
cancellations
- Converstations about
transportation
problems: Complete
the statement
- Conversation about
transportation: Match
the conversation with
the picture
14 – 15 10. Shopping - Recommendations for - Ask for and give a - Top Notch 1
Smart electronic products: recommendation (p. 112 – 123)
Identify the product - Discuss price range
- Shopping stories: - Bargain for a lower
Listen for products and price

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 prices
- Conversation about
electronics purchases:
Check satisfactory or
not satisfactory to the
customer
Revision
17 Final Test
Listening and Multiple Choice Test

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III. EVALUATION
During the course, students will be given two tests, one is mid-term test, and the other is
final test. Their purpose is to test how well students are keeping up with the syllabus

1. Mid-term test
- Week 9 (after students have finished Unit 7: Finding
Something to Wear)
- Content: Units 2, 4, 6, 7
- Procedure
• Listening comprehension
- Duration: 20 minutes
- Texts and tasks: Students listen to 2 conversations. Each
conversation has some missing sentences. Those missing
sentences are replaced with the sound “pip… pip.” When
hearing such sound, students fill in the blanks with
appropriate sentences.
• Speaking test
Students are divided into pairs based on the name list. Each pair picks
one cue card among the given 20 cue cards. Each pair has 5 minutes
to prepare the conversation assigned in their cue card. Then they play
their conversation in the observation of two teachers. The teachers
give marks based on the students’ use of structures in certain
situation, their pronunciation, their use of vocabulary, their ability to
deal with problems happening during their conversation.
Each pair has approximately 10 minutes to do their conversation.

2. Final test
- Week 17
- Content: Units 2, 4, 6 – 10
- Procedure
• Listening comprehension
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Texts and tasks: Students will watch a video recording of one
conversation with some missing sentences. Then, they do the
same types of tasks in the mid-term test. Besides, they have to
answer some questions related to the content of the listening
(multiple choice questions)
• Multiple choice test
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Texts and tasks: students have about 40 questions about
vocabulary, and about the structures used in certain situations.
They have to choose the correct answer among the 4 given
choices.

Scoring: 10 marks for listening, and 10 marks for reading

Grading criteria:
- Class attendance and participation 10%
- Self-study 10%
- Mid-term test 30%
- Final test 50%

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Total 100%