FALL 2017 SYLLABUS: English Speaking for RUNIN Freshmen
Meeting Times & Locations: Section 3 Wed. 3:30PM (Rm. 302) & Fri. 8AM (Rm. 305). Section 8 Tues. 8AM (Rm. 303) & Wed. 8AM (Rm. 305)
Coordinating Instructor: Mr. Julian Lee 李立安 (Sections 3, 8) Class Website: www.omnifoo.info/pages/Speaking.html
Office: 2nd floor, Rm 245. Office Hours: Wednesdays 10-11AM & 2:15-3:15PM and by appointment.
Email: omniscientfool@tom.com Personal Website: www.omnifoo.info
This course is also being taught by Erika Davis (Sections 1, 2, 4, 5) ed439@scarletmail.rutgers.edu, Theo Ramonono (Section 7) theoduld@hotmail.com, and Enrico Sartori (Sections 6, 9, 10) enricosartori@gmail.com. For the general, skeleton syllabus on which this is based, see here.
Jump to: Exams Class Schedule Midterm
OVERVIEW: This course aims to improve students' English skills, specifically listening comprehension and grammatically correct, oral self-expression. Fundamentally, students will be taught to communicate and interact with classmates and professors in English in the manner of an active, U.S. college classroom. A communicative focus means that a heavy emphasis will be placed on asking and answering questions orally and in complete, grammatically correct sentences. In each session of class, instructors will solicit authentic speech from students, focusing heavily on grammar for the first half of the semester. Topics of class discussion will be general for the first few weeks to increase students' comfort and confidence communicating in English, and some time after the midterm will shift into more specific topics of interest to students. This class will serve as a basic foundation for continuation in the RUNIN program and gradual expansion of students' English speaking ability in and outside of formal class sessions. 讲课的语言是英语。 听/看不懂英语的学生千万要提前安排助学办法。
TEXTBOOK: This course will use the "Think" Oral English textbook 1, published by The Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (Speaking Critically 口语1： Intercultural Conversations 文化之桥) from 2015. Students should bring the textbook to every session of class, though actual in-class use of the book will vary by instructor.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: In addition to grammar and vocabulary-building exercises, students can expect to talk to classmates about an assigned topic, make group presentations, sing songs, and play games. Often, these will be based on printed handouts given in class, so students who are absent should be sure to get copies of class content for missed sessions. Activities will generally be designed for students in pairs or small groups to bridge an "information gap" in the target language. Above all, the class will acclimate students to the Western college classroom, in which students are strongly expected to ask questions and participate actively, rather than listen passively to a professor's lecture. In this course, you are not studying English just to pass a test. You are learning to be a student of an American university!
The textbook will be used to supplement such activities rather than structuring the entire semester, and the dialogs from each unit will be used most often. From textbook dialogs, certain lines and passages may be selected by the instructor to be recited in a particular tone to show such emotions as concern, surprise, sadness, anger, disappointment, etc., as well as emphasizing different words for altered effect and meaning. Such exercises have shown to improve student's spoken cadence and confidence in both conversations and presentations.
Once or twice in the semester, students will meet with the instructor in "small conversation groups" for 15-30 minutes in lieu of a regular class session. These sessions will review material covered up to that point in preparation for the oral exams. Occasionally students will need to come prepared to make a group presentation or read a text to be ready for a debate or discussion, but usually there will be no homework.
INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION: Especially at first, course sessions will involve a lot of questions asked of individuals volunteering to answer or called upon to answer by the instructor. We understand that speaking individually before one's peers can cause stress and anxiety, so please note that if you are ever uncomfortable or do not want to answer a question, you may say, "I pass," and the instructor will call on another student to answer. We want to give opportunities to practice speaking, using new grammar structures and vocabulary, without adding more pressure to your academic lives.
GRADING: The midterm and final exams will be the main determinants of the final grade, with attendance and daily grades influencing borderline cases. The distribution will be 10% for attendance, 30% for each of the midterm and final grades, and 30% for in-class participation & presentations.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance in all sessions is mandatory. All absences require a note provided by the Fudaoyuan. Unexcused absences will result in point deductions for each class missed. Excessive absences are unacceptable and will be reported to administration.
EXAMS: Both the midterm and final exams will be administered orally, 1-on-1 with the instructor. Questions and topics for the oral exams will be distributed at least one week prior to the exam and will take about ten minutes per student. Exams will be held during approximately two regular sessions of class, but some may need to be scheduled outside of usual class time such as during the half-hour break or lunch hour. For Julian's sections, exams will be administered in Office 245 on a strict schedule which students will sign up for when questions are distributed.
PARTICIPATION & PRESENTATIONS: Class participation is very important. All students should be actively involved in the class. This means listening when another student is talking and taking part in conversations during open discussion. Sometimes participation will be voluntary, as when discussing a topic as a group, and at other times the instructor will call on students individually. Every effort will be made to make sure that each student gets a chance to speak in each session of this course, whether in front of the class, in pairs, or small groups. Volunteering to speak or present informally (i.e. after a discussion in pairs) will have a positive impact on participation grades. For some lessons, students will prepare dialogs or sketches more formally (i.e. with a written script) which will be performed either at the end of class or in the next session. These will be noted as presentation grades.
EXTRA HELP: Students wishing to attend more than one section for extra practice, whether with the same instructor or one of the other instructors, may be able to do so if arranged ahead of time and approved by all instructors involved. Additionally, and less formally, anyone needing extra assistance or who just wants to talk is welcome to drop by Office 245 during office hours. If the times are not convenient for you, appointments may also be arranged by email.
SOME WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT: Remember that speaking with errors is far better than remaining silent! We need to make mistakes in order to learn the proper way to express ourselves. It's always a good idea to be able to laugh at ourselves when we make a funny error, make corrections, and move on. Please don't take the instructor's suggestions or corrections as a criticism of you as a person. Please do note when you are praised for making improvements over the course of this semester. No one should ever be embarrassed to speak in this course!
If you are serious about improving your oral English, find others in your class who are similarly committed and try to speak to each other in English not only in this class but also in other subjects and environments outside the classroom. The tendency seems to be that students will continue to speak to each other in Chinese to converse and explain things in other courses, and this effectively puts a ceiling on your progress. Especially but not only for students planning to transfer to Newark, NJ, on the "2+2 Plan," your speaking and listening skills will need to improve continuously to excel in RUNIN's rigorous curriculum! Transitioning to a classroom where English is spoken exclusively (including by students) can be difficult, but speaking Chinese to each other here will make it moreso.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: In addition to raising students' comfort and confidence in speaking English generally, by the end of this semester's course, students will have mastered the following basic and specific skills: *giving one's surname, initials, and full name *using titles and surnames together *giving formal and informal introductions *describing likes, dislikes, and favorites *asking and answering "yes or no" and "A or B" questions *use of simple present 3rd-person verbs *use of simple past tense *use of past participles (present & past perfect tenses) *improved switching between singular male & female pronouns *making basic comparisons *describing people's appearances and personalities *forming contractions & using other "informal" expressions *agreeing & disagreeing *asking for and giving directions *talking about money *ordering food in a restaurant/eating at a family dinner table *talking about life goals *talking about love and relationships
Pending student interest, we may offer a session on pronunciation. These and other oral English skills will be vital for communicating with professors throughout the program at RUNIN, both inside and outside of the classroom. Failure to achieve the course objectives above may not only result in a failing grade for this course but also make it difficult to progress through the program smoothly, especially in more advanced courses which assume spoken fluency in English. In short, this speaking course and its successor next semester will be the only courses in your RUNIN curriculum whose primary purpose is to improve your oral English skills—others (and especially their ITPs) will focus on imparting different kinds of knowledge and skills under the assumption that you already have the skills taught here!
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Although this course has little or no written assignments or exams, all students are still expected to focus on their own work, not provide answers to their classmates, or provide help unless in a group activity.
Cheating of any kind is not acceptable in the RUNIN program. The penalty for a student cheating rests with the teacher, depending on severity. The RUNIN Academic Integrity Policy establishes levels of violations and recommends sanctions. Depending on the severity of the case and the level of the violation, the sanctions for these violations include: failure in the course, mandatory participation in a series of noncredit academic integrity workshops, and/or suspension.
If you are in doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism or are concerned that you are misappropriating someone's words or ideas, speak immediately with your instructor. for more information, you can also consult the Rutgers University Code of Student Conduct or the Student Judicial Affairs website: http://judicialaffairs.rutgers.edu
Some examples of cheating are:
-"Quoting directly or paraphrasing to a moderate extent without acknowledging the source"
-"Presenting the work of another as one's own"
-"Plagiarizing major portions of an assignment"
-"Paying someone to do your work for you"
DISABILITIES ACT: If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact the Rutgers Office of Disability Services. They will determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential.
Students requiring emergency evacuation are encouraged to discuss their needs with their professors and Disability Support Services. For procedures and information, go to the following web site: https://ods.rutgers.edu
Care to see what Julian's other classes are doing? Visit the NENU landing page for his reading, writing, public administration, and IR theory courses. All classes should have received a copy of EFL student guides to Western music and Western movies. Feel free to share and distribute them.
TENTATIVE WEEKLY SCHEDULE: NOTE: TBA = To be announced
WEEK 1 (Sept. 4-8): CLASS INTRODUCTION: Assign & discuss Western names & titles. Sing "The Name Song." Play 7-up Stand-up. Student introductions.
WEEK 2 (Sept. 11-15): Likes & Dislikes. Time & Punctuality (Textbook Unit 3)
WEEK 3 (Sept. 18-22): Finish Textbook Unit 3 on Time. College in the USA (Textbook Unit 2)
WEEK 4 (Sept. 25-29, & Thurs. session on Sept. 30): Travel English (Textbook Ch. 15),
WEEK 5 (Oct. 2-8): NATIONAL WEEK...NO CLASS
WEEK 6 (Oct. 9-13): Debriefing on fall break. Greetings & informal American English (based on handout). Yes or No Questions. Sports (Textbook Unit 9), & The Great Outdoors
WEEK 7 (Oct. 16-20): American greeetings & informal spoken English. Read & discuss syllabus. Agreeing & Disagreeing (based on handout). In pairs, students prepare a dialog of at least 15 sentences about a disagreement, using at least five expressions from the handout.
WEEK 8 (Oct. 23-27): Practice, perform, and answer questions about dialogs of disagreement. Comparisons grammar & healthy VS. unhealthy Western food comparison exercise. Compare China & The USA generally. Assign students to groups and times for small conversation groups on Tues./Wed. of the next week (assuming no time conflicts). Distribute instructions and questions for midterm oral exam.
WEEK 9 (Oct. 30-Nov. 3): Small Conversation Groups. (Tentatively extend class through the half-hour break or lunch break to meet with students divided into four groups. These will be held on Wed. for both sections 3&8.) VOCABULARY GAME (Tues. for Section 8, Fri. for Section 3).
WEEK 10 (Nov. 6-10): MIDTERM REVIEW GAME. MIDTERM ORAL EXAMS (2nd session of the week)
WEEK 11 (Nov. 13-17): Finish MIDTERM ORAL EXAMS (1st session of the week). Pronunciation.
WEEK 12 (Nov. 20-24): Thanksgiving & American Restaurant & Dinner Table (Textbook Unit 6)。 Health & Medical English (Textbook Unit 8)
WEEK 13 (Nov. 27-Dec.1): Present dialogs from last week on food, lifestyle, and health. Begin to describe different styles of Western Music and assign presentations for next week. Each student presents on a song they like from a different style/genre of music listed on the handout (for first session of Week 14). Money & Shopping (Textbook Units 4, 13)
WEEK 14 (Dec. 4-8): Present in English on a song you like (Give background information on the song including who made it, its style, where it can be found, what instruments are played in it. Explain why you like it.). The Song will be played for about 1min., and you should speak for at least two minutes while the song plays at much lower volume in the background. Here and here are lists of the songs students chose and presented. "Money Is the Root of All Evil" (Textbook Units 4, 13)
WEEK 15 (Dec. 11-15): Describing a person. Dreams for the Future.
WEEK 16 (Dec. 18-22)： Humans & The Environment : Anthropocentrism VS. Misanthropy。 Love & Relationships. In groups of 5-6, students write a soap opera to perform in the next session of class.
WEEK 17 (Dec. 25-29): Perform soap operas. Small conversation groups. (Tentatively extend class through the half-hour break or lunch break to meet with students divided into four groups.)
WEEK 18 (Jan. 1-5, 2018): VOCABULARY GAME. FINAL REVIEW GAME (Tentative)
WEEK 19 (Jan. 8-12) FINAL ORAL EXAMS (all week)
This schedule is subject to change and will differ by individual instructor.
Class topics for remaining weeks listed as TBA... , Movies, ,, Indirect Speech. Assigned according to time availability and student interest.
