This page is a course guide and teaching supplement for my students at Seijo University, Tokyo, Japan. It is not a part of the official website of the university, as it contains information related only to my classes.

I will communicate with students through this website, the university's WebClass system, and email. The important things that students need to do is make an effort to keep in contact with the teacher, stay informed about assignments, and finish the assignments quickly.

You have to check three things regularly:

1. This website

2. WebClass

3. Your university email account (studentnumber@u.seijo.ac.jp). Set up your university email account and check it every day.

If we have to teach online, I will give students assignments to watch videos, read articles and write short reports about them. It is highly recommended that you use a computer (not a smartphone) to follow this course and complete homework assignments. When you are unable to use a computer, it will be possible to follow the course by using a smartphone, but a computer and typing skills are required.

Course Content

This course is the first part of a two-semester course. The purpose of both parts is to offer students opportunities to practice presenting their ideas and interacting with English-speaking people both in oral and written forms in various academic settings. The two parts of the course ([a] and [b]) are essentially the same, differing primarily in Course Contents. In this first part of the course, students will practice listening and note-taking using short lectures on academic topics or other materials (documentaries, interviews, news reports) as source material. This activity aims to prepare students for study in an English-speaking college or university environment. Through these exercises students should deepen their knowledge of the vocabulary and grammar necessary in academic settings. This practice will also help students make progress in the Listening and Speaking sections of TOEFL.

Course Objectives

Students can understand short and clearly structured lectures on academic topics and take good notes on them.

Students can get involved in interactions in academic settings.

Students can understand and use the basic vocabulary and grammar frequently used in academic settings.

Method

This course is categorized as a practical. Lessons will concentrate on comprehension of educational media (spoken, written, audio-visual), note-taking, creation of oral and written summaries and presentations (slideshows and other audio-visual materials), and oral and written analysis and commentary related to the materials studied. Students will develop the ability to comprehend short interviews and stories, take notes on them, make written and oral summaries of them, and finally comment on them. Basic grammar and language skills will be reviewed as necessary. Authentic materials such as speeches and films will also be studied, with material selected according to the abilities of the students.

Schedule

1. Course Introduction. Story 1: How to tell a simple one-minute story or joke: “The Lawyer.”

2. Story 1 continued: “The Lawyer.” Introduction to sources for independent study to be used in reports.

3. Video 1: Nature Photography. Grammar review: question formation.

4. Video 1: Listening quiz. Story 2: “The Dream that Came True.”

5. Video 2: Describing weather. Grammar review: question formation.

6. Video 2: Listening quiz. Story 3: “The Lost Earring.”

7. Video 3: Traditional medicine. Pronunciation: Terminology for talking about pronunciation: phoneme, stress, tone, syllable, vowel, semi-vowel, consonant.

8. Video 3: Listening quiz. Story 4: “The House by a Golf Course.”

9. Video 4: Snorkeling in a coral reef. Pronunciation: identifying syllables, word stress, sentence stress, rhyming.

10. Video 4: Listening quiz. Story 5: “Message in a Bottle.”

11. Video 5: Traditions in Sicily. Grammar review: Verb tense and verb aspect, review of irregular verbs.

12. Story 6: “The Longest Distance Commuter.” Video 5: Listening quiz. Grammar review: Verb tense and verb aspect, review of irregular verbs.

13. Review lesson: Re-telling of Stories 1-6, focus on accuracy in grammar and pronunciation.

14. Review lesson: Videos, listening comprehension and vocabulary review.

15. Review lesson: Grammar review applied to storytelling skills. Students tell their own one-minute story of a personal experience.

Extra Note about Methods and Content

In recent years, it has been necessary to conduct some lessons online or by assigning on-demand materials to study. The use of such methods will probably not be necessary in 2023, but if they are necessary, students will be informed about revised methods, content, and evaluation criteria. Regardless of the general level of risk posed by the corona virus, there may be some students who have special health reasons for not wishing to attend classes on campus. Such students will be able to follow the course through independent study methods.

Feedback to Students

Coursework assignments will be corrected by the teacher, and feedback will be provided collectively or individually. Feedback will be given through written comments and corrections on homework assignments.

Study Outside of Class

At least one hour of preparation and review will be necessary before each class.

Evaluation

Reports 40%, Participation 30%, Final Test (listening, grammar, and writing) 30%

Textbook

No textbook is required.

Message to Students

Students will have homework each week and frequent listening exercise to be done in class. Listening skill is the most important skill to develop for first year students, so students will be encouraged and guided to find listening material for their own independent study. Each semester students will have to write two reports on a resource that they selected for independent study (for example, a song, a video, a news article, a book, or an English lesson).

Contact

riches[at]seijo.ac.jp

Office hours: Room 3813, Monday 15:00-16:00 and Friday 10:40-11:40.

It is preferable to contact the teacher by email before visiting during office hours.