First Semester, Spring 2022

July 2022

On July 1st, I came to the classroom, but no students were there. Everyone preferred to join the Zoom lesson (check your WebClass messages for the link). Therefore, I will hold classes by zoom only on July 8th and July 15th. I will be in the classroom on July 22 so that students can respond to the course survey, but I will also open the zoom session that day. However, if you want to talk to me in person for any reason, contact me by email (riches@seijo.ac.jp) or by WebClass.

If you have finished your ten reports, you don’t have to join the remaining Zoom sessions, but if you haven’t finished, join the class, and talk to me for a few minutes about your progress. It is important for me to have some weekly contact with students because in previous years, many students in this course have gone missing (行方不明) and I don’t know if they intend to finish their assignments.

Many students seem to think that the reports have to be about a TED Talk. The report assignment is to write about any English source you read or listened to. My web page has some suggested sources at these links:

http://www.themindseye.ca/oc-dmms/quick-reports.html

http://www.themindseye.ca/studylinks.html

You can also write a report about a song. Just be sure to choose something with interesting lyrics that are also good listening practice and good language study (see this file for my list of suggested songs).

April 2022

You have to finish ten reports. Submit them as soon as possible. The final deadline is the last class in July. If you finish one per week, you will be finished well before the end of the semester.

The main thing to do this semester is to finish ten reports, but you also have to attend the class every Friday. I want to check on the progress of each student and be sure that students are having no troubles taking part in the course and working on schedule.

If you have trouble finding something to study for your reports, look at the the Study Links section of this website.

Please download the file called Common Errors in Student Writing. Check your reports before handing them in and try to avoid the common errors. Use the grammar checkers and spell checkers available in word processing programs (MS Word, Libre Office etc.).

Learn how to use the "track changes" and "accept changes" features of MSWord. Use this guide.

How to write your reports

Students have to write ten reports this semester (about one per week). Don't delay and fall behind schedule. Finish one report per week, then you will be finished by the tenth week.
Write a report about an English study resource of your choice. You can use any source that you like, but do not repeatedly use the same type of resource. For example, if your first report is about a song, don’t choose a song for your next report. Be careful to choose a resource that is challenging but not too difficult. Think carefully about your weak points and make a plan for your own study.

If your TOEIC score is still below 500, you should find resources that include review of grammar and low and intermediate level listening practice. If your TOEIC score is above 500, you can start studying authentic resources (sources not designed as English lessons).

You need to find a source of study that is not too easy. It should be a little bit challenging but not too difficult. This is a link to a list of sources that are easy to study. If you study one of these sources, you should be able to finish your report in about one hour.

Suggested types of resources
Songs, movies (use the English subtitles on Netflix or DVDs), news media, YouTube videos with worthwhile language content (for example, do not write about cute cat videos!), online videos of speeches and lessons of various types (for example, www.ted.com), websites for English study, books, magazines, newspapers, smartphone apps for English study, etc.
 
Use the report form template to write your report. When you start writing your report, save the document file with a new file name such as this:

your last name-your first name-year-month-day.docx

example: isono-wakame-2022-06-15.docx

If you write the file name this way, your teacher can see easily who wrote it and when it was written.

You can write your report in MSWord or other word processing software such as the free software Libre Office. Every student at Seijo can get a free installation of Microsoft Office. Ask the MNC how to install it on your computer.

On your report, write your e-mail address. It is better to use your Seijo e-mail address (student number@u.seijo.ac.jp). Write complete and accurate information about to the source: author, title, place of publication, web address, date etc…
Do not copy and paste sentences that you did not write yourself. Do not use translation software. If you want to copy something, you have to put it in quotation marks: “…………………”

Be sure to include a list of some new vocabulary or idioms that you learned. Describe exactly what you learned or studied, how you studied, and write a comment about it.
Go to this link for a sample of a report. This sample is a little bit long. You don't need to write such a detailed report, but you can if you want to.

Correcting and saving your report

Keep a digital version (MSWord file) of your report after the teacher checks it, and keep the corrected version also. These are your proof that you completed the report. Keep the files in two places, for example, one copy on your computer and one copy on a usb drive. Always save backups of your files! A computer can break at any time.
After I check your report and give back the paper version with corrections marked in red, save the digital file with a new file name like this example:
your last name-your first name-2022-06-15-corrected.docx

Don’t delay in writing reports. The teacher does not like getting all the reports from a student suddenly at the end of the semester.

Every student is working independently, so it is possible to write your reports at home, but you still need to attend the class every Friday at 16:20 in order to get the credit and pass this course.

Be sure to write the full information about the source you study. For example, if you study this TED talk, you should give this information:

Amy Cuddy, “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are,” TED, June 2012, https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are

You need to include this information:

1. Name of author, speaker, or artist

2. Title

3. Publisher, website, company or organization that distributed the material

4. Date of publication

5. Website address