課程介紹

Course Description

With a wide range of classroom activities and exercises, this one-year course is designed to enhance the English skills and proficiency of first-year NCHU undergraduates. The lecturer will guide participants through a wealth of English learning resources and authentic materials dealing with the following topics: 1) The Art of Public Speaking 2) Travel 3) Environmental Pollution 4) New Media and 5) Food.   

In order to facilitate learning and classroom discussion, students are required to complete listening and reading assignments before coming to class. Every week, they will have to take quizzes, speak English both in small groups and in front of the class, and engage in a series of writing tasks.   

A communicative approach which emphasizes teacher-student interaction is adopted, though attention is also paid to familiarize students with the complex sentence structure and grammar of the English language as well as common English expressions used in a variety of topics and daily-life situations.  

 

Grades

60% In-Class

40% participation   (3 minute-talk 5%; group presentations 5%;  

Freshman English Test 5%  

class participation 15%; writing tasks 10%)                       

20% attendance      (attendance 10%, quizzes 10%)

40% exams              (20% Midterm, 20% Final)

 

3 minute-talk:         You will have to give an individual 3 minute-speech on any topic of your

choice. For each week, 2-3 students will take turns presenting.            

 

Group presentation:  2 group presentations on the selected films and readings.   

 

Class participation:    I will give points based on your speaking frequency during the in-class activities

 

 
Writing Tasks:           2 writing tasks. You should type and submit your assignments on time. There is a 10 point penalty for each day late. Any homework that is copied from another source will receive a ‘0’.

 

Absences

 Sickness:                    If you can’t come to class because you’re sick, please show me your doctor’s notes in the next class. You will need to show me absent notes approved by the university on the day of a quiz or test; otherwise, your absence will be unexcused. Each class absence will drop 1 point off your final grade.  

 Tardiness:                  You should come to class on time. If you arrive late after I take attendance, you will be marked absent.

 Other reasons:            Please discuss them with me beforehand.

 

 

 

Course Objectives: At the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Speaking:              -speak more confidently and fluently about various topics

                                            -speak with fewer simple grammar mistakes

  1. Reading                 -improve reading skills

                                    -become familiar with different genres of English materials   

  1. Vocabulary           -increase vocabulary, especially vocabulary related to the topics in                                online English materials and selected readings     
  2. Grammar              -improve usage of already-learned grammar in writing and speaking
  3. Listening              -improve listening for both main ideas and details on a variety of topics
  4. Writing                 -learn to describe their daily life, events and stories in short paragraphs
教科書:
  • Selected Readings                 (See the details of the programme below)            
  • Online English Resources:    BBC Six-Minute English; Learning English with News Report;

Ted talks

教學進度:

 

Dates

Topics

Selected Readings

Speaking/Writing Tasks

Audio Programmes

Week 1

2/3 (M)

Meet and Greet

 

Introduction  

 

Week 1

4/3 (W)

 

Meet and Greet 

 

What I did during the winter break

 

Week 2

9/3 (M)

The Art of Public Speaking

Reading Article 1

Suzanne Bearne’s “How to crush stage flight and become a master in public speaking”

In-Class activity:

Speak about your experience of public speaking

 

Week 2

11/3(W)

The Art of Public Speaking

Reading Article 1

Suzanne Bearne’s “How to crush stage flight and become a master in public speaking”

Reading Discussion

Quiz 1

“Does Punctuation Matter?”

Week 3

16/3 (M)

The Art of Public Speaking

Reading Article 2

Gaby Hinsliff: “How to be Heard”: The Art of Public Speaking

 

 

Week 3

18/3 (W)

The Art of Public Speaking

Reading Article 2

Gaby Hinsliff: “How to be Heard”: The Art of Public Speaking

 

Quiz 2

“Learn a thousand foreign words”

Week 4

23/3 (M)

Watch the film The King’s Speech’ 

 

Writing Task 1:

Write a 200-word film review (Deadline: 15/4 )

 

Week 4

25/3 (W)

Continue to watch The King’s Speech

 

 

 

Week 5

30/3 (M)

 

Film Discussion

 

Group Presentation on The King’s Speech  

 

Week 5

1/4

(W)

Film

Discussion

 

Continue the Group Presentation

 

Week 6

6/4 (M)

 

Travel

  

In-Class activity:

Speak about your experience of traveling

 

Week 6

8/4 (W)

 

Travel

Reading Article 3

Ted Talk: Pico Iyer’s “Where is home?”

Tedtalk Discussion

Quiz 3: “Should tourists go to Antarctica?”

Week 7

13/4

(M)

Travel

Reading Article 3

Ted Talk: Pico Iyer’s “Where is home?”

Tedtalk Discussion

 

 

Week 7

15/4

(W)

Travel

Reading Article 3

Ted Talk: Pico Iyer’s “Where is home?”

In-Class activity:

Speak about issues of environmental pollution

Deadline for Writing Task 1

Quiz 4: “Is there more of the world to explore?”

Week 8

20/4

(M)

Environmental Pollution

Reading Article 4

Paul Bogard’s “Let there be Dark”

Reading Discussion

 

Week 8 22/4

(W)

Writing Diagnosis

Reading Article 4

Paul Bogard’s “Let there be Dark”

Reading Discussion

Quiz 5: “the impact of plastic”

Week 9

27/4

(M)

Mid-Term Week

 

 

 

29/4

(W)

Mid-Term

 

 

 

Week 10

4/5 (M)

New Media

 

In-Class Activity:

Speak about cyber bullying 

Writing Task 2:

Compare and Contrast Lewinsky’s Tedtalk and Seymour’s article  (deadline 16/5)

 

Week 10

6/5

(W)

New

Media

Reading Article 5

“The price of shame” by Monica Lewinsky

Tedtalk Discussion

 

 

Week 10

7/5

(T)

Freshman English Test

 

 

 

Week11

11/5

(M)

New Media

Reading Article 5

“The price of shame” by Monica Lewinsky

 

 

Week 11

13/5

(W)

New

Media

Reading Article 6

Richard Seymour’s “Caroline Flack’s death shows how social media has democratised cruelty”

 

Quiz 6: Air ‘Pollution in China’

Week 12

18/5

(M)

Debate

 

 

 

Week 12

20/5

(W)

Debate

 

Writing Diagnosis

Quiz 7

‘The fame game’

 

Week 13

25/5

(M)

 

Teaching by TA

Tedtalk Discussion

 

 

Week 13

27/5

(W)

Watch the Film Before the Flood

 

 

 

 

Reading discussion

Quiz 8: ‘Bullying or normal  competition’

Week 14

1/6

(M)

Before the Flood

 

Group Presentation

 

Week 14

3/6

(W)

Before the Flood/

Food

 

Group Presentation

In-Class Activity:

Speak about Food

 

Quiz 9: ‘Brazilian Food’

Week 15

8/6

(M)

Food  

Reading Article 7

Tom Parker Bowles’ “How Taiwan Became The Hottest Food Destination On Earth” (2015)

 

 

 

Week 15

10/6

(W)

Food  

Reading Article 7

Tom Parker Bowles’ “How Taiwan Became The Hottest Food Destination On Earth” (2015)

 

Quiz 10 ‘Cycling for Food’

Week 16

15/6

(M)

Food

Reading Article 8

Tedtalk: Jamie Oliver’s “Teach Every Child About Food”

 

 

 

Week 16

17/6

(W)

Food

Reading article 8

Tedtalk: Jamie Oliver’s “Teach Every Child About Food”

 

 

Week 17

22/6

(M)

Final Week

 

 

 

Week 17

24/6

(W)

 

Final Exam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: all quizzes are held at the start of the class.

(M): Monday

(W): Wednesday 

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