English 1 defines and solidifies the foundational skills for effective communication in English as well as fosters international awareness, as both are typically required in the globally expanding domain of scientific and technological research activities. It also prepares students to study or do research abroad in the future. Students are assigned training exercises that cover the four language skills — reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The reading and listening materials include topics such as international and intercultural issues as well as the fundamentals of science and technology. Practice exercises in writing and speaking are provided so that students can develop confidence and competence to participate in discussions and conferences where opinions are exchanged through both text and speech. TOEFL-type exercise problems are also used in the course.
This course aims to establish a base on which students can build toward a higher level of communication competence specifically in an English language environment. The base is composed of three elements: (1) identifying relevant information accurately, (2) exercising fair judgement to form a valid opinion, and (3) stating opinions clearly and persuasively. English 1 covers these three elements, and the communication abilities acquired will help students in the future when they have to assume positions of responsibility in group activities.
Each student is assigned to a group led by an instructor. Instructors for each group conduct the course using the "Course description and aims" and "Student learning outcomes" as the basic framework. "Class direction," "Course schedule," and other information below explain the features of each class.
By the end of this course, students will:
・Become aware of the degree to which practical English abilities are required for learning at university and for research activities both in Japan and abroad
・Be able to grasp the main ideas and arguments of written and spoken materials in diverse areas including international and intercultural issues, science, and technology
・Have increased their knowledge of effective vocabulary and expressions to actively communicate their ideas and opinions in English
・Have gained confidence in using English to state their opinions
・Be able to understand the structural characteristics of good paragraphs and write their own short paragraphs with unity and coherence
Four language skills, fostering international awareness, communication skills, studying abroad, TOEFL
Specialist skills | ✔ Intercultural skills | ✔ Communication skills | Critical thinking skills | Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
In class, we will do various exercises from the textbook which uses CBS news programs as materials along with several other training exercises such as reading out loud and Japanese to English translation. The class activities will also include TOEFL (ITP)-style exercises. Vocabulary tests will be given frequently.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Course introduction Unit 1: Japan: Unusual Rental Universe—You Can Even Rent a Family | Textbook pp. 6-12 |
Class 2 | Unit 1: Japan: Unusual Rental Universe—You Can Even Rent a Family | Textbook pp. 6-12 |
Class 3 | Unit 2: Is Coffee the Secret to a Longer Life? | Textbook pp. 13-18 |
Class 4 | Unit 3: Lost in Translation: How China is Cracking Down on Poor English Translations | Textbook pp. 19-26 |
Class 5 | Unit 4: Lack of Sleep Costs Americans Billions of Dollars Each Year | Textbook pp. 27-32 |
Class 6 | Unit 5: Your Smartphone is Making You a Workplace Slacker | Textbook pp. 33-38 |
Class 7 | Unit 6: Do Happy People Live Long? | Textbook pp. 39-44 |
Class 8 | Unit 7: Selling Charity End-of-term examination | Textbook pp. 45-51 |
CBS NewsBreak 4, Seibido, ISBN: 9784791971862
Useful books will be referred to and handouts will be distributed as necessary.
Class participation: 30%
Short tests and end-of-term examination: 70%
None