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 |
Students are expected to preview the handouts and check unknown vocabularies and expressions and solve the exercises in advance.
In this class, I will teach how to pronounce and listen to English clearly by using phonetic symbols. You will become comfortable with the TOEFL test by doing TOEFL-type exercises and taking vocabulary tests.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Orientation | Understand the course objectives. |
Class 2 | Vowel : Listening and Pronunciation | Check meanings of the new vocabularies in advance. Confirm the phonetic symbols and practice pronouncing vowels. |
Class 3 | Consonant: Listening and Pronunciation | Check meanings of the new vocabularies in advance. Confirm the phonetic symbols and practice pronouncing consonants. |
Class 4 | Assimilation/ Elision: Listening and Pronunciation | Check meanings of the new vocabularies in advance. Confirm the phonetic symbols and practice pronouncing assimilation and elision. |
Class 5 | Liaison: Listening and Pronunciation | Check meanings of the new vocabularies in advance. Confirm the phonetic symbols and practice pronouncing liaison. |
Class 6 | TOEFL Section I: Listening Comprehension TOEFL Section II: Structure | Check meanings of the new vocabularies and do exercises in advance. |
Class 7 | TOEFL Section II: Written Expression TOEFL Section III: Reading Comprehension | Check meanings of the new vocabularies and do exercises in advance. |
Class 8 | Review Final exam | Review the course contents. |
Handouts will be given in every class.
Students must bring an English dictionary with them to class.
Supplementary handouts are provided during class.
Participation 30%
Final exam 70%
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