English 2 follows English 1 to solidify the foundational skills for effective communication in English as well as to foster 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 communication 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 solid base on which students can build toward a higher level of communication competence specifically in an English language environment. The base is, as mentioned in "Course description and aims" of English 1, 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.
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:
・Strengthen practical English abilities that are required for learning at university and for research activities both in Japan and abroad
・Be able to accurately 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
・Be able to write their own short paragraphs with a clear purpose
・Be able to state their opinions with good organization
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 |
1. Continue the reading of PRISM with writing practice as necessary
2. Improve listening comprehension by note-taking and summarizing
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Chapter Chapter 2 / Speed Performance Start Chapter 14 / It's My Life listening to numbers | learn various terms about sport and medicine |
Class 2 | Chapter 14 read an article about euthanasia from BBC news | sight translation and learn technical terms about medicine |
Class 3 | Finish Chapter 14 and the article given at the week 2 | sight translate and extend their thought on the them of life and death |
Class 4 | Chapter 13 / Japanese Anime vocabulary test for Chapter 2 and 14 listening to numbers | sight translation and check vocabulary |
Class 5 | Chapter 13 watch a few scenes from the film "Grave of the Fireflies" with English subtitles watch an interview with an American film critic on Japanese Anime | read subtitles in English and see how they work in getting the message across from the source language |
Class 6 | Chapter 15 / Transplant Miracles writing a paragraph in English | check new vocabulary about medicine learn the structure of a paragraph |
Class 7 | Finish Chapter 15 writing a paragraph in English 2 | increase vocabulary in medicine learn the format of a paragraph in English |
Class 8 | review test and listening test about numbers | check reading comprehension write a paragraph as part of the test |
PRISM orange, visual and audio materials provided by the instructor
handouts
results of vocabulary and listening test, active commitment to the class
None
Please note that the program at each session may change, depending on the students' progress and participation in the class.