All of the “Oral Expression in English” courses are devoted to improving students’ skills in speaking. Apart from the context of giving presentations, effective speaking also involves effective listening, so the classwork and homework in these courses require students engaged in speech and listening exercises.
As an elective 200-level course, Oral Expression in English 5 offers more challenging materials than the 100-level courses, while maintaining the specific focus on generating effective oral communication involving listening and speaking between pairs of speakers. Objectives also include using vocabulary and grammar introduced in the textbook and classes.
By the end of this course, students will be able to confidently discuss a selection of more complex topics to do with society and cross-cultural phenomena in one-on-one conversations with people they have not met before.
✔ Applicable | How instructors' work experience benefits the course |
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This course will be taught by a bilingual journalist who has been reporting and writing in both English and Japanese on a wide range of issues for a variety of publications. Throughout the course, the instructor will use her knowledge and expertise in the art of story-telling, to help students acquire communication skills that are necessary for presenting ideas effectively and clearly in English to people from culturally diverse backgrounds. |
speaking, listening,oral communication, interactive
Specialist skills | ✔ Intercultural skills | ✔ Communication skills | Critical thinking skills | Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
Each week, we will explore a different issue using readings, news clips, videos as well as discussions. Students are expected to watch the assigned video clip, complete all readings, study the vocabulary, and come to class prepared for discussions. The class is highly interactive. Therefore, students’ strong commitment and active participation are the keys to success, not only for themselves, but also for the entire class.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
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Class 1 | Course introduction Class activities | Students will be asked to talk about themselves during the activities. |
Class 2 | Discussion: Culture and identity | Students are expected to watch video clips, read articles and prepare for a discussion on the given topic. (culture and identity) |
Class 3 | Discussion: Urban issues | Students are expected to watch video clips, read articles and prepare for a discussion on the given topic. (urban issues) |
Class 4 | Lecture: Developing presentation skills "How can we effectively communicate ideas online?" | Students will learn about how to effectively deliver a presentation. |
Class 5 | Presentation: The first group of students will deliver a presentation on a given topic. The details of the assignment will be provided on Week 4. | Presenters are responsible for preparing a presentation. Students who are not presenting will provide peer reviews to the presenters. |
Class 6 | Presentation: The second group of students will deliver a presentation on a given topic. The details of the assignment will be provided on Week 5. | Presenters are responsible for preparing a presentation. Students who are not presenting will provide peer reviews to the presenters. |
Class 7 | Presentation: The third group of students will deliver a presentation on a given topic. The details of the assignment will be provided on Week 6. | Presenters are responsible for preparing a presentation. Students who are not presenting will provide peer reviews to the presenters. |
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Handouts
TED Talks https://www.ted.com/
VOA Learning English https://learningenglish.voanews.com/
Scientific American
(video and podcasts “60-second science”) http://www.scientificamerican.com/
BBC http://www.bbc.com/news
National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
The grade for the quarter will be determined as follows:
Class participation: 50% (Evaluation will be based on attitude, contribution, progress, and a willingness to learn.)
Presentation: 50%
none
It is recommended that students take this course in sequence with LAE.E232 (Oral Expression in English 6).
Attendance at the first session is compulsory for students planning to take this course.