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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An instructor with work experience as a performer will provide hands-on experience in the performing arts, based on practice in the field that fosters critical thinking and encourages creativity and self-expression. |
speaking, listening,oral communication, interactive
Specialist skills | ✔ Intercultural skills | ✔ Communication skills | Critical thinking skills | Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
Attendance is taken at each class. This course is designed to be a student-centered, interactive course with students discussing and debating on various topics. New vocabulary and grammar will be routinely introduced to enable students to articulate ideas more clearly and to facilitate discussions. Students are required to listen to and/or read assigned materials before class, preparing for focused discussions of their content.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
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Class 1 | 1. Introduction to course 2. Unit 1: Culture and identity | identify course aims; acquire vocabulary, phrases, and concepts relevant to discuss culture and identity; articulate ideas and opinions on issues |
Class 2 | 1. Unit 1: Culture and identity 2. Unit 2: Performing | acquire vocabulary, phrases, and concepts relevant to discuss identity and performing; articulate ideas and opinions on issues |
Class 3 | Unit 3: Water | acquire vocabulary, phrases, and concepts relevant to discuss “water”; articulate ideas and opinions on issues |
Class 4 | Midterm Group Presentations | deliver a group presentation; articulate ideas and opinions on issues |
Class 5 | Unit 4: Opportunities | acquire vocabulary, phrases, and concepts relevant to discuss opportunities; articulate ideas and opinions on issues |
Class 6 | Unit 5: Well-being | acquire vocabulary, phrases, and concepts relevant to discuss “well-being”; articulate ideas and opinions on issues |
Class 7 | 1. Review of material 2. Final Group Presentations | consolidate ideas and key concepts from units 1-5; articulate ideas and opinions on issues; deliver a final group presentation |
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.
Stephenson, Helen, John Hughes, and Paul Dummett. 2019. Life, Second Edition, Level 4, Student Book with Web App (American English). Boston: Cengage Learning. (ISBN: 978-1-337-90565-7)
Additional reading materials may be assigned throughout the term.
Suggested websites:
TED Talks https://www.ted.com/
VOA http://www.voanews.com/
NPR http://www.npr.org/
TED, VOA and NPR provide video transcripts.
Scientific American (video and podcasts “60-second science”) http://www.scientificamerican.com/
BBC http://www.bbc.com/news
National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
Class Participation: 25%
Homework and In-class Assignments: 20%
Midterm Group Presentation: 25%
Final Group Presentation: 30%
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.