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2024　English 7 33-RW

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Academic unit or major
English language courses
Instructor(s)
Maruyama Reiko 
Class Format
Exercise     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
-
Group
33-RW
Course number
LAE.E213
Credits
1
Academic year
2024
Offered quarter
3Q
Syllabus updated
2024/3/14
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
Japanese
Access Index

Course description and aims

English 7 is designed to improve students’ English language skills for academic purposes and provide them with more knowledge in relevant areas. The materials include topics such as international and intercultural issues as well as current topics of science and technology. Expectations require students to practice: reading academic articles, listening to English lectures, speaking before an audience, and developing skills to write paragraphs and short essays.

Student learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will:
・be able to express their ideas and opinions in classes confidently
・be able to write paragraphs or short essays
・be able to better understand academic lectures
・practice effective reading strategies

Course taught by instructors with work experience

✔ Applicable How instructors' work experience benefits the course
An instructor with work experience as an author and editor will provide hands-on education in writing and presenting about science, based on practice in the field that features critical thinking and logical ways of communicating information to audiences.

Keywords

Four language skills, fostering international awareness, communication, studying abroad, TOEFL

Competencies that will be developed

Specialist skills ✔ Intercultural skills ✔ Communication skills Critical thinking skills Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

This class uses the American student news program CNN10 (formerly CNN Student News) as material, and uses texts that have been edited and written to make it easier for university students to learn English.
First, learn the words that appear in the news.
Afterwards, focus only on the first part (lead) broadcast on the news, check the content, and solve problems to understand the theme of the news.
After that, we read all the news, ask questions about the content, and even discuss the news.
In addition to improving my English skills, I would also like to deepen my understanding of news content in various genres.

Each lecture will progress through one chapter.
A review test (using Google Form) will be conducted at the end of each class.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Orientation on English 7 Class Unit 1: Baseball in Japan [Summary and learning points] News focusing on how to support a Japanese professional baseball team (this time the Yakult Swallows). Even though the cheering style is familiar in Japan, there will be some cultural discoveries when you compare it to the way cheering is done in Major League Baseball. There are also things to notice and learn from a cultural perspective, like the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters' fox dance that became popular a few years ago, so I would like to understand these points through English before communicating them. 1) Warm up Answer three questions related to the Unit topic. 2) Vocabulary Check the meanings and pronunciations of eight words essential to understanding the news. 3) Vocabulary Exercise Practice using the words you learned in the Vocabulary section above in different example sentences.
Class 2 Unit 2: Restaurant Robot [Summary and learning points] News that a cat-shaped robot is working as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant in New York. The scene in the video where a human waiter and a robot compete against each other to see how well they serve each other will be of interest to students. In addition to studying English, it would be a good idea to provide opportunities for students to share what they have researched regarding the topic. 1) Warm up Answer three questions related to the Unit topic. 2) Vocabulary Check the meanings and pronunciations of eight words essential to understanding the news. 3) Vocabulary Exercise Practice using the words you learned in the Vocabulary section above in different example sentences.
Class 3 Unit 3: Keeping Food Fresh [Summary and learning points] News about how to keep fresh food fresh. In Japanese supermarkets, it is common to see products that have lost their freshness being sold at discounted prices, but as a consumer, I think it would be better if the products you purchase can stay fresh for a longer period of time. As an advanced study, it would be interesting to research not only how to preserve fresh food, but also small tips that are useful in daily life, summarize them in English, and present them to the group. 1) Warm up Answer three questions related to the Unit topic. 2) Vocabulary Check the meanings and pronunciations of eight words essential to understanding the news. 3) Vocabulary Exercise Practice using the words you learned in the Vocabulary section above in different example sentences.
Class 4 Unit 4: The Metaverse [Summary and learning points] Although the term virtual reality has been popular for a long time, this technology is constantly being updated. This would include games, for example. Learning English and playing games tend to seem to be at odds with each other, but if you have an interest in these fields, you can take the approach of using English to obtain information. 1) Warm up Answer three questions related to the Unit topic. 2) Vocabulary Check the meanings and pronunciations of eight words essential to understanding the news. 3) Vocabulary Exercise Practice using the words you learned in the Vocabulary section above in different example sentences.
Class 5 UNIT 5 Lionfith Problem [Summary and learning points] News about the lionfish and its ecosystem. Even in Japan, changes and crises in the ecosystem due to invasive species (American crayfish and black bass) are a hot topic, so these types of news are important. I want to become interested in the natural world through this experience. It would be a good idea to simultaneously acquire new knowledge from the English expressions used there, or the English names of varieties. 1) Warm up Answer three questions related to the Unit topic. 2) Vocabulary Check the meanings and pronunciations of eight words essential to understanding the news. 3) Vocabulary Exercise Practice using the words you learned in the Vocabulary section above in different example sentences.
Class 6 Unit 6: Successful Football Player [Summary and learning points] An interview about a boy from South Korea who could not speak English at all, struggled with English and American football, and now became a star player. Since this is a clip with a lot of dialogue, and some of the phrases are somewhat colloquial, it may be a little difficult to understand or grasp the meaning accurately. However, it will help improve your practical English skills. His attitude of trying to live his life by making full use of English has also inspired many people. 1) Warm up Answer three questions related to the Unit topic. 2) Vocabulary Check the meanings and pronunciations of eight words essential to understanding the news. 3) Vocabulary Exercise Practice using the words you learned in the Vocabulary section above in different example sentences.
Class 7 Unit 7: Bringing Back Oysters to Hong Kong [Summary and learning points] News about oyster farming in Hong Kong. Various kinds of seafood are farmed in Japan, but I would like to find out what problems and advantages they have, and write about them in English. In fact, overseas businesses sometimes come to learn about Japanese technology, so even though it's just a class, I want to imagine a practical situation. Quarter-end exam 1) Warm up Answer three questions related to the Unit topic. 2) Vocabulary Check the meanings and pronunciations of eight words essential to understanding the news. 3) Vocabulary Exercise Practice using the words you learned in the Vocabulary section above in different example sentences.

Out-of-Class Study Time (Preparation and Review)

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.

Textbook(s)

CNN 10 Student News Vol. 12
Fuyuhiko Sekido
Masato Kogure
Jake Arnold
Christopher Mattson
Asahi Press
\2,420(2,200+tax)

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Make sure you have access to an English-Japanese dictionary or an online dictionary site.
In addition, the news videos and audio that serve as the basis for reading comprehension are streamed on the Asahi Publishing website.
https://text.asahipress.com/free/english/
You can use it whenever you want to improve your reading and listening skills at the same time.

Assessment criteria and methods

20% Calculated from class participation (reading/grammar question presentation) after prior preparation (grammar understanding, warm-up problem answers, vocabulary list creation)
30% Quiz for each chapter at the end of class
50% Final exam of the quarter
Overall evaluation

Related courses

  • LAE.E111 ： English 1
  • LAE.E112 ： English 2
  • LAE.E113 ： English 3
  • LAE.E114 ： English 4
  • LAE.E211 ： English 5
  • LAE.E212 ： English 6
  • LAE.E214 ： English 8
  • LAE.E311 ： English 9

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

None

Other

None

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