Outline:
This course focuses on English conversation strategies and confidence building. Students will make the English they have learned from previous classes come alive in its spoken form.
Style:
Each lesson will involve plenty of conversation practice with a different conversation strategy each week. Students will study, do homework, and be tested on correcting common errors that Japanese students of English make. Written tests will be given as mid-term and final exams and speaking tasks will be assessed weekly.
Notice:
Active participation in English is essential for completing this course successfully. Students who do not stay focused and those who are more than 10 minutes late for class may be counted absent.
合格の対象としない欠席条件(割合) 1/4以上の欠課
|
|
|
Theme |
Goals |
| 1st Semester |
| 1st Quarter |
| 1st |
Unit 1: Using Rejoinders (Short, natural, responses in English conversation)
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Develop the natural use of English rejoinders to keep a conversation going.
Reduce the occurrences of common English errors made by Japanese students.
|
| 2nd |
Unit 2: Making Follow-up Questions
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Practice creating good follow up questions to keep a conversation going.
Reduce the occurrences of common English errors made by Japanese students.
|
| 3rd |
Unit 3: Confirmation Questions
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online.
|
Practice asking for confirmation to avoid misunderstanding.
Reduce the occurrences of common English errors made by Japanese students.
|
| 4th |
Unit 4: Clarifications with Question Words Last
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online.
|
Practice asking for clarification of specific information.
Reduce the occurrences of common English errors made by Japanese students.
|
| 5th |
Unit 5: Keeping or Killing the Conversation
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online.
|
Practice using expressions to continue a conversation when desired and expressions to end a conversation when continuing is not desired.
Reduce the occurrences of common English errors made by Japanese students.
|
| 6th |
Unit 6: Expressing Probability
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online.
|
Learn to express how the certainty of an answer.
Reduce the occurrences of common English errors made by Japanese students.
|
| 7th |
Review of Units 1-6
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Put all of the conversation strategies from units 1-6 together in practice conversations.
Prepare for the exam on common errors.
|
| 8th |
Mid-term Exam (first written test) on common errors that Japanese students of English make. |
Master the recognition and correction of common English errors.
|
| 2nd Quarter |
| 9th |
Unit 7: Interrupting Someone
Conversation practice. |
Practice joining conversations by interrupting someone politely.
|
| 10th |
Unit 8: Echoing Instructions
Conversation practice. |
Practice confirming understanding by repeating back what was said.
|
| 11th |
Unit 9: Polite Requests, Responses, and Excuses
Conversation practice. |
Practice making casual and polite requests and responding both positively and negatively to requests.
|
| 12th |
Unit 10: Getting a Response
Conversation practice. |
Practice encouraging others to join the conversation.
|
| 13th |
Unit 11: Soliciting Details
Conversation practice. |
Practice getting more detailed information from a conversation partner.
|
| 14th |
Unit 12: Responding with Details
Conversation practice. |
Practice giving more detailed information to a conversation partner.
|
| 15th |
Review of Units 1-12
Conversation practice. |
Put all of the conversation strategies from units 1-12 together in practice conversations.
Prepare for the exam on conversation strategies.
|
| 16th |
End-term Exam (second written test) on the first 12 units of conversation strategies taught in the textbook. |
Master the conversation strategies taught in the book.
|
| 2nd Semester |
| 3rd Quarter |
| 1st |
Unit 13: Making Comparisons
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Practice comparing things and ideas in English.
|
| 2nd |
Unit 14: Finding the Right Word
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Practice strategies to help you find the right word to say.
|
| 3rd |
Unit 15: Exploring a Word
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Practice strategies to help you understand and use vocabulary in a wider range of situations.
|
| 4th |
Unit 16: Correcting Someone
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Practice correcting someone politely when they give false information.
|
| 5th |
Unit 17: Eliciting Confirmation
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Practice making sure that you are understood.
|
| 6th |
Unit 18: Starting and Stopping a Conversation
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Practice starting and finishing an English conversation smoothly.
|
| 7th |
Review of Units 1-18
Conversation practice.
Finding and correcting common errors in casual English letters.
Homework: Common error and lesson review activities online. |
Put all of the conversation strategies from units 1-18 together in practice conversations.
Prepare for the next exam on common errors.
|
| 8th |
Mid-term Exam (third written test) on common errors that Japanese students of English make. |
Master the recognition and correction of common English errors.
|
| 4th Quarter |
| 9th |
Unit 19: Beginning and Ending a Phone Call
Conversation practice. |
Practice starting and finishing a telephone call smoothly in English.
|
| 10th |
Unit 20: Expressing Opinions
Conversation practice. |
Practice expressing opinions politely and with confidence.
|
| 11th |
Unit 21: Making a Group Decision
Conversation practice. |
Practice techniques for participating in group discussions and coming to a consensus as a group.
|
| 12th |
Units 22: Discussion Connectors
Conversation practice. |
Practice including everyone in a group discussion and smoothly connecting everyone's contribution to the discussion.
|
| 13th |
Units 23 and 24: Summarizing and Conducting a Formal Meeting
Conversation practice. |
Practice summarizing what has been said and following the rules of participating in formal meetings.
|
| 14th |
Units 25 and 26: Word Games and Volunteering an Answer
Conversation practice. |
Build vocabulary with word games and practice volunteering an answer without being asked directly.
|
| 15th |
Review of All Units
Conversation practice. |
Put all of the conversation strategies together in practice conversations.
Prepare for the exam on conversation strategies.
|
| 16th |
End-term Exam (fourth written test) on ALL of the conversation strategies taught in the textbook. |
Master the conversation strategies taught in the book.
|