The aim of this course is to further develop students’ basic academic skills. This course will practice and build on the skills learned in English 1~4. The first focus will be on improving sentence structure and academic essay writing. In-class writing as well as a short essay using the Online Homework Submission and Evaluation System will be required. Additionally, students will learn the basic principles of the scientific method and the engineering process and put those principles into practice. Finally, students will learn about proposal making via group work and informal group presentation.
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
For more detailed information, check the Can-do Goals for this course.
Grades will be based on the following:
| 4 Foundation Tasks (4 points each) Meetings 2-5 |
Foundation tasks are graded on a 4-3-2-1-0 scale. If all requirements of the task are completed at an exceptional level, you will receive 4 points; if they are fully met, you will receive 3 points; if they are adequately met, 2 points; if they are only partially met, 1 point; if you do not participate in the task or are absent, 0 points. | 16 Points |
| 6 Applied Tasks (5 points each) Meetings 6-11 |
Applied tasks are graded on a 5-4-3-2-1-0 scale. If all requirements of the task are completed at an exceptional level, you will receive 5 points; if they are fully met, you will receive 4 points; if they are somewhat met, 3 points; if they are inadequately or only partially met, 1-2 points; if you do not participate in the task or are absent, 0 points. | 30 Points |
| 3 Proposal Preparation Tasks (3 points each) Meetings 12-14 |
Proposal Preparation tasks are graded on a 3-2-1-0 scale. If all requirements of the task are fully met, you will receive 3 points; if they are adequately met, 2 points; if they are only partially met, 1 point; if you do not participate in the task or are absent, 0 points. | 9 Points |
| 1 Homework Assignment | 10 points (no late homework is accepted) | 10 Points |
| 3 TOEIC® Exercises Cycles | 5 points each - Late cycles will be scored as zero. | 15 Points |
| 1 Group Proposal | 20 points NOTE: A score of 0 for either the presentation materials section or presentation delivery section on your group proposal will result in an unsatisfactory grade ('F') for the course. |
20 Points |
| Late assignment submission | minus 1 point |
Academic and Media Skills: English Expeditions, Seibido Publishing Co., Ltd.
Note: You are required to purchase a copy of this text for this class. Any possession of a copy of this text (even if it is your own copy) from a previous semester will be considered a violation of academic honesty.
You are required to bring an English-English dictionary to class every day. See the list of recommended dictionaries below for more information.
Meetings 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 are designated face to face meetings. In addition, all meetings will meet via zoom. All meetings will be recorded except for presentation meetings.
| Class | Weekly Topics | Foundation, Applied, Proposal Preparation Tasks |
HW | TOEIC | Group Proposal | Agenda |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Defining Skill Sets | |||||
| 2 | Writing Skills | Sentence Patterns Brainstorming / Pros and Cons |
Cycle 1 04/30 Cycle 2 05/30 Cycle 3 06/30 |
|||
| 3 | Writing Skills | Outlining and Key Sentences | ||||
| 4 | Scientific Method | Defining the Scientific Method | ||||
| 5 | Scientific Method | Dependent and Independent Variables | ||||
| 6 | Engineering Process | Introduction to Quirky, Edison Nation, and Kickstarter | HW6 | |||
| 7 | Engineering Process | Engineering Process in Action | ||||
| 8 | Engineering Process | Project Development | ||||
| 9 | Writing Skills/ TED Talk |
Writing Feedback/ Note Taking |
||||
| 10 | TED Talk | Note Taking | ||||
| 11 | TED Talk | Discussion | ||||
| 12 | TED Talk | Proposal Preparation | ||||
| 13 | TED Talk | Proposal Preparation | ||||
| 14 | Proposal Presentation | Proposal Materials | Group Proposal | |||
| 15 | Proposal Presentation | Proposal Reflection & Evaluations |
Group Proposal | |||
97% or more, A+; 87-96%, A; 77-86%, B; 60-76%, C; below 60%, F
NOTE: At the end of your second semester, you will be taking a TOEIC-IP exam. You will then be re-streamed for your second-year courses based on the results of this achievement exam, your placement test, and the numerical average of all of your first-year English courses. Therefore, it is important to strive for not only a high letter grade, but also for the highest numerical grade that you are capable of.
Students are expected to submit assignments in a timely fashion. Failure to submit timely may result in a reduction of the student’s overall grade. Students will be penalized 3 demerits for each non- submission and 1 demerit for each late submission. Students who accumulate more than 15 'demerits' (the equivalent of 5 absences) will receive an unsatisfactory grade ('F') for the course, regardless of their actual score. As a rule, no make-up work will be given for unexcused absences.
NOTE: Students who fail to take the TOEIC-IP exam will have 5 points subtracted from the total score of EACH English class they are enrolled in.
You are required to use an English-English dictionary for your exercises. The following is a list of quality paper dictionaries for English language learners. You may use any other dictionary or you may elect to use an electronic dictionary.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Oxford University Press.A bilingual set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) has been prepared for each course, as well as a general set for the entire curriculum. You can access these FAQs from the menus on your English Expeditions home page. Please read all of your FAQs before your second meeting.
2021年度の春学期は、Extra-credit Points（ボーナス得点）はありません。通常とは違った位置付けで皆さんにTOEIC Exercisesに取り組んでもらうことになりました。各科目のシラバス Grading Criteria（評価の基準）に提示されている通り、TOEIC Exercisesの得点は、正規の得点として、100点満点評価の中に15点（1サイクル5点X3サイクル）組み入れられます。
The following will be considered violations of our academic honesty policy:
Any of the above violations will result in a score of 0 for ALL exercises on that day, as well as forfeiting your chance for extra-credit.
不正行為は、いかなる理由があれ一切認められません。以下のような行為は、不正行為とみなします。
上記、および上記に類する「不正行為」があった場合は、当該学生の当該科目における、その日の得点を0点にするとともに、Extra-credit pointsはすべて無効になります。