English Expeditions - Ritsumeikan University

English Diploma Course
(Summer Study Program at the University of Hawai'i)

Course Description

Goals for this program include students:

  • Looking at issues that they are already familiar with from a new Hawaiian/American perspective.
  • Being exposed to fields of study not available at Ritsumeikan.
  • Learning about leading-edge research/developments in fields where UH excels.
  • Studying areas that are unique to Hawaii (both science and social-science/cultural aspects).

The University of Hawai'i was chosen for this program because, in addition to being a neighbor across the Pacific with a unique and rich cultural, UH has many leading Science and Engineering departments.

  • The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology is one of the leading schools in the field with departments of Geology and Geophysics, Ocean and Resources Engineering, Meteorology, and Oceanography. As Hawaii is a Pacific neighbor of Japan, the Hawaii and Japan face many of the same Ocean and Earth Science issues. (http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/)
  • The School of Architecture has specialists in Sustainable Systems, Asian Urban Design, and Asia-Pacific Architectural Theory. (http://www.arch.hawaii.edu/site/index.php)
  • The College of Engineering has departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Advanced Communications, and also the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory. (http://www.eng.hawaii.edu/departments)
  • In the College of Natural Sciences, the Department of Physics & Astronomy is famous throughout the world for its work with the Mauna Kea Observatories. (http://www.phys.hawaii.edu/)

The Summer Study Program at the University of Hawai'i has been created with the needs and interests of Science and Engineering students in mind. The program focuses on Hawaiian culture, science, engineering and academic research and reporting. While at UH, students will attend:

  • Lectures on topics related to our students' fields of study.
  • Cultural lectures and workshops about the Hawai'i cultural experience.
  • Field trips to cultural and science/engineering-related destinations.
  • English research and reporting lectures and workshops.
  • Cultural exchange sessions with local and fellow exchange students.
  • A field trip to the island of Hawai'i and the Subaru Observatory.

Specific examples of the above activities are available in the Program Schedules below.

Grading Criteria

Grades will be based on the following:

2 Strategy Sessions 5 percent
These Pre-departure strategy sessions will help students to choose a topic for their presentations and to begin their research.
Participation in Science, Engineering, and Culture Lectures 45 percent
Students are expected to fully participate in each lecture. This includes coming to class on time, listening attentively, taking notes, and asking at least one question to each lecturer.
Participation in English Research and Reporting Skills Workshops 40 percent
Students are expected to fully participate in each workshop. This includes coming to class on time, listening attentively, taking notes, and researching their topic, and reporting their results.
1 Poster Presentation 10 percent
The Poster Presentation is an opportunity for students to share their research with other students at Ritsumeikan.

Text

No text is required for this course. All materials will be provided by your instructor. However, many of the materials will need to be accessed via your EDC google documents account.

Course Schedule

Pre-departure strategy sessions will be scheduled for late June or early July, depending on the availability of the students.

The agenda for the actual University of Hawai'i portion of the program cannot be released until July, after all lectures have been scheduled. Schedules for previous programs are available below. Please note that the content varies each year.

The Poster Presentation will be scheduled for mid November, depending on the availability of the students.



Program-wide Standards

Grading Scale

90% or more, A+; 80-89%, A; 70-79%, B; 60-69%, C; below 60%, F

NOTE: At the end of the third year, you will be taking a TOEIC-IP exam. You will then be re-streamed for your fourth-year courses based on the results of this TOEIC-IP and the numerical average of your third-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.

Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend class regularly. Failure to attend class regularly may result in a reduction of the student's overall grade. Students will be penalized 3 'demerits' for each absence and 1 'demerit' for each 30-minute period they're late. Students who accumulate more than 15 'demerits' (the equivalent of 5 absences) will receive an unsatisfactory grade ('F') for the course. 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.

English-English Dictionaries

You are required to bring an English-English dictionary to class every day. 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.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman Press.
Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, HarperCollins Publishers.

Guidelines

The following guidelines are designed to make your English classes run a bit more smoothly. Please take the time to read each of them carefully and ask questions if any of the points are unclear.

Classroom

  • No chattering when someone else (especially the teacher!!) has the floor.
  • In-class tasks must be completed in English. English classes meet only once a week for 90 minutes. If you speak Japanese while you're in English class, you're wasting possibly your only chance to practice English every week.
  • Use only a ballpoint pen for text-based exercises. It is important to learn from your mistakes and if you use a pencil, you'll probably end up erasing your mistakes. If you find that you've made a mistake, cross it out with a single line (so that you can still read it and learn from it!).
  • Students are allowed to use a dictionary for most in-class exercises. However, you must use an English-English dictionary only.
  • Attendance is taken only once per class. If you come late, be sure to write your name on the blackboard so that the teacher can mark you present after class.
  • Turn off all portable telephones during class and remove them from your desk during class.
  • Do not do homework from other classes during your English class.

The Academic Honesty Policy for S&E English Classes

The following will be considered violations of our academic honesty policy:

  1. Copying answers from another student's exercise, quiz, etc. before or during class.
  2. Showing your exercise, quiz, etc. to another student before or during class.
  3. Using any form of ‘cheat sheet’ in performing an exercise, quiz, etc.
  4. Taking copies of an exercise, quiz, etc. (including unused copies) outside of the classroom. (This includes taking pictures of the exercise, quiz, etc.)
  5. Using writing instruments or telephones during feedback of an in-class exercise, quiz, etc.
  6. Copying answers from another student's exercise, quiz, etc. while it is being administered.
  7. Copying any portion of a homework exercise from another student.
  8. Allowing any portion of your homework exercise to be copied by another student.
  9. Copying (or closely paraphrasing) portions of a homework assignment from other sources (printed matter, the Internet, etc.) and presenting it as your own, regardless of whether you acknowledge the source. This includes using translation software to translate any portion of your submission into English.
  10. Sharing Rainbow or English Expeditions User IDs or Passwords with another student.

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.

理工学部英語授業における「不正行為」に関する取り決め

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。

  1. 他者のQuiz, Exercise(予習用課題、復習用課題を含む)の答えを勝手に盗み見たり、写させてもらったりした場合
  2. 他者にQuiz, Exercise(予習用課題、復習用課題を含む)の答えを写させた場合
  3. Quiz, Exercise等において、カンニングペーパー等を使用した場合
  4. Quiz, Exercise等の答案(未使用のものも含む)を不当に持ち帰った場合 (カメラ付き携帯等による撮影も含みます)
  5. Quiz, Exercise等のフィードバックの際、筆記用具、携帯電話等を手にした場合 (正答を盗もうとしたとみなします)
  6. その他、Quiz, Exercise等の実施を妨害する行為、他者の受験を妨害する行為、 替え玉受験等も、不正行為とみなします。
  7. Homework Assignmentにおいて、他者のAssignmentの一部または全部をコピーした場合
  8. Homework Assignmentにおいて、他者に自身のAssignmentの一部または全部を コピーさせた場合
  9. Homework Assignmentにおいて、書籍やWWWのサイトから得た情報をそのまま、 もしくは改ざんの後、断りなく(引用を明記せずに)、自身のAssignmentに盗り入れた(すなわち著作権を侵害した)場合(英語の授業で課されるassignmentの多くは、引用を明記する、しないにかかわらず、一切の引用を認めていません) 。これには翻訳ソフトの使用も含みます。一旦日本語で書いて、それを翻訳ソフトを利用して翻訳して提出することは、それがたとえ一文であっても許されません。
  10. RainbowやEnglish ExpeditionsのユーザーIDやパスワードの授受があった場合

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。

Copyright 2005 English Expeditions - Ritsumeikan University