English Communication 1 (Speaking and Listening)
Overview
Listening and speaking consist of interactive exchanges when talking with others (e.g., asking for or giving clarification) and receptive skills (e.g., listening for gist or being aware of different sounds and patterns in English). Students are encouraged to listen to many kinds of genres and talk about the main points and what they understood. Students should also be encouraged to talk to each other in English as often as possible in order to improve their oral communicative ability in face-to-face social interactions. In addition to practicing oral/aural skills, these courses are also a chance to explicitly introduce specific strategies related to maintaining conversations, negotiating meaning, and listening.
Teaching approach
We encourage teachers to expose students to a variety of topics and genres of listening text and to raise awareness of various listening strategies and techniques: predicting key vocabulary, listening for main points, identifying individual sounds and connected speech, increasing awareness of intonation patterns and rhythm. Follow-up activities could include listening to texts several times, gap fills, dictation exercises, student recording of their own voices, and peer transcribing. Students will also talk to each other to improve their interactive listening and speaking skills. Teachers could assign the university’s self-study system (ALC NetAcademy2 – see below) for homework as well as other types of out-of-class study.
Different levels
At lower levels in the first year the content of listening texts may include short recordings on personal topics and genres such as conversation and public announcements. Higher level students can listen to more formal academic genres (e.g., mini lectures) on various issues, especially in the second year.
Transition from year one to year two
The main difference between first- and second-year lessons will be on the choice of listening/speaking topics and genres. In the first year, students will listen to texts covering general topics in a variety of genres such as conversations, telephone calls, radio programs, and podcasts. Students will also practice clear pronunciation, fluency, and personal expression. In the second year, especially for higher levels, students will listen to and discuss topics related to their majors and/or academic genres such as lectures and presentations. This can be done in a variety of ways depending on student level and major and the teacher’s approach and choice of materials.
Grading
Grading should reflect course objectives. Below are first-year objectives with suggested evaluation methods in parentheses.
By taking this course students will:
- improve their fluency in oral communication (speaking assessment using rubrics to evaluate conversations, short presentations and speeches, poster presentations, interviews, teacher observations)
- improve their accuracy in oral communication (speaking assessment using rubrics to evaluate conversations, short presentations and speeches, poster presentations, interviews, teacher observations)
- take part more effectively in conversations (role plays, conversation assessment)
- offer their opinion and support it in discussions (group or class discussions, debates, interviews)
*It is important to combine several different ways of grading to reflect students’ use of different skills, strategies and abilities.
NOTE: Upper year students who must repeat Native English/Integrated English 1 (which no longer exists) may ask to join the English Communication 1 classes. Please accommodate these students, if possible. Also, some students may need to take Basic English (kiso eigo) before taking EC1 (formerly Native English/ Integrated English 1). All Basic English classes are taught by Japanese teachers.
English Communication 2 (Reading)
Overview
Reading courses focus on building students’ ability to read academic materials as well as other texts they may read for pleasure or for their communication and test-taking needs. First-year students especially need to: 1) improve their reading strategy use; 2) develop reading fluency; 3) acquire general and academic vocabulary. Therefore, the first-year course focuses on both intensive and extensive reading. Intensive reading focuses on being able to more effectively and efficiently comprehend the key points of somewhat challenging (yet still motivating) texts. Extensive reading, mostly done out of class, involves reading a great amount of less-challenging texts for pleasure in order to build one’s fluency and to reinforce language incidentally.
Teaching Approach
The teacher will introduce basic reading strategies to help students comprehend a text’s main points more efficiently. This includes previewing the text, focusing on one’s goal (reading strategically) and coping with unknown vocabulary (inferring meaning, ignoring words, dictionary use). Students should aim to note down key points or summarize the text in English or Japanese, and they should also try to discuss the content in English. A language focus on the text may follow (i.e. reviewing target vocabulary or structures in the text or translating key sections).
If the course is organized by topics, oral or written projects (such as poster presentations) can be done at the end of the unit. Periodic timed-reading tests may also be done to check students’ reading rate and general comprehension ability. In addition, extensive reading is strongly recommended using graded readers, while higher level classes may be given the option of choosing authentic texts, such as novels for young adults.
Different levels
More proficient students will deal with more challenging texts than less proficient students, of course. However, the focus of the classes should be similar. Less proficient students may need to be encouraged and motivated more. Despite the low-level of some classes, teachers should avoid turning the course into a grammar-translation class; these students especially can benefit learning about the joy of reading for pleasure and for meaning.
Transition from year one to year two
First-year reading focuses more on news media, fiction, and more informal topics, while classes in the second year should be more academic. Moreover, first-year courses focus more on fluency while second-year courses deal more with strategies for tackling somewhat more challenging texts. Second-year courses more explicitly link reading and writing activities.
Grading
Grading should reflect course objectives. Below are first-year objectives with suggested evaluation methods in parentheses.
By taking this course students should improve their:
- ability to comprehend the main ideas and key points of texts (reading tests, assignments, research projects, reading logs)
- ability to evaluate content critically (reading tests, assignments, research projects, reading logs)
- reading fluency (timed reading quizzes, independent reading assignments)
- receptive vocabulary and sentence structure (vocabulary quizzes, reading tests)
Participation can also be evaluated. For example, students can gain points by attending classes, coming on time, completing class assignments, and speaking up in class. They could lose points by being absent, coming late, showing off-task behavior or non-participation in discussions.
*It is important to combine several different ways of grading to reflect students’ use of different skills, strategies and abilities.
English Communication 3 (Writing)
Overview
Writing in English is an important skill for students to acquire. Traditionally, university level English writing has focused on essays or reports and occasionally students have written their graduation thesis in English. We will continue to emphasize such writing and wherever possible will include academic content. This includes skills such as summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting which are important so that students can refer to sources correctly (thereby avoiding plagiarism). Also, EC3 can serve as a bridge between high school writing and college writing. Therefore, writing strategies such as looking up words or phrases in the dictionary for choosing the most suitable vocabulary/expressions can also be introduced in the course. In addition, in an increasingly digital world, forms of writing such as emails and blogs reflect the kinds of writing that people in the twenty-first century need to be able to do. It is important that university students are exposed to these varieties of writing in English and are able to critically reflect on them.
Teaching approach
We encourage teachers to use a process writing approach wherever possible (brainstorming, planning, drafting and editing) but this does not stop teachers from paying attention to grammar and errors (see Appendices J, K and L for explanations and examples of process writing). It is important to emphasize that students can learn a lot from each other as well as from the teacher through peer feedback and review of each other’s writing. It is not expected that teachers give feedback each week on student work – if a process approach is taken then four or five assignments over two quarters would be more than sufficient. Expected word counts will vary according to each teacher’s approach and student level, but as a rule of thumb 400 words is a good target. At all levels students need to be encouraged to do as much extensive writing as possible. This can be in class through ‘fast writing’, and out of class through journals or blogs. Students also need to practice writing using a computer. Teachers do not have to explicitly teach computer skills but can make it clear to students that assignments should be typed.
Different levels
We would like all students in the first year to become familiar with the structure of a basic essay. A common format is the five-paragraph essay that includes an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs with topic sentences and support, and a conclusion. This is not the only way to structure an essay but it is a basic form that is useful for more extensive academic writing. We would also like teachers to show students how to avoid plagiarism through simple referencing, quoting, summarizing and paraphrasing. In addition, we strongly encourage teachers to outline the basics of how to send a clear email message.
At lower levels in the first year, as well as essays and emails, the content of writing is likely to include personal topics and genres such as descriptive reports and stories while paying attention to language aspects such as word choice and sentence structures. Higher level students can write more formal academic reports on various issues. Very high level students in the second year may be encouraged to write faculty specific research papers.
Transition from year one to year two
In the first year lessons will have emphasized process writing techniques, fluency and personalized topics with some focus on academic content. Students should have learned the basic format of an essay, how to write emails and how to avoid plagiarism. In the second year we would like to continue to use process writing but encourage students to focus on objective writing, formal style, logical organization and accuracy. The emphasis should have a more academic focus in the second year rather than on personal topics. This can be done in a variety of ways depending on student level, major, and the teacher’s approach and choice of materials.
Adjustment for 60-minute back to back classes (120 minutes total)
In the 60-minute quarter system, one slot lasts for 2 x 60 minutes which is 30 minutes longer than previous lessons. In the EC3 writing course, therefore, the additional time could be used for activities such as peer review, independent study, feedback or proofreading before turning in the final drafts. Teachers can provide students with advice on their texts individually as well as monitoring their writing activities.
Considerations on the summer break between quarters
There is a summer break between Quarter 2 and Quarter 3. Teachers should use the same textbook over the two quarters; however, it is preferable that teachers carry out the class with different teaching goals. In Quarter 2, for instance, students can establish fundamental academic writing skills taking into account various types of paragraph writing such as time order and cause and effect. In Quarter 3, teachers can aim at developing more advanced writing skills introducing five-paragraph essays. As for assignments during the summer break, the decision should be left to individual teachers.
Grading
Grading should reflect course objectives. Below are first-year objectives with suggested evaluation methods in parentheses.
By taking this course students should:
- learn how to write a basic essay (essay rubrics)
- learn how to write a basic email (email rubrics)
- learn how to avoid copying published work (essay rubrics)
- increase their writing fluency (timed writing, report word counts)
- increase their confidence and motivation to write in English (teacher observations, self-reflection, attitude surveys)
Participation can also be evaluated. For example, students can gain points by attending classes, coming on time, completing class assignments, and speaking up in class. They could lose points by being absent, coming late, showing off-task behavior or non-participation in discussions.
*It is important to combine several different ways of grading to reflect students’ use of different skills, strategies and abilities.