4.2 Second-Year Courses

In 2016, the final Integrated English 5 classes will be taught to second-year students. From 2017, these will change to EC4-6 courses.

NOTE: Upper year students who must repeat Shubetsu English (which no longer exists) may ask to join the Integrated English 5 classes. Please accommodate these students, if possible.

Integrated English 5 (Reading)

Summary

Through reading academic texts students will develop academic reading skills. The class will review reading strategies learned in year one (reading fluently for main points), but the course will focus more on reading accuracy and reading for research purposes. Reading strategies practiced include previewing texts, focusing on key information, strategic dictionary use, and critical thinking skills. Independent reading assignments in which students choose materials relevant to their needs to read, summarize and discuss will be encouraged.

Objectives

By taking this course students should:

  1. further develop their reading skills as a base for academic study
  2. further develop their ability to read strategically and understand key points
  3. further develop their ability to research needed information
  4. reinforce their understanding of academic vocabulary and structures necessary for college English

Integrated English 5 (Listening)

Transition from first to second year

The main difference between first- and second-year lessons will be on the choice of listening topics and genres. In the first year students will listen to a variety of texts about general topics in a variety of genres such as conversations, telephone calls, radio programs, and podcasts. In the second year it is likely, especially for higher levels, that students will listen to topics related to their majors and 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.

Summary

Students will practice listening to different kinds of general listening texts and academic ones (mini-lectures, presentations). They will do various activities to improve their listening fluency, become familiar with English sounds and sound patterns, and learn different listening strategies. They will practice active listening by talking with their classmates and teacher. They will also use e-learning materials to practice listening (e.g. ALC).

Objectives

By taking this course students will:

  1. improve their listening fluency
  2. increase their ability to comprehend the main ideas and key points of academic listening texts
  3. increase their ability to understand the main sound patterns of spoken English
  4. increase their confidence and motivation to listen in English

Integrated English 5 (Presentation)

Overview

  1. Initially review and orient students to the kind of knowledge of language, strategies, and skills that they will need in order make presentations. Besides speaking skills, they will also need specific presentation skills that will include language use, content knowledge, body language, and technical knowledge.
  2. Expand students’ access and familiarity with new topics and then move toward developing content based study. Learn ways to study and interact with social media, academic subjects, and an audience.
  3. Common presentation software includes PowerPoint, Prezi and Keynote. Alternatively, poster sessions may be a good way to make presentations more interactive. The genre of making presentations as a whole is typically geared to presenting problems and solutions and/or arguing for a certain proposal, stance, or opinion. Giving the students a mixture of presentation styles would probably be a good idea.

Please note: Since there are few classes, there is a chance of a wider range of levels in these classes than in the speaking classes. For all levels, please make sure there is a clear difference between first- year speaking classes and second-year presentation classes (Integrated English 5). Please note that there is no second-year speaking course. In its place there is the presentation course. We recommend teachers to think of presentations as a specialized branch of speaking. The second year presentation class should focus more on academic skills and content based learning while still working on brushing up related language skills. Finally, please make sure the second-year students do not have the same textbook that they used in their first-year speaking class. Second-year presentation textbooks tend to be focused on a more straightforward set of skills.

Objectives

By taking this course students will:

  1. develop their presentation skills
  2. be able to organize their presentations with a clear and logical structure
  3. be able to take part more effectively in discussions and conversations
  4. be able to offer their opinion and support it in a logical manner in discussions
  5. have confidence to give their presentations in front of others

Integrated English 5 (Writing)

Transition from first to second year

In the first year lessons will have emphasized process writing techniques, fluency and personalized topics. 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. Students do not have to produce research papers but it would be good to move away from personal topics and subjective ways of writing to produce papers that have a more academic focus. This can be done in a variety of ways depending on student level and major as well as the teacher’s approach and choice of materials.

Summary

Students will be taught how to write short essays or reports on a variety of different topics with an academic focus. The teacher will introduce strategies to help students write more fluently and accurately. These include ways to get ideas, planning, writing different drafts, and editing. The teacher will also provide appropriate correction of errors.

Objectives

By taking this course students will:

  1. improve their writing accuracy and computing skills
  2. improve their ability to write reports on academic topics
  3. improve their ability to organize their writing clearly and effectively
  4. increase their confidence and motivation to write in English