Grading Criteria:

Attendance & participation: 15%

Quizzes: 10%

Group project: 20%

Individual oral presentation: 15%

Written responses (Cross-cultural Communication): 20%

Final exam: 20%

Requirements:

1. Attendance: You are required to attend classes regularly and on time. Absences (including sick leave and personal leave), tardiness, or early departure will damage your attendance grade. Contact me about your absence before class if you must miss class. *If you have FIVE (or more) unexcused absences, you will not be allowed to take the final exam.


2. Participation: Speaking up in class, either being called or voluntarily, will add points to your participation score. Try to catch any opportunity to speak up in class to earn bonus points!


3. Quizzes: We will have three listening quizzes based on TOEFL this semester. You also need to complete three Checkpoint quizzes from Cross-Cultural Communication Online Course by due dates. *Missed quizzes cannot be made up.


4. Group Project: You will be divided into groups of 6-7 members to complete the following group tasks.

(1) Preview Assignments (15%): For every assigned reading in Reading Explorer 4, each group needs to find at least one difficult or complicated sentence and come up with one discussion question based on the reading or the video (as shown on Moodle). Ideally you are encouraged to preview the readings/videos individually and then discuss together as a group (face-to-face or online) to come up with the sentences and questions. Your sentences and questions should be posted on wiki (Collaborative Writing共筆) on Moodle before class.

(2) Group Discussion (20%): In class you will have time to discuss one question designed by another group, take notes of your answers, and add them to your wiki on Moodle within one week after the class.

(3) Group Presentation (65%): Each group will take turns giving a 15-minute presentation on an assigned topic based on a video clip. In your presentation, you need to briefly introduce the person(s) and main issues involved in the assigned topic, and give your own comments or reflections on the topic. You need to post the content of your Group Presentation on wiki on Moodle by the midnight of your presentation date. Each member should have a chance to speak on stage. *Your presentation will timed, and points will be deducted if your presentation exceeds 15 minutes. Self-and-peer evaluation among group members will be adopted in company with the teacher’s evaluation. Another pre-assigned group will give comments on your presentation.

(4) Each group member needs to fill out the form of “Self-and-Peer Evaluation of Group Project Teamwork” and submit it to Moodle by May 23.

5. Individual Oral Presentation: Each student will give an oral presentation on a self-selected topic for 3~5 minutes. Grading criteria on oral presentation can be seen on Moodle. Every student should offer comments on the presenter’s overall performance, and the comments will be collected and distributed to each presenter afterwards. *Points will be deducted if you change your assigned presentation date except for force majeure causes.


6. Cross-cultural Communication Tasks: This semester we will go through Units 4-6 in Cross-cultural Communication Online Course on MOOCs (http://moocs.nccu.edu.tw/). You are required to preview three cross-cultural communication lecture videos online, and complete the following tasks outside classroom by due dates:

(1) Checkpoint quizzes: Finish the online checkpoint quiz of each unit by due dates. You can do the quizzes at most twice; the better score will count toward your Quizzes in your final grade. Late submission is not allowed because the quize system will be closed by due time.

(2) Written responses to discussion questions: Choose one discussion question in each unit, write down your response to the question on Moodle discussion board in a complete paragraph of at least 250 words before class. *Late submission will lead to lower grades of your written assignment.

7. Final Exam: The Final Exam will include Vocabulary, Video Clip, Reading Comprehension, and Essay Questions. Vocabulary and Video Clip questions will primarily come from practices in Reading Explorer 4. Reading Comprehension articles will be related to but not the same as the readings in our textbook. Essay Questions will come from critical thinking questions in our textbook.

1. Reading Explorer 4, Second Edition, Heinle Cengage Learning (2014).

2. Supplementary materials prepared by the instructor