ATTENDANCE, PUNCTUALITY & ASSIGNMENT/EXAM POLICIES

Attendance is important, and students are expected to come to class ON TIME! (Attendance/Lateness policy will be explained in the first class.) Students who are absent for more than half of total class hours without an appropriate reason will receive zero for both Attendance and Class Performance portions, and CANNOT partake the final exam. All required assignments must be submitted to the instructor before the due dates. Note that no assignments will be accepted after the given deadline. No make-up final exam will be given unless you have received the instructor’s permission in advance.

To successfully complete the course, you must prepare the assigned homework prior to class and, while in class actively participate in class discussions and pair/group work. Your final grades are determined by the following course components:

• Participation: 20% (Attendance 10% + Class performance 10%)


• Speaking assignments: 20%


• Writing assignments: 20%


• Midterm project: 20%


• Final exam: 20%

Participation

Your participation grade will be based on your attendance, homework preparation, and the contribution you make to the learning experience of others. Contribution includes your questions to the instructor, insights and comments regarding class content, answers to the instructor’s questions, and reactions to other students’ contributions in class.

Speaking assignments

There are two speaking assignments: a paired speaking assignment and an individual oral report. For the paired speaking assignment, you will conversate with one of your classmates on a given topic and record it (3~5 minutes). For the individual oral report, you will summarize one of the impressive group presentations and express your opinions about it (around 3 minutes). All the recordings must be uploaded to the class website. The grading rubric for the speaking assignments (attached below) is available on the class website. More details will be provided in class.

Writing assignments

There are two writing assignments this semester. You will write a formal email on a given topic to the instructor. Besides the email, you will respond to the writing prompts regarding a cross-cultural issue. This assignment should show you have completed and thought seriously and critically about the readings and videos provided for you. The grading rubric for the writing assignments (attached below) is available on the class website. More details will be provided in class.

Midterm project

The midterm project contains a group oral presentation and a group written report. For the group presentation, you and your group members will report on an assigned topic containing research with graphs/charts and statistics. The presentation should be approximately 15 minutes, followed by a 5-minute discussion and a 5-minute Q&A session. Each group should meet with the instructor two weeks prior to their presentation to discuss their topic and present their outline. Following the presentation, each group will submit a group written report. The grading rubrics for both the oral presentation (speaking assignment) and written report (writing assignment) are available on the class website. More details will be provided in class.

Final Exam

All materials, including the readings, handouts, and information provided in class will potentially be included in the in-class final exam. It contains listening/reading tasks and vocabulary/grammar questions.