SemesterFall Semester, 2020
DepartmentGeneral Education Courses in Foreign Languages
Course NameCollege English I
InstructorCHEN TSAI-HUNG
Credit3.0
Course TypeSelectively
Prerequisite
Course Objective
Course Description
Course Schedule

The following schedule will be adjusted to accommodate the progress of the class.


































































































































































週次



Week



課程主題



Topic



課程內容與指定閱讀



Content and Reading Assignment



教學活動與作業



Teaching Activities and Homework



學習投入時間



Student workload expectation



課堂講授



In-class Hours



課程前後



Outside-of-class Hours


1 Course overview & email writing

  • Writing exercise: Writing an email to your professor




  • Watch MOOC Unit 1 video

  • Complete quizzes


3 4.5

2



Communication styles




  • Textbook Unit 1 (pp.4-5)

  • Reading: Article on expressing opinions




  • Exercises in Unit 1

  • Study materials (a), (c)



See Textbook & References below for list of study materials



3



4.5



3



No class (Mid-Autumn Festival)



 




  • Textbook Unit 3 (self study)



 



4.5



4



No class (Observed Holiday for National Day)



 




  • Textbook Unit 3 (self study)



 



4.5


5 Gender and relationships

  • Textbook Unit 1 (pp.6-7)

  • Reading: Excerpts from Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus.




  • Exercises in Unit 1

  • Study materials (b)


3 4.5

6



Biography




  • Textbook Unit 4 (pp.36-37)

  • Reading: Celebrity biography




  • Exercises in Unit 4



3



4.5



7



Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions




  • Review: Study materials (a-d)




  • Written assignment #1 (MOOC Unit 1)



3



4.5



8



Types of stories




  • Textbook Unit 4 (pp.39-41)

  • Reading: Urban legends




  • Exercises in Unit 4

  • Watch MOOC Unit 2 video

  • Complete quizzes



3



4.5



9



Summary writing




  • Writing exercise: Write a summary




  • Study for mid-term exam



3



4.5



10



Mid-term exam




  • Mid-term exam




  • Study materials (d), (e), (f)



3



4.5



11



Situation comedy




  • Reading: Article on sarcasm




  • Study materials (g), (h), (i)



3



4.5



12



Stereotypes




  • Review: Study materials (e-j)




  • Written assignment #2 (MOOC Unit 2)



3



4.5



13



Humor




  • Textbook Unit 4 (pp.42-43)

  • Reading: Excerpts from “Humor across Frontiers”




  • Exercises in Unit 4

  • Watch MOOC Unit 3 video

  • Complete quizzes



3



4.5



14



Describing statistical data and diagrams




  • Writing exercise: Describing graphs




  • Study materials (j),(k)



3



4.5



15



Education




  • Reading: Articles from CNN and BBC News




  • Study materials (l), (m)

  • Written assignment #3 (MOOC Unit 3)



3



4.5



16



No class (New Year's Day)



 




  • Prepare for the final exam



 



4.5



17



Final exam




  • Speaking test

  • Written test



 



 



 



18


Winter Vacation Begins  

 



 



 



Teaching Methods
Teaching Assistant
Requirement/Grading

Class time will be devoted to activities that allow you to practice and interact in English. 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 (including attendance, effort on speaking in class, and homework): 15%

  • Oral presentations: 20%

  • Written assignments: 20%

  • Midterm and final exams: 40%

  • Others (e.g., in-class exercises/quizzes): 5%



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 in-class questions to the instructor, insights and comments regarding class content, answers to the instructor's questions, and reactions to other students' contributions.



In-class exercises/quizzes



Periodically throughout the semester, writing/listening exercises and pop quizzes will be given in class. These exercises and quizzes can NOT be made up.



Oral presentations



You will give an individual oral report and a group presentation during the semester. For the individual report, you will tell a 3-minute personal anecdote. For the group presentation, you and three other students will report on a current event. The presentation should be approximately 15 minutes, followed by a 5-minute discussion. Each group should meet with the instructor two weeks prior to their presentation to discuss their topic and present their outline. Following the presentation, they will submit a group written report. More details will be provided in class.



Written assignments



In addition to the periodic in-class and take-home writing exercises, there will be three written assignments based on the online learning materials for the course. In each assignment, you will respond to the writing prompts regarding a cross-cultural issue. Your papers should show you have completed and thought seriously and critically about the readings and videos provided for you. You are also encouraged to research the topic and cite your sources. The grading rubric for the written assignments is available on the class website.



Examinations



All materials, including the readings, handouts, and information provided in class will potentially be included on mid-term and final exams. The mid-term exam is a written test, and the final exam contains a written test and a speaking test. The written tests include vocabulary/grammar questions, a listening/reading section, and short writing tasks. The speaking test requires you to answer two or more questions, each question for two minutes. The instructor will evaluate your ability to respond to the questions appropriately and to speak for an extended period of time without hesitation, deviation or repetition. The grading rubric for the speaking test is available on the class website. No make-up exams will be given unless you have received the instructor's permission in advance.


Textbook & Reference

Textbook



New American Inside Out (Advanced) by Ceri Jones, Tania Bastow, Amanda Jeffries, Sue Kay & Vaughan Jones.



Supplementary readings



To be distributed in class



Study materials



(a) Dimensions of national culture [Reading]



(b) Country comparison [Reading]



(c) Hofstede's six cultural dimensions





(d) Host Chris Rock rapped over Asian-American 'joke' [Video] 



(e) Chris Rock criticized after Asian joke at Oscars [Video] 



(f) People Aren't Happy With Chris Rock's Asian Joke At The Academy Awards [Reading] 



(g) Donald Trump vs Barack Obama: Talking About Women [Video]



(h) The Origins of Stereotypes [Reading]



(i) Stereotypes and Prejudices [Reading]



(j) College Classroom Culture





(k) Formal and informal classroom culture in the U.S.





(l) A Conversation with Chinese and American Students [Video]



(m) How Do American, Chinese and French Students Characterize their Teachers' Communication? [Reading]



Resources



VoiceTube: https://tw.voicetube.com



BBC Learning English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish



TED talks: https://www.ted.com/talks


Urls about Course
WM5 MOOC: http://moocs.nccu.edu.tw
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