| Objectives:
There is no shortcut
to our improving our English; you just have to keep on practicing.
"But how
do I make you think and speak in English as much as possible?
What stimuli can I offer to keep you interested and self motivated?"
This is a question I have asked myself for ten years
- This year I want
to keep on trying something that can bring an English environment
to you twenty-four hours a day as long as you are there in front
of -- a computer! Yes, I want to practice English with
you not only in the classroom but also through email and
internet.
- If Internet is
a lively stimulus that I would like to have you enjoy in and
work hard for at home, in class, I will offer some lively
stimuli for your English thinking and learning: songs, animations,
movies, documentaries on different cultures, as well as various
sorts of activities.
Of course, I am not here
just to entertain you or stimulate you to speak and write in English;
I will train you to write in different modes (Narration, Text
Analysis, Argumentation this semester, plus the one-year research
paper project) and speak more fluently first on private and
then gradually on more and more formal occasions. In and through
every of our activities, we work on our
- English correctness:
diction, syntax, tense, as well as all the other grammatical
problems;
- effective and
logical English expressions for different purposes and on different
occasions;
- ability to talk
and write in depth about some topics in English, including to
narrow down, to relate and expand, to concretize and substantiate
with examples, and, last but not the least, to present a fully
supported main idea in your papers and presentations.
. At the same time,
one general goal is for us to be constantly self- improving, but
not alone, in writing and speaking. To make us work as a
community, we will have group work in class and free interactions
via email and at EngSite. In this sense, the class will involve
both strict discipline and friendly sharing of ideas and cooperation.
Requirements:
1. Attendance: No
lates or absences allowed! Since
this is a workshop, attendance is essential. The final grade will
be lowered after the third absence, and six absences means failing
the course. Three lates means one absence.
2. Participation:
Bring an active and critical mind to class. Always be ready
to speak out in class, or to me out of class, about our topics
and the class itself.
3. Assignments:
1. 3-4 papers with several drafts for each (including a research
paper first draft),
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2. weekly journals (collected
3 times)-- details explained in class.
-
Deadlines:
Deadlines are negotiable before they are set
in class. But once they are agreed on, you have to keep
them. The grade of the late papers will be lowered.
-
No
plagiarism of any sort!
--Don't copy ideas or passages from others' writing. If
you want to revise your old paper, please let me know
first.
-
Change
of topics: Please inform me if you want to change your
topic after the first draft. As a coach of
a writing "team," I need to be involved in your writing
process in order to help. As for research paper,
you will "have to" discuss with me if you want to change
your topic after submitting the proposal.
Grading policy:
composition: 5
of the highest grades of all the papers (including exams);
each 20%; extra points will be
given to students showing strong motivation to learn and significant
improvements;
conversation --
journals 30%; group report 20%; individual presentation 40%;
class participation 10%
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