Course Description

We will use a textbook for developing reading skills and do some exercises to check the students' comprehension of the text and develop vocabulary.　Some of the exercises are designed to help the student learn English oral comprehension and speaking ability.　This class is designed to achieve Learning Goals 1, 2, and 3 of the General Basic Subjects, incorporating active learning. Students will listen and read the transcripts of an American news program for students, "CNN 10" and answer questions. Next, they will do extensive reading of graded readers utilizing an extensive reading website to improve reading ability.

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to enable students to attain an advanced level of proficiency in English.　By the end of this course,
students will be able to:
1.　understand the meanings of important news vocabulary items and use them in different contexts.
2.　understand the gists of the news programs including grammar typical of this kind kind of programs.
3.　listen to a clearly spoken news program with liaison, assimilation, and elision.
4.　choose appropriate graded readers for your proficiency and read them 30 minutes in class and more than 30 minutes outside class.
5.　answer five quizzes after reading each graded reader.
6.　write a composition on the book you recommend with no fewer than 100 words.

Grading Policy

Final examination (40%), the Number of Words Read & Quizzes (30%), Composition on the Book I Recommend (8%), Improvement in the Reading Rate (4%), VELC Test (10%), and Book Reports & Participation (8%)

Textbook and Reference

Requirements(Assignments)

[Preparation with the textbook]
1.　Answer the questions in Warm-up. (7 minutes)
2.　Choose the correct meanings of vocabulary items. (10 minutes)
3.　Fill in the blanks of example sentences with the vocabulary items used in 2. Note that you may change some word forms. (10 minutes)
4.　Read the first paragraph of the news and answer true/false questions. (10 minutes).
5.　Fill in the blanks of Transcript Completion, viewing or listening to the video audio file on the website. (20 minutes)
　〈You can also download the audio files to your smartphone or tablet.〉
6.　Answer Comprehension Questions, checking unfamiliar words and referring to the handout. (30 minutes)
7.　Complete the summary with the words used in 2. (10 minutes)

[Review of the textbook exercises]
1.　Check the new vocabulary items to you in each unit and memorize the meanings. (25 minutes)
2.　Practice giving correct answers to the questions you have mistaken. (25 minutes)
　〈Writing answers of Transcript Completion on paper many times helps you remember the spellings.〉

[Extensive reading assignment]
Select appropriate graded readers for your interest and proficiency and read them outside class. (More than 30 minutes per week)
〈The time allotment may vary. For example, if you read 15 minutes on Monday and 16 minutes on Thursday, you will read 31 minutes in a week.〉
For review, check the feedback of the book reports and the composition on the LMS, and identify the grades and corrections. (5 minutes)

Note

・Bring in English-Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries for each class. (Either paper or electronic dictionaries are OK. If you are
　an international student, the dictionaries that translate English into your mother tongue and vice versa are preferable.）
・You can borrow tablets at school, but if you prefer your own tablet or PC, bring it to class.
・Bring earphones in order to listen to readings of the e-books.
・If you feel your eyes tired easily, prepare glasses that block blue light to reduce your eyestrain.

Through various activities in this course, I hope that you will be able to improve your communicative ability in English.

Schedule