Course Description

A placement test is required for this course. By learning grammar, we can understand how sentences are constructed and how to construct sentences. We will do some exercises to check the understanding and to apply the grammatical knowledge to the four skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking. The exercises will also help to develop vocabulary. This class is designed to achieve Learning Goals 1, 2, and 3 of the General Basic Subjects, incorporating active learning.

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to enable students to learn elementary level grammar and improve their English proficiency.　
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1.　read and understand a passage including 3000-word-level vocabulary of "New JACET 8000."
2.　listen to a clearly spoken conversation or passage with liaison, assimilation, and elision.
3.　choose appropriate graded readers for students' proficiency and read them 30 minutes in class and more than 30 minutes outside class.
4.　answer three quizzes after reading each graded reader.
5.　write a composition about a book with no fewer than 60 words.

Grading Policy

Final examination (40%), the Number of Words Read & Quizzes (29%), Composition on the Book I Recommend (8%),
VELC Test (10%), Improvement in the VELC Test Score (5%), Book Reports & Participation (8%)

Textbook and Reference

Requirements(Assignments)

[Preparation with the textbook]
1. You can download the voice data file of the textbook from the Internet. Listening to the voice data, try answering the questions in the listening section.
　Check unfamiliar expressions. (20〜25 minutes)
2. Unfamiliar expressions in the reading section should be checked before class. (25 minutes)
3. Try answering "Check the Points," "Practice More," and "Say What You Think." (15-25 minutes)

[Review]
1. You will practice giving correct answers to the questions you have mistaken. (10-20 minutes)
2. Practice saying the dialogue in "Check the Details" naturally. (5-10 minutes)
3. Listening to the voice date of the passage in "Find Out" as they are and reading the passage at the same time help you raise your reading rate.
　 (10 minutes)

[Extensive reading]
1. Read e-books suitable for your interest and proficiency outside class. (More than 30 minutes per week)
2. Take notes of the titles of the books you like. (after reading, whenever you find a good one)
3. You will check your grades and corrections of the book reports and the composition through the LMS on your smartphones, etc. (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