So in previous semesters we would meet three hours (1 hour = 50 minutes) a week and go through New Interchange 1-8 one semester and then 9-16 in the next semester. Well the New Interchange part is staying the same, but we now have two hours a week to do it. A semester is 32 hours of class time. Subtract midterm and finals week and you get 28 hours. Then there will be a day or two at the beginning of each semester doing "getting to know you" activities. Then there's vacation days (only one this semester, but there are usually more). Anyway, this semester I figure I have about 25 hours to cover 8 chapters in the book. Since there's no indication that language learning can be rushed, I wonder just how much my students will benefit from my class and how I can optimize so few hours so much coursebook for the best learning.
This is a rough draft so there may be a few minor changes. Also I cut and pasted this from MS Word so the layout might look funny.
Catholic University of Korea
American Studies department course syllabus
American Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations
Credits: 3 Semester: Fall 2004
Schedule: Monday 5:00-5:50, Friday 3:00-3:50 & 4:00-4:50
Professor: James Trotta Office: N-221 Contact: jim@eslgo.com
WWW: eslgo.com - learn-english-grammar.com - learn-english-vocabulary.com
Catalog course description: This seminar studies the roles and strategies of NGOs in shaping public opinion and government policies on major social and international issues of peace, environment, civil liberties and civil rights in America.
Textbooks and other resources:
Note paper; folder; ballpoint pen or pencil for notetaking and tests.
Student Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Define 'NGO' and other terms in a manner appropriate to an American academic setting.
2. Participate in conversations related to the study of the roles and strategies of NGOs in shaping public opinion and government policies on major social and international issues.
3. Establish and maintain relationships through exchanging information, ideas, and opinions.
4. Solve problems and come to conclusions together.
5. Discuss topics of interest.
6. Listen to or view a story, TV program, lecture, etc. and respond to it personally in some way.
7. Search for specific information, process it, and use it for a specific purpose.
8. Give information in spoken and written form based on academic study and personal experience.
9. Develop a strategy for lifelong learning.
Methods:
This course takes a content based approach to language learning. The roles and strategies of NGOs in shaping public opinion and government policies on major social and international issues will be examined in order to promote language learning. Students will improve their English, specifically the type of English needed in an American academic setting, by examining this academic topic in detail. Grammar and vocabulary will be studied as it becomes necessary in order to understand the academic topic.
Grading Policy: The final grade will be determined by the following components:
1. Objective Examinations (20%). Objective examinations may cover texts, handouts, and lecture information as well as English grammar and vocabulary.
2. Attendance/homework (10%). Students are expected to come to class prepared and on time. If a student is absent 25% of the scheduled class time, the student cannot pass the course with an A-D score. The student will receive an “F” grade.
3. Class Exercises (20%). Class exercises will be conducted to promote understanding of course content, improve communication skills, and enhance teamwork.
4. Midterm Examination (25%). The midterm examination will consist of a speech on one academic topic covered during the course. Students will be assessed on how well the organizational structure and rhetorical quality of the speech conforms to American academic expectations.
5. Final Examination (25%). The final examination will consist of an academic essay on one topic covered during the course. Students will be assessed on how well the organizational structure and rhetorical quality of the essay conforms to American academic expectations.
So I wrote recently about my newest EAP/CBI course and I just got some official information including the title and a brief description:
American Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations
This seminar studies the roles and strategies of NGOs in shaping public opinion and government policies on major social and international issues of peace, environment, civil liberties and civil rights in America.
A Google search turns up some information I can use early on in the class: http://docs.lib.duke.edu/igo/guides/ngo/ has a clear description of NGOs and http://docs.lib.duke.edu/igo/guides/ngo/define.htm has a definition, categories, strengths, and weaknesses of NGOs. I'm beginning to think of a lesson in which students work in groups to define NGO. Each group reads its definition and other groups rank it. The winning group gets an extra point or some other prize. Then the students campare their own definitions to these from the Duke web pages. This one would have to be done carefully so as not to discourage students who will likely perceive that their definitions are not very good compared to the ones found on these web pages. However at the beginning of class I plan to give a little speech about how tasks must be completed in English because they are designed to facilitate language learning. Thus, while completing the task is important, the way in which a task is completed is even more important. The goal is to practice defining difficult concepts, and this is only the beginning - I wouldn't expect them to define the concepts as clearly as say the World Bank has.
My American History CBI class is finished. Next up is an NGO class for the University's American Studies department. I suppose I'll treat this as another EAP class with tasks related to NGOs in America and how they reflect and/or change society. It's a hefty topic and I just learned I'll be teaching it today (just got back from Penang, Malaysia) so I haven't got many ideas (something of a problem since I need to write a syllabus). Commnets on this are most welcome, and as things get going (like hopefully I'll have written a syllabus soon), I'll post updates here. I want to keep sort of an informal CBI journal detailing how I go about creating/planning/teaching this course.
I've been adding blogs to my directory of ESL/EFL firendly blogs, and I feel it's time to put these blogs to the test. I get the feeling that these could really help people engaged in online private tutoring. The student would find an interesting blog, read a few entries and discuss them with the tutor (via email, message board, instant messenger (IM), voice IM, video IM), and then post a response.
Reading and discussing the entries should aid fluency, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension.Through writing the response and analysing the language being used to compose the response we get some work on accuracy and help students express their thoughts with more complex grammar.
I wouldn't mind having at least one partner to help me with this research project. I could find you a student in Korea and you could find me a student in your country. Then we could each write a case study after a few months. Hopefully our work would help determine if blogs really are good for helping students.
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One of the things keeping me busy this vacation has been organizing a CALL colloquium for the upcoming KOTESOL conference. Basically I've has to recruit speakers, suggest topics, and write this abstract. Writing it down like this doesn't make it sound like a lot of work, but it was. I may not even be done - a 5th speaker would be ideal, but the would be 5th is on vacation...
CALL in context: incorporating CALL into specific curriculums in Korea
Dr Jeong-Bae Son, University of Southern Queensland
David W. Deeds, Woosong Language Institute
Christopher Douloff
James Trotta, Catholic University of Korea
For the first forty minutes of this colloquium, panel members will discuss CALL in Korea. Dr. Son will begin by outlining current issues and trends in CALL. David Deeds will then speak about his experience setting up a CALL lab at Woosong Language Institute. Christopher Douloff will then speak about evaluating CALL courseware and, lastly, James Trotta will discuss online language learning activities that he has used with his classes. The audience will be encouraged to ask questions during the second half of the colloquium. This
would be a great time to describe your teaching situation and get some
practical advice about CALL activities which could be integrated with your
curriculum.