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September 2006 - June 2007
(Course descriptions are general and may be adjusted for the specific needs of each class.)
Oral Training
Sophomore
The goal of this class is to improve speaking in conversation. This means speaking―not simply passing exams. Our course is only partly a content course (vocabulary, target culture facts and values); most of it is a performance course. September 2006 - June 2007
(Course descriptions are general and may be adjusted for the specific needs of each class.)
Oral Training
Sophomore
Participation is essential. The main work is done in daily performance―required to fulfill course requirements.
Conversation criteria (standards) include:
1. intonation (stress on sentences);
2. pronunciation (correctly sounding vowels),
3. diction (articulation of letters),
4. collocation (idiomatic usage and phrasing),
5. fluency (effective flow),
6. volume (ideal pitch),
7. vocabulary (appropriate word choice),
8. accent (correct syllable stress),
9. conversation (linking sentences effectively), and
10. poise (general conduct while speaking, eye contact, facial expression, colloquial delivery, etc.).
Assignments include weekly handouts. These include a short essay and discussion questions based either on the content of the essay, content related to the essay, or vocabulary and idiomatic usage based on vocabulary and idioms in the essay.
Assignments may include special assignments, such as researching a topic, making brief in-class presentations, or giving a brief modeled recitation (based on a recorded speech or monologue).
Students are expected to prepare their handouts before they enter the classroom. The standard of college homework is usually two hours for each hour of class time. Since this is a three-hour course, students are expected to prepare at least six hours a week. But the main goal is to be prepared, whether it's done in four hours or eight hours.
Students must understand that the main learning process takes place at home, in libraries, and in the minds of students. An indifferent student will not learn, regardless of class resources or teaching methods.
The goal of every class should be to improve students' general study skills, as well as specific skills or content taught in each class. These skills involve using libraries, searching the Internet, consulting reference books, and having the right books at hand.
Consulting a bilingual dictionary is not a proper way to study advanced English. I discourage the use of bilingual dictionaries at home and will not allow their use in classrooms.
Under no circumstances will I accept an excuse that an idiom or word could not be found in a dictionary. All vocabulary and usage in my conversation courses are standard English and can be easily referenced, assuming students have acceptable study skills and resources. Students should also develop the skill of figuring a word's meaning by context as well, when possible.
Students are reminded that our class is simply to review what students learned by themselves, with some class guidance. The time to study is at home or in libraries, not in class.
Classroom participation involves response, not answers. This is not a content class. Though there are content questions on assigned readings, the focus is on conversation; handouts are simply a means to facilitate conversation.
Course hours are not intended as rote sessions, but as conversation sessions. I repeat: I expect responses, not answers. The goal is to use English convincingly, not merely to pass exams. Responses should be made in natural speech and with poise, not read from a prepared paper.
On the other hand, the final goal is learning, not talking. Talking―despite current methodologies on language acquisition―is not an end in itself; learning is. At the same time, what is learned must be applied and verbalized in speaking, based on standards listed above.
Finally, people learn to talk by listening, just like they learn to write by reading. Imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, as the saying goes; it's a proved method of learning. For this purpose, I give frequent out-class and in-class listening assignments or exercises.
Attendance is required. More than three unexcused absences may result in failure. By "excused," I mean a doctor's note. Personal problems are not an excuse, despite a teacher's sympathy. Reasons are not excuses.
There will be a midterm and a final exam. There may be quizzes on occasion.
Exams are in two parts: a written exam and an oral exam, factored as 40-60.
Under no circumstances do I allow makeup exams, except for an excused absence signed by a doctor―including advance notification of the teacher. This is the student's responsibility, whether done by the student or by a delegate of the student. Failure to contact the teacher is the student's fault, not the teacher's.
I do believe the learning process must take place in a stress-free environment. But this does not mean an undisciplined environment. On the contrary, only after a disciplined student-teacher relationship is routine can the environment be without stress, because everyone knows what is expected of them and is willing and able to fulfill those expectations.
NOTE: An active email account or the use of another's account is a prerequisite. Not having an account or not using it will not be allowed as an excuse.
Introduction to the Bible
This is a two-hour course covering the entire Bible (both Old and New Testaments). Also assigned are Apocrypha, some Gnostic gospels, and related gospel music texts.This is not merely a "Bible as Literature" course. Students are instructed in the literary, historical, cultural, and theological issues necessary to fully understand the Bible.
Course content includes a study of Hebrew poetry (mostly related to parallelistic style and concrete images), biblical metaphor (especially the marital metaphor involving Israel and its God or Christ and the church), and intertextuality (cross-referencing of biblical verses or between Old and New Testaments); the four covenants; themes of justice, tribalism, and universalism; kingship and its relation to Israelite theocracy; the role of the prophets and temple worship; the Jewish diaspora; the relation of apocalypse to prophecy (apocalypse as failed prophecy); different readings of the Bible (literal, allegorical, typological); the world-wide influence of the Bible on covenantal politics ("social contracts"; democracy) and human rights (civil rights movements, liberation movements, Rastafarianism, etc.); the Bible's cultural influence, spawning three major religions ("Religions of the Book") and countless denominations; the influence of the Bible on Western culture, including literature, paintings, movies, and church music in classical and popular forms; and theological issues such as theodicies (the question of undeserved suffering), trinitarianism (God as three persons), and so-called "Christological" issues related to the nature of Jesus as prophet, king, messiah, or savior.
Readings include assigned Bible texts, study pictures, and commentaries on Bible texts.
This is a lecture course. Attendance is required. More than three unexcused absences may result in failure.
There is a midterm and a final exam, each counting 50%. There are no makeup exams, except with a signed doctor's excuse and advance notice.
NOTE: An active email account or the use of another's account is a prerequisite. Not having an account or not using it will not be allowed as an excuse.
Composition
This three-hour course will focus on a wide range of issues related to writing. We discuss issues of invention (discovery, brainstorming), style, diction (appropriate and varied vocabulary), commonplaces (definition, comparison, etc.), coherence strategies, logical cohesion (connection of ideas), rhetoric (figures of speech and sentence schemes), different genres (expository, descriptive, research, comic, etc.), style sheets, research, selective use of material, etc. No writing class can substitute for a strong background in reading. (Paradoxical though it may sound, we learn writing by reading, not by writing.) Analysis however can help the reader understand textual strategies, including repetition, coherence words and replacement strategies, effective transitions, selective use of examples and quotation, etc.
Assigned textbooks include the Harbrace College Handbook and Merriam-Webster's pocket Vocabulary Builder. A personal journal is required.
The course is divided into a two-hour class session and a dedicated conference hour, required for all students.
Attendance is required. More than three unexcused absences may result in failure. Composition deadlines must be met. Journals must be completed.
Grading is based on composition work. All class work should be preserved in a folder, seriatim, for review at end of semester.
NOTE: An active email account or the use of another's account is a prerequisite. Not having an account or not using it will not be allowed as an excuse.
Public Speaking
This is a two-hour class in public speaking, with focus on content and delivery.
Content includes all the standards of composition content, such as invention (discovery) of ideas, and effective use of language, coherence, rhetorical devices, etc.
Delivery includes verbalization, action, and memory.
Verbalization includes the following:
1. intonation (sentence stress);
2. pronunciation (correctly sounding vowels),
3. diction (articulation of letters),
4. vocal quality (optimal production of sound),
5. fluency (effective flow),
6. volume (ideal pitch, projection),
7. vocabulary (appropriate and varied word choice),
8. accent (correct syllable stress),
9. coherence (linking sentences effectively),
10. pace (varied speed for varied content or for effective contrast),
11. collocation (idiomatic usage and phrasing),
Action involves eye contact, poise, hand gestures, body movement, dramatic vocal contrast, and effective use of props or aids.
Memory involves (in some cases) memorizing a speech, consideration of audience reception (orderly, demonstrative, and memorable presentation of ideas), and building a thesaurus of ideas and commonplaces that can be used for future speaking.
There are weekly assigned speeches (usually of several minutes, depending on class size), with alternate weeks used for suggested improvement.
Assigned speeches vary, but cover a wide range of speech-related issues and problems, including those of content and delivery.
Speeches may emphasize modeling (from a recorded source), delivery, vocal projection, dramatic interpretation, recitation, improvisation, humor, research, and debate.
Finally, people learn to talk by listening, just like they learn to write by reading. Imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, as the saying goes; it's a proved method of learning. For this purpose, I give frequent out-class and in-class listening assignments or exercises.
Grading is based on classwork and improvement. There is no assigned textbook. When necessary, handouts are given to clarify instructions and insure speech criteria.
An active email account or the use of another's account is a prerequisite. Not having an account or not using it will not be allowed as an excuse.
Film Studies (Film and Literature)
The goal of this class is to study film from the perspective of the Humanities and critical theory. We explore issues of narrative unity and closure, genre, cinematic style (language), the star system, ideology, film history, and technology through assigned weekly films. Comprehensive studies of the films are made in terms of individual shots, camera setup and movement, editing, underscoring, plot and discourse, performance, and genre (generic expectations and disappointments). Film viewings are scheduled once a week. Classes are usually held in the Media Center of the campus library. Readings from Looking at Movies by Richard Barsam are assigned and students are expected to contribute to a bi-weekly journal commenting on assigned films. Classroom participation and discussion of each film are required. Graded work includes a midterm and final exam.
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