Freshman English Syllabus Fall 2004/Spring 2005

Freshman English: Readings and Lab
Fall 2004/Spring 2005
Colleges of Law, Management and Social Sciences
Monday 新 203, Thursday AV 201 8:10-10:00am

Instructor: Karen Steffen Chung
E-mail: karchung@ntu.edu.tw
Homepage: http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/
(the first Google hit for 'Karen Chung')

Dates of class meetings: Fall 2004 Spring 2005
Goals of course
E-mail and miscellaneous requirements
Grade calculation and...DON'T BE LATE!
Dictionaries
Outside work
Poems for memorization and reading aloud: Fall 2004 Spring 2005 word format
Text, readings and links: Fall 2004 Spring 2005
Listening assignments: Fall 2004 Spring 2005
Last day of class, June 20, 2005

Total class meetings and important dates

     Fall 2004: 33 class meetings

     September 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30;
     October 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28;
     November 1, 4, 8, 11, 18, 22, 25, 29;
     December 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30;
     January 3, 6.
     No class on November 15 (NTU's anniversary); cancel-add: September 27-October 5; mid-terms: November 7-12; last day of class: January 7; final exams: January 10-14.

     Spring 2005: 33 class meetings

February 21, 24;
March 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28, 31;
April 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28;
May 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30;
June 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20.
Holidays: February 28, April 4; cancel-add: March 7-11; mid-terms: April 18-22; last day of class: June 20; final exam: June 23, AV Building 201.

(1) Literary appreciation and pronunciation correction through poetry memorization. Students are required to memorize and recite or read aloud in class one poem per week; the handout is available online. Each poem will be analyzed and discussed in depth regarding form and content. Students will receive intensive individual guidance and correction on their pronunciation when reciting the poems.

     Click here for the Poems for Reading Aloud and Memorization (Word format) handout for Fall 2004; here are the Spring 2005 poems; Word format coming soon.
     Find more poems online yourself; there are also some links here that can help you better understand and analyze poems on your own.
     Click here for the About Poetry: English Prosody Plus Selected Literary Terms handout. (Refer to this for definitions of terms like iambic, doggerel, and synaesthesia; also includes links to sites on how to scan a poem, questions to ask of any poem.)
     Get some ideas on how to approach a poem from these two handouts: (1) Questions to ask of any poem (pdf); and (2) Reading poetry: A checklist of things to consider (pdf; html) from the Writing Center of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia).
     Here is an example analysis of Robert Frost's poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. It covers some of the basics of analyzing a poem, so you can use it as a model.

     (2) Reading and translation practice. This semester we will mainly be reading excerpts from modern literature, though additional texts not in the textbook may be assigned. Normally, individual students will be assigned to translate a given passage of the reading beforehand. Each of the passages will be read, translated orally into good Chinese, discussed, and sometimes acted out in class. The reading will be followed by a class discussion, and almost always by a short quiz, usually on vocabulary and compound and phrase stress. Students are actively encouraged to relate what they read and learn to their own life, experiences, and feelings, and to listen attentively to what their classmates have to say.

(3) Listening practice with online resources. There will normally be one online listening assignment a week requiring written answers to listening comprehension questions. We will correct the assignment of the previous week and a new assignment will be given every Thursday. You may work with your classmates or friends on the listening part of the assignment, but you must do your own work. 50% or more will be deducted on assignments not handed in on time.

(4) Various oral presentations, including a book report first semester and possibly a dramatization second semester.

This is not a composition course, and we unfortunately have too large a class and not enough time for lots of conversation practice. You must create opportunities for yourself to get practice in these areas. If you would like composition practice, however, you could consider keeping a blog. You may even be lucky enough to get feedback on what you write! Remember in any case that you are responsible for your own education – the NTU faculty and staff can help you with only part of it!

E-mail and miscellaneous requirements

      E-mail: Every student must get an NTU e-mail account – it is in general more dependable and less prone to problems than 'Hotmail' type accounts. Each student is responsible for ensuring that their e-mail inbox is able to receive and send mail at all times.

In the first week of class, each student is required to send an e-mail message to the instructor with an English quote you like, together with its source. (Example: "The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness." William Saroyan (1908-1981), novelist and playwright) It must be a verifiable quote, correctly formatted, containing no errors. The purpose of this is (1) to collect the e-mail addresses of everyone in the class, so we can all use them for class communications; and (2) to remind you right at the beginning of the semester of the importance of producing careful work that is not filled with sloppy mistakes.

     Pronunciation journal: You are required to keep a running record of specific sounds and other areas you need to work on in your pronunciation in a small notebook, based on feedback you receive in class. You are expected to have your journal open and ready throughout each class, without being reminded. You will be asked to write and hand in a summary of your pronunciation journal at the end of each semester. Information on how to insert IPA symbols into computer document is available here.

     Oral book report: Each student will be asked to choose a simplified or original novel to read with a partner and give an oral book report on.

Handouts will be posted on this Web site. You are responsible for printing them out yourself.

Lab Fee: NT$600 per semester.

     Grade calculation

     Grades will be calculated on the basis of:

     1. Attendance. Note that missing more than three classes or being late to class more than five times without good reason is sufficient grounds for receiving a failing grade for this course;

     DON'T BE LATE! See QuickTime video below; you'll want to share this one with your friends!

http://www.campusmoviefest.com/movies/aucfiveminutesgrace.shtml

     If you must miss class or be late let Ms. Chung know by e-mail or otherwise beforehand; or as soon as possible afterwards if you really can't get in touch beforehand. Don't just fail to show up for class and not offer an explanation – even if it's "I overslept"!

     2. Homework;
     3. Quizzes (usually given after we finish reading and discussing each text);
     4. Oral presentations;
     5. Class participation;
     6. Attitude;
     7. Progress made;
     8. Final exam;
     Extra credit will be given to students who do independent research on a class-related topic and share their findings with the class.

     Dictionaries

      Please use an online English dictionary with audio files (e.g. the Merriam-Webster and/or the American Heritage dictionary) to check the pronunciation of any word you encounter that you aren't sure how to pronounce. You have no excuse for getting a pronunciation in a poem or written exercise wrong in class!

      The following paper dictionary is highly recommended: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: The Living Dictionary. 2003. Essex: Pearson Education. Available at Crane's in hardcover or paperback. It comes with a CD-ROM (requiring 500MB of disk space) which offers definitions, audio files of pronunciation of the entry in British English (no dictionary with British English sound files is available online so far, as far as we know) and U.S. English, plus exercises and many other excellent features. It gives word pronunciations in IPA symbols, which are very close to the KK system you are familiar with.

      The above dictionary doesn't include very difficult or technical words; you can get these from the online dictionaries, or get a desktop dictionary, such as: Webster's New World College Dictionary. 4th edition. Webster's New World. 1,716 pages. The American Heritage Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster are also good choices.

     Here's a page on How to Choose a Dictionary.

      US English-English dictionaries usually use a strange (for you) set of pronunciation symbols based on English spelling habits, which may be difficult to get used to at first. You will find a pronunciation key on each page of the dictionary to help you. Here's the pronunciation key to the American Heritage Dictionary, which is representative of this kind of pronunciation symbols. If in doubt, use an online dictionary with audio files and listen to the correct pronunciation!

      A pocket edition of one of these English-English dictionaries is handy for class use; most English-Chinese dictionaries published in Taiwan are full of errors, especially in the KK pronunciations of words. Electronic dictionaries are handy and very popular among students these days, but they are also not always as reliable, since they are mostly produced domestically.

     The best English thesaurus, in my opinoin, is: The Synonym Finder. 1987. Emmaus: Rodale. 1361pp. Paper. It might be available at Cave's 敦煌.

      In my view, the very best Chinese-English dictionary is one compiled on the Chinese mainland: 漢英辭典. 修訂版. 1995. 北京：外語教學與研究出版社. 主編：危東亞. It may be available locally if you ask around; you can get it in Hong Kong, or you may be able to order it online. (Try the 大路書屋 Wanlung St., Lane 29, No. 2, 1st floor 萬隆街 29巷 2號 1樓 Near the Wanlung 萬隆 MRT stop (02) 8931-6937~9 miaomi@ta-lu.com.tw.)

      See homepage and the Language and Linguistics page for links to more online dictionaries, including Chinese ones.

Outside Work

All students are encouraged to advance their English skills on their own, outside class. Here are some ideas on how to do this; also please visit Extras on this site for some resources to get you started:

Read English newspapers and magazines (many available free online – see Extras or do a search), novels (simplified ones are OK!), materials on the Internet, anything else of interest;

Listen to the radio – programs like Studio Classroom or Ivy League, the 世新 station and ICRT, which broadcasts BBC programming every weekday morning 6am-7am: listen to the BBC's daily Learning English feature with text and audio; and other Internet broadcasts from around the world (see Extras);

Watch English language TV programs, e.g. sitcoms and the news, and movies: movies can be borrowed and viewed in the AV library;

     Speak and write English with friends: you may want to set up a language exchange, meet English speakers through activities in Taipei's foreign communities, or just practice with classmates; writing to an e-mail pen pal – try joining a special interest discussion group (see Extras) and send a note to someone who says things you think are interesting. Keep a blog.

     Here's a page in Chinese (in simplified characters) with some interesting ideas on how to improve your English. Here's a Topical list of resources in the Language Learning workshop from SIL International – it contains lots of good ideas on language learning.

     Please write Ms. Chung if you have other good English-learning ideas to share!

Fall 2004 listening assignments

Like to pursue some of the topics we've discussed in class in more depth with your classmates? Visit Mei's blog at:
http://meiboo.blogspot.com/

Click here for the About Poetry: English Prosody Plus Selected Literary Terms handout. (Refer to this for definitions of terms like iambic, doggerel, and synaesthesia; also includes links to sites on how to scan a poem, questions to ask of any poem.)

1. Listening assignment for Sept. 16-23: A Moment of Science VI: (1) The First Broccoli and (2) Pareidolia. (There are also A Moment of Science V IV III II I from previous years, if you'd like extra practice. These are not required this semester.)