Materials to print out and bring to class (Fall 2006):

1. Fall 2006 Poems for memorization
2. About Poetry: English Prosody Plus Selected Literary Terms
3. Questions to ask of any poem (pdf)
4. Reading poetry: A checklist of things to consider (pdf) (html)
5. Literature: What Makes a Good Short Story? (pdf)
6. Short story: "Luck" by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), American (1835-1910)

Materials to print out and bring to class (Spring 2007):

1. Spring 2007 Poems and prose for memorization and reading aloud   pdf   Word
2. About Poetry: English Prosody Plus Selected Literary Terms
3. Questions to ask of any poem (pdf)
4. Reading poetry: A checklist of things to consider (pdf) (html)
5. Literature: What Makes a Good Short Story? (pdf)
6. Short story:   "Wakefield" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, American (1804-1864)

Goals of Course

     This course will concentrate on four main areas:

     (1) Literary appreciation and pronunciation correction through poetry memorization. Students are required to memorize and recite 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 practicing and reciting the poems.

    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 short stories, though additional texts 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 answering the questions. 50% or more will be deducted on assignments that are not handed in on time. Click here for suggestions on how to approach the listening assignments.

     (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!

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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. Make sure you sign your name to every e-mail you write! Put "fe quote" in the subject line. Pay attention to correct format; for example, leave a space before and after (parentheses) like this. Without a space it looks like(this)and this is not acceptable in English written format. Also note which English media digest you have chosen to subscribe to (see below).

     Pronunciation and grammar 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 also required to keep a record of all grammar points and corrections made in class and in your written work. 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 and grammar 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. Here are three lists of suggested books to choose from, though your choices are not limited to these; do NOT however choose any of the following: Harry Potter, The Little Prince, Lord of the Rings, or children's literature:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1061037,00.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html

You may read your book in the original if you choose, but most works are quite long and difficult, with an overwhelming number of unfamiliar vocabulary words. The intention of this assignment is simply for you to become better acquainted with English literature, and for you to have an enjoyable reading experience. Hopefully, once you have gotten through, understood, and enjoyed an entire abridged and simplified work in English, you will want to explore more books, maybe also in simplified form, but eventually you may want to tackle a novel in the original.

     News reading: Every student must register on the Website of one of the following US or UK newspapers or the BBC site, and subscribe to a daily news digest (these are free, as is access to current news stories). You will be asked to choose the kinds of news you'd like to receive. The aim of this requirement is give you at least a passing familiarity with current international events, and for you to get used to using English-language news media sources.

The New York Times (US): http://www.nytimes.com/regi
The New York Times homepage: http://www.nytimes.com/

The Los Angeles Times (US): https://www.latimes.com/services/site/registration/show-createprofile.register
The Los Angeles Times homepage: http://www.latimes.com/

The Washington Post (US): http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=admin/email
The Washington Post homepage: http://www.washingtonpost.com/

The BBC (UK): http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/email/news
The BBC World Service homepage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

The Guardian Unlimited (UK): http://users.guardian.co.uk/register/1,12904,-1,00.html
The Guardian Unlimited homepage: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Poetry from the MPR's Writer's Almanac (optional): If you'd like a poem and a "today in literature" summary delivered to your e-mail inbox every day, sign up here:
http://mail.publicradio.org/site/PageServer?pagename=writers_signup&printer_friendly=1&JServSessionIdr011=xg30w234t1.app6b
Writer's Almanac homepage: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
About.com also has a Classic Poem Daily (optional): http://quotations.about.com/c/ec/1.htm

Podcasts: If you have an MP3 player or iPod, podcasts are a great way to listen to class listening files anytime, anywhere. You can also download an enormous variety of files you choose yourself. You can even produce your own podcast for others to listen to!

iPodder is excellent free software for downloading podcasts automatically from the Internet as they become available:

http://ipodder.sourceforge.net/index.php

You can also use iTunes, though this is a much larger, commerical program.

     Here are some pages with podcasts to choose from, subscribe to or download, then copy to your MP3 player:

BBC podcast feeds:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/downloadtrial/subscribe.shtml
NPR podcast directory:
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php
Nature magazine podcast:
http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/index.html
New Scientist podcast:
http://www.newscientist.com/podcast.ns
iPodder podcast directory:
http://www.ipodder.org/directory/4/podcasts/categories
podcast.net directory:
http://www.podcast.net/


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

     Lab Fee: NT$600 per semester.

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     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; being late disturbs everybody else in the class, so make a concerted effort to be in class on time.

     DON'T BE LATE!

     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", please explain.

     2. Homework, including listening assignments and pronunciation/grammar summaries;
     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.

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     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! Get used to relying on your ears rather than on your eyes when it comes to pronunciation!

      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 another English-English 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; they will probably be missing some words and definitions, and the pronunciation in KK symbols may not be accurate. But some include a huge database of several good English-English dictionaries, and are very useful. Shop carefully.

     The best English thesaurus, in my opinion, 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 Wanlong St., Lane 29, No. 2, 1st floor 萬隆街 29巷 2號 1樓 Near the Wanlong 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.

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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); you can now download lots of audio programs on the Internet to your MP3 player – see section on podcasts above;

     Watch English language TV programs, e.g. sitcoms and the news, and movies: movies and other videos/DVDs 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 – don't be shy! Finding and writing to an e-mail pen pal is another good way to practice English – 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 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!

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Text and readings

     Text: This semester, in addition to poetry, we will be concentrating on short stories. There is no assigned textbook; all the readings are available on the Internet. You are responsible for printing out the texts and bringing them to class. We will likely not finish all the readings, and it is possible that others may be added.
          
Background reading and reference material (print these out and bring to class):

1. About Poetry: English Prosody Plus Selected Literary Terms
2. Questions to ask of any poem (pdf)
3. Reading poetry: A checklist of things to consider (pdf) (html)
4. Scansion
5. Literature: What Makes a Good Short Story? pdf format (printer-friendly)

     Literary genres include: novel, short story, drama, poetry, essay.

     Essays are subdivided by type in different ways by different writers; some basic types are:
6. Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Persuasive/Argumentative

     Also useful (you don't need to print this out):
How to Write More Clearly, Think More Clearly, and Learn Complex Material More Easily by Michael A. Covington


Readings:

Fall 2006

     1. Short story: "Luck" by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), American (1835-1910)
     Online text: http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/994/ or
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/mtwain/bl-mtwain-luck.htm     html    word   pdf format
     Bios: http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/twainver.htm
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/clemens.htm

     2. Short story: "But the One on the Right" by Dorothy Parker, American (1893-1967)
     Bio: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/dparker.htm


Spring 2007

     3. Short story: "Wakefield" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, American (1804-1864)   word pdf format
     pdf format with numbered parts
     Online text (beware of pop-ups):
http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/sid.6/bookid.214/
     Bio:
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hawthorn.htm

     4. Short story: "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving, American (1783-1859)
     Online text:
http://ee.1asphost.com/shortstoryclassics/irvingrip.html
     Bio:
http://www.online-literature.com/irving/

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Fall 2006 listening assignments

     1. Listening assignment for Sept. 21-28: A Moment of Science VIII: (1) Friendly Fungus Amongus and (2) I Hear Your Hands. (There are also A Moment of Science VII VI V IV III II I from previous years, if you'd like extra practice. These are not required this semester.)

     2. Listening assignment for Sept. 28-Oct. 5: CBS News Video: Bagpipe Student Drowns Out Critics

     3. Listening assignment for Oct. 5-12: National Public Radio (NPR): Gunman Planned Long Siege at Amish School

     4. Listening assignment for Oct. 12-19: The New York Times: Dips and spreads: Baba Ghanouj

     5. Listening assignment for Oct. 19-26: BBC: Low-caste Hindus hold mass conversions
     
     6. Listening assignment for Oct. 26-Nov. 2: American Public Media: Guy Kawasaki on how to write better electronic mail

     7. Listening assignment for Nov. 2-9: CNN International: Captain Underpants Ban

     8. Listening assignment for Nov. 9-16: Popular song: Desperado

     9. Listening assignment for Nov. 16-23: NPR: Election ad voiceovers

     10. Listening assignment for Nov. 23-30: CNN's Larry King Live: Positive Thinking, Part I

     11. Listening assignment for Nov. 30-Dec. 7: CNN's Larry King Live: Positive Thinking, Part II

     12. Listening assignment for Dec. 7-14: NPR/Youth Radio: Struggling to Overcome Anorexia

     13. Listening assignment for Dec. 14-21: Prepare Christmas carols.

     14. Listening assignment for Dec. 21-28: Christmas carols.

     15. Listening assignment for Dec. 28-Jan. 4, 2007: Scientific American's 60-Second Science podcasts

     Final exam: January 18, 2007, 8:10-9:50am, AV Center room 201.

     Online KK symbol editor page (for pronunciation summary): http://ipa.typeit.org/


Spring 2007 listening assignments

Audio dictionary with standard British (RP) pronunciation:
http://www.howjsay.com/

     1. Listening assignment for March 1-8: NPR: Two Marathons a Day in the Sahara

     2. Listening assignment for March 8-15: ABC News: Santa Barbara's Mobile Homeless

     3. Listening assignment for March 15-22: NPR Music: France Says Vive Édith Piaf, One More Time

     4. Listening assignment for March 22-29: BBC: Tsvangirai leaves hospital

     5. Listening assignment for March 29-April 5: Cosmopolitan's Ask Him Anything Podcasts

     6. Listening assignment for April 5-12: VideoJug: Life Explained on Film: How To Write A CV
     
     7. Listening assignment for April 12-19: Satirical song on YouTube: "Jerry Falwell's God" by Roy Zimmerman (I)

     8. Listening assignment for April 19-26: Satirical song on YouTube: "Jerry Falwell's God" by Roy Zimmerman (II)

     9. Listening assignment for April 26-May 3: Start practicing Seinfeld; no additional listening assignment this week.

     10. Listening assignment for May 3-10: Gunsmoke: Home Surgery (I)

     11. Listening assignment for May 10-17: Gunsmoke: Home Surgery (II)

     12. Listening assignment for May 17-24: Chicago Public Radio's This American Life: Tell it to the Void (I)

     13. Listening assignment for May 24-31: Chicago Public Radio's This American Life: Tell it to the Void (II)

     Also, please translate the following passage in Chinese into English and bring to class on Monday for discussion and to hand in:

     「有些人偏愛同情。同情別人使自己快樂。同情即是表示自己至少在某方面勝過被同情者。
難怪有些人不近人情地排斥人家的同情，他不願意自己是居於劣勢的一方。」 　
     選自: 劉靜娟 「與他『同情』」 (Contributed by Yen-huan Miao)

     Ms. Chung's translation for reference:

     "Some people are fond of bestowing sympathy on others. Feeling sympathy for others can bring one satisfaction. The fact that you feel sympathy for another means that you are in some aspect better off than the recipient of the sympathy. It’s no wonder then that some people will, a bit irrationally, reject any kind of sympathy others may offer them. They don’t want to be relegated to an inferior position." From: Show some "sympathy", by Liu Jingjuan


     14. Listening assignment for May 31-June 7: (1) NPR: Stop reading and start writing; (2) Prepare and hand in your pronunciation/grammar summary; (3) Prepare and submit your course/self evaluation.

    Also, please translate the following passage in Chinese into English and bring to class on Monday for discussion and to hand in:
     "我前些時去一個阿姨家，她的小孩哭，她把孩子抱起來，左哄又哄，
孩子哭得更兇了，她居然一氣，把孩子扔在地上。這時候女管家跑了過去，
才把孩子抱起來， 娃娃就不哭了。那女主人一天到晚不在家，不照顧孩子，
也不管丈夫，連孩子都不認她這個媽。哪一天女管家取而代之，
該怪的不是別人，是她自己！"  選自: 劉墉 「一生能有多少愛」 (Contributed by Eva Chen)

     “Some time ago I went to visit a maternal aunt. Her baby began to cry, so she picked him (her) up. She did everything she could to soothe him (her) and calm him (her) down, but the child only howled all the louder. At that point my aunt actually threw the baby to the floor, upon which the housekeeper rushed over and picked him (her) up. The child stopped crying on the spot. The mistress of the house was away from home most of the time, and seldom looked after the child herself, nor did she pay her husband much mind; so the child hardly even knew his own mother. If one day the housekeeper takes the mother’s place in the child’s heart, the mother will have no one to blame but herself.” From: How much love can one have in one life? by Liu Yong


     15. Listening assignment for June 7-14: Create your own listening assignment! Check the Extras page if you need a place to start. Hand in your pronunciation and grammar summaries and course/self-evaluation/future English study plan on Monday June 11.

Also, please translate the following passage in Chinese into English and bring to class on Monday for discussion and to hand in:
     真實和謊言一起到河邊洗澡。先上岸的謊言偷偷穿上真實的衣服不肯歸還，
真實堅持不肯穿上謊言的衣服，只好一絲不掛光溜溜地走回家。從此，人們眼中
只有穿著真實外衣的謊言，卻怎麼也無法接受赤裸裸的真實。 (Contributed by Kim Cho)

     Truth and Lie went to the riverside together to bathe. Lie, who went ashore first, secretly put on Truth’s clothes and was unwilling to return them. Truth refused to put on Lie’s clothes, so he had no choice but to go home stark naked. From this time on, people only paid mind to lies dressed in the clothes of truth; they were completely unable to accept the naked truth.

     16. Final exam: Thursday, June 21 at 8:10am in AVC room 201

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