Freshman English: Readings and Lab
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Fall
2010 and Spring 2011 College of Science Mondays 新生大樓 502, class periods 3/4, 10:20am-12:10pm, Wednesdays Audio-Visual Center 視聽教育館 201, class periods 1/2, 8:10-10:00am |
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Professor Karen Steffen Chung
E-mail: karchung@ntu.edu.tw
Homepage: http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/
(the first Google hit for
'Karen Chung')
Teaching
Assistant (TA): Charlotte
Huang (Huang,
Shiao-Yuan)
黃小芫
(經濟學系 四年級)
E-mail:
b96303002@ntu.edu.tw
Charlotte's
class blog
Total
class meetings and important dates Fall 2010 Spring
2011
Materials
to print out and bring to class Fall 2010
Spring 2011
Readings Fall 2010 Spring
2011
Poems
for Memorization: Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 html
pdf Word
format
Spring
2011 listening assignments
Fall 2010 listening assignments
NEW: List
of somewhat shorter novels for book report assignment (pdf)
How
to configure Thunderbird
Goals
of Course
E-mail and miscellaneous requirements
News and podcasts
Grade calculation
Dictionaries
Outside Work
Study aids and resources
Inputting KK symbols
Total class meetings:
Spring
2011: 30 class meetings
February 21, 23
March 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, 30;
April 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27;
May 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30;
June 1, 8, 13, 15.
Important
dates:
February 28th Memorial Day: (no class):
Monday, February 28,
2011
Cancel-add: February 21-noon to February 28/March
5 (add)/6 (cancel)
Second Reception for International Scholars: Friday,
March 4
Period for confirmation of canceled/added courses: Monday-Friday,
March 14-18
Second
online application for exemption from advanced English class: Monday-Friday,
March 21-25
Online registration for high-intermediate GEPT: Monday-Thursday,
March 21-31
Children’s Day, Tomb-Sweeping Day and review holiday (no
class): Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
April 4-6
NTU Athletic Meet: Saturday, Sunday, February 26,
27
Application period for withdrawing from a course: March
7-May 20
Mid-semester online student course evaluations: April
11-18
Mid-terms: April 18-22
End-of-semester online student course evaluations: June
1-14
Dragon Boat Festival holiday: (no
class): Monday, June
6
Last day of class: Friday, June 17
Final exams: Monday-Friday, June 20-24
Freshman English final exam: Wednesday, June
22 in AVC 201
Summer vacation begins: Monday, June 27, 2011
College and department transfer exams: June 27-July
7
Total
class meetings:
Fall
2010: 32 class meetings
September 2010 13, 15, 20, 27, 29;
October 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27;
November 1, 3, 8, 10,
17, 22, 24, 29;
December 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27,
29;
January 2011 3, 5.
Important
dates:
Cancel-add:
September 13-25
Finalization
of class schedules: October 4-8
Application period for withdrawing from a course: October
27-December 10
Double Tenth National Day: Sunday, October 10
Online application for exemption from advanced English class: October
15-22
Mid-semester online student course evaluations: November
1-8
Mid-terms (no midterm will be given for this class): November
8-12
Anniversary
of the Founding of Taiwan University (no
class): Monday,
November 15
New Year's Day/Founding Day of the ROC (no class):
Saturday, January 1, 2011
End-of-semester online student course evaluations: December
24, 2010-January 7, 2011
Last day of class: January 7, 2011
Final exams: January 10-14, 2011
Freshman English final exam: Wednesday, January
12, 2011 in AVC 201
Winter break begins: January 17, 2011
Chinese New Year's Eve: Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Materials
to print
out and bring to class (Spring 2011):
1. Poems for Memorization: Fall 2010/Spring 2011 html
pdf Word
format
2.
About Poetry:
English Prosody Plus Selected Literary Terms
3. How
to read a poem (pdf)
4. Reading
poetry: A checklist of things to consider (html)
(printer
friendly)
5.
Reading:
Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior by
Amy Chua pdf
format
The Wall Street Journal Online: The Saturday Essay January 8, 2011
AUDIO: MP3
audio file of reading of Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, Part 1
Part
2 Part
3
Materials
to print
out and bring to class (Fall 2010):
1. E-mail
quote format
Word pdf
2. Poems for Memorization: Fall 2010 html
pdf Word
format
3. About Poetry:
English Prosody Plus Selected Literary Terms
4. How
to read a poem (pdf)
5. Reading
poetry: A checklist of things to consider (html)
(printer
friendly)
6. Readings:
(1) NPR’s
All Things Considered:
Autism Gives Woman An 'Alien View' Of Social Brains Word
pdf
(original
NPR report)
(2) "Mr. Wrong Meets Mr. Wrong"
by Whitney Otto
From: Mr. Wrong: Real-Life Stories About the Men We Used to Love.
Edited by Harriet Brown. (Check your e-mail for this text.)
Spring
2011 listening assignments
1.
Listening
assignment for February
23-March 2:
TED Talk: Liza
Donnelly: Drawing upon humor for change
2.
Listening
assignment for March
2-9: BBC
News: Elephants learn by sound mimicry
3. Listening
assignment for March
9-16:
Carefully transcribe
the beginning of the Gilmore Girls, Season I, episode 2,
starting from the lines below. The links will be e-mailed
to you. These links are NOT to be shared with anyone outside
the class.
Start here (this point comes right after the theme song
finishes):
RORY: Mom!
LORELAI: What? God! Hi.
RORY: What are you doing?
LORELAI: Having a heart attack.
Transcribe up until
these lines:
LORELAI:
All right, that's it. I'm bringing the baby pictures.
RORY: No! I'm sorry! I love the rodeo, the rodeo rules!
After
you have done your best on the transcription, use Google to find the script
for this episode online and print out this part of it. CHECK and CORRECT with
a RED PEN your own transcription very very carefully using
this script. Then relisten to the same part, following along with the corrected
script, so you can match the correct words in your mind with the audio. You
are to HAND IN your red pen-corrected script in class on Wednesday, March
16. Also print out the very first part and bring it to class. We will go over
the meaning of this first part in class. In class, you will choose a partner,
and practice your parts, to be MEMORIZED and performed the following week.
You can choose your partner now if you like, and start working on your part,
to save time and get in more practice.
4.
Listening
assignment for April
13-May 2: BBC
5-minute news summary. Print out the
text
file to
bring to class. Use the Internet to get background information on
each news items, look up each vocabulary word you're unsure
of, and be ready to translate the entire piece orally in
class on Monday 5/2/11.
5. (a) Exercise
(1) on: 1. compound noun stress; 2. [s] or [z]? 3. syllable count and schwa
elision and 4. deaspirated /sp/, /st/, and /sk/ pdf
(b)
Summary of pronunciation and grammar
journal notes. Online KK symbol editor page (for
pronunciation summary): http://ipa.typeit.org/
Copy-and-paste IPA symbols: http://linguiste.org/phonetics/ipa/chart/keyboard/
The summary must be in .pdf format (not
.docx; you can install and "print" to pdf with CutePDF),
and is to be submitted by e-mail
to Ms. Chung karchung@ntu.edu.tw
and Charlotte b96303002@ntu.edu.tw.
PAY ATTENTION TO CORRECT FORMAT! Use a 12
pt Times New Roman font!
(c)
Prepare an evaluation for this semester of English
Oral-Aural Training class. Save it as a pdf file and mail it to Ms. Chung
and Charlotte NO LATER THAN FRIDAY JUNE 13. The structure
is the same as last semester: (1) Your evaluation of the class, what you found
helpful, or not so helpful, what you think should be changed or improved;
(2) An evaluation of yourself and your performance: Did you attend every class,
on time? How much did you learn and improve? How hard did you work? What could
you improve for the future? and (3) Your English study plan: How will I continue
to improve my English listening, pronunciation, speaking, reading and writing?
PAY ATTENTION TO CORRECT FORMAT! Use a 12 pt Times
New Roman font!
Note:
You will be responsible for memorizing poems 11, 12 and 14
for the final exam.
Fall
2010 listening assignments
1.
Listening
assignment for September
15-22: A
Moment of Science XII: (1)
The
5 Second Rule: Truth Or Myth? and
(2)
Glycoproteins, Xylomannan, and Bug Protein In Your Ice Cream
(There are also A
Moment of Science XI X
IX VIII
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 September
22-29: APM:
Guy Kawasaki on how to write better electronic mail
3.
Listening assignment for September 29-Oct.
6 :
The
New York Times: Cooking with Mark Bittman, "The Minimalist": Beet
Salad With Garlic-Walnut Sauce
4.
Listening assignment for Oct. 6-13:
NPR: 'Green Book' Helped African-Americans Travel
Safely
5. Listening assignment for Oct.
13-20: Popular
Song: "W*O*L*D" by Harry Chapin
6.
Listening assignment for Oct. 20-27: NYT
Video: Vows: Andrew and David
7.
Listening assignment for Oct. 27-Nov. 3: TED
talk: Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution
8. Listening assignment for Nov. 3-10: NYT
Books video: A Conversation With Andre Agassi
9. Listening assignment for Nov. 10-17: TED
talk: Julian Treasure: Shh! Sound health in 8 steps
10. Listening assignment for Nov. 17-24: a. Louis
CK (Szekely): Everything's amazing, nobody's happy
b.
Due Dec. 13: Summary of pronunciation
and grammar journal notes. Online KK symbol
editor page (for pronunciation summary):
http://ipa.typeit.org/
Copy-and-paste IPA symbols: http://linguiste.org/phonetics/ipa/chart/keyboard/
The summary must be in .pdf format (not
.docx; you can install and "print" to pdf with CutePDF),
and is to be submitted by e-mail
to Ms. Chung at: karchung@ntu.edu.tw.
11. Listening assignment for Nov. 24-Dec 1: NPR:
A Nation in Debt
12. Listening assignment for Dec. 1-Dec. 8:
Gunsmoke: The Liar from Blackhawk (I)
13. Listening assignment
for Dec. 8-Dec. 15: Gunsmoke: The Liar
from Blackhawk (II)
14. Listening
assignment for Dec. 15-Dec. 22: We'll
sing Christmas carols
in class on Dec. 20. Please
print out this
pdf version of the carols (5 pages), or this
doc version, and
bring to class on Monday 12/20.
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 every two weeks; 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. If called on, you will recite the poem one week after it is introduced and will receive corrections; you may be called on to recite it again the next week to see if you have corrected the problems pointed out the previous week.
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) How
to read a poem (pdf) (2) Reading
poetry: A checklist of things to consider (html) (printer
friendly) .
(2) Reading and translation
practice. This semester we will mainly be reading essays and possibly
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 Wednesday. 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.
We are very lucky to have a teaching assistant
(TA) to help us this semester. Our TA is Charlotte
Huang 黃小芫 of the Economics Department
(經濟學系 四年級). Her e-mail is: b96303002@ntu.edu.tw.
Please send most class-related mail to both Ms. Chung and
to Charlotte, unless you have something you want to discuss only with one
or the other. You can contact Charlotte to arrange for extra help if needed;
e-mail her and set up an appointment. Ms. Chung's office hours are by
appointment only.
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!
Or find a language exchange partner on Livemocha.com.
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 use your 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 professor
and the TA
with an English quote you like, together
with its source. (Example:
"Never express yourself more clearly
than you are able to think." Niels Bohr (1885-1962), Danish physicist)
It must be a verifiable quote,
CORRECTLY FORMATTED, containing
no errors. Here is a sample
(pdf) so you
know what format to use.
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 a 5-minute 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, The
Chronicles Of Narnia, or any other
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. DO NOT COPY FROM ANY SOURCE
WITHOUT CITING THE SOURCE. This is plagiarism
and an extremely serious offense; in the US it is grounds for dismissal from
the university.
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/content/506927/forms/twa_signup.htm
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!
iTunes is one popular way to download podcasts. Select "United States"
as your country for the largest selection. Check out the free university
courses available!
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
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
Podcast directories:
http://www.podfeed.net/
http://podcast.com/
Handouts
will be posted on this Web site. You are responsible for printing them
out yourself.
Lab
Fee:
NT$600 per semester.
Please do NOT complain about this; it's something
we can't help. Consider it as going towards the maintenance of the computers,
Website and Internet necessary for our listening assignments.
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.
Notes
regarding grading policy:
Note that starting this year, Taiwan University
is switching from a percentage to a letter grade system like the one used
in US universities. Please do NOT ask for a precise percentage
breakdown of how your grade is calculated. You should be able to see from
the above that each person's situation is different, and things like "attitude"
and "progress made" are difficult to quantify. If, for example,
you make great progress after the middle of the semester, your earlier grades
will count less. If your grades fluctuate a lot and you do not have a very
positive attitude toward learning, all of your grades will be counted just
as you earn them; points will be taken off from your final grade if you have
often been late or absent from class, or are missing assignments or handed
them in late. It's really quite simple - do good work and you get good grades.
Your final exam will test your ability in the key areas covered in class;
it is not "arbitrary". Very often it is consistent with the work
you have done throughout the semester, and therefore your final grade may
be close to your final exam grade. Do not conclude that because of this, your
final grade is simply decided by your final exam grade. If you have questions
not covered in these notes, please e-mail Ms. Chung. But please do NOT come
to complain about a grade or demand an explanation for it unless it is clear
there has been in error in calculation, e.g. of an exam score. Rest assured
that we teachers spend a LOT of time taking many different factors into consideration
before finally deciding on each and every grade we give.
Dictionaries
Here is a list
of recommended dictionaries and reference works. Please use an
online English dictionary with audio files (e.g. the Merriam-Webster
is one of the best) 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.
5th Edition. 2009. Essex: Pearson Education. Available at Crane's in hardcover
or paperback. It comes with a CD-ROM (requiring about 500MB of disk space)
which offers definitions, audio files of pronunciation of the entry in British
English (online
version also available; or you can check the standard British
English pronunciation on http://www.howjsay.com/)
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, available for purchase at local
English book stores such as Bookman, Crane's, Lai Lai and Cave's.
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.
This now seems to be out of print, so the following is a good substitute:
新世紀漢英大辭典 A New Century Chinese-English Dictionary. 外語教學與研究出版社, 2003.
Purchase at 秋水堂
台北市羅斯福路三段333巷14號 (02)2369-5999. You may have to put in a special order.
It takes about six weeks for the book(s) to arrive.
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 (if you are on Facebook, you might want to consider joining the Karen on Ivy League Analytical English fan page), the FM93.1 and ICRT, which broadcast BBC programming every weekday morning, 6am-7am for FM93.1, and 7:00-7:30am for ICRT: 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
Prof. Chung if you have other good English-learning ideas to share!