Lab syllabus Fall 2012

Freshman Oral-Aural Training (Lab)
Fall 2012 and Spring 2013
Monday 3:30-5:20pm
Foreign Language Teaching
and Resource (FLTR 外教) Building 201
Professor Karen Chung

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Class syllabus: Spring 2013
CET articles on English pronunciation
Mini-conversations

Spring 2013 syllabus

     1. February 18-25:
          a. Class enrollment
          b. Final exam: Correct and submit 2/25
          c. Gilmore Girls: Complete and correct this cloze exercise on Scene I for 2/25; mark stresses and pauses.
          d. Poetry: Limericks; handout on prosody and literary terms
          e. About velar raising p. 14   p. 15

     2. February 25-March 4:
          a. Submit corrected final exam, class notes, pronunciation correction plan, listening log
          b. Recite limerick
          c. Gilmore Girls cloze: stress and phrasing; practice for performance on March 4
          d. Read new CET article: 9.   大師開講 — 鼻音/m/、/n/ 與 /ŋ/ —— No problen？（上） in No. 77, May/June 2013 (forthcoming)

     3. March 4-11:
          a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan, listening log
          b. Return and go over final exam
          c. Gilmore Girls, Scene One performance; feedback and discussion
          d. Go over Gilmore Girls, Scene Two, to be performed 3/11; entire script
              Characters:    (1) Lorelei/Girl #1/Girl #4
                              (2) Michel/Lane/Mrs. Traister/Girl #2/Woman/Sookie
                                  (3) Bellboy/Drella/Rory/Girl #3/Salvador
          (Stop at: SOOKIE: Stepped on my thumb. I'm fine. On three. Okay.)

     4. March 11-18:
         a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan, listening log
          b. Resubmit final exam
          c. Gilmore Girls, Scene Two performance; feedback and discussion
          d. Go over next scenes of Gilmore Girls for next week's performance.

     5. March 18-25:
         a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan progress report, listening log.
          b. Gilmore Girls: performance of scenes 3-6 (#2-4); feedback and discussion.
          c. Assign roles for GG scenes #5-9 for next week.

     6. March 25-April 1:
          a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan progress report, listening log.
          b. Gilmore Girls: performance of scenes 5-9 (#2-4); feedback and discussion.
          c. Assign roles for GG scenes #10-13 for next week.

     7. April 1-8:
         a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan progress report, listening log.
          b. Gilmore Girls: performance of scenes #10-13; feedback and discussion.
          c. Choose a listening assignment from Extras; go over the vocabulary, listen carefully,
              and prepare written answers the questions. Then prepare to give a 5-minute presentation on the lesson.

     8. April 8-15:
          a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan progress report, listening log.
          b. Give 5-minute presentation on the listening lesson you have chosen, and hand in the answers to the questions.
        c. Perform Mini-conversations #40-43.

     9. April 15-22:
          a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan progress report, listening log.
          b. Finish 5-minute presentation on the listening lesson you have chosen, and hand in the answers to the questions.
        c. Perform Mini-conversations #40-43.
         d. West Side Story: Gee, Officer Krupke. Answer questions in the handout, discuss next Monday.

     10. April 22-29:
          a. Submit class notes, pronunciation correction plan progress report, listening log.
          b. Go over and discuss West Side Story: Gee, Officer Krupke.
        c. Second performance of Mini-conversations #40-43. Also go over #45 and #45.
        d. Assign parts for Seinfeld: The Busboy.

Spring 2013
Total class meetings:
     There will be 17 class meetings this semester:
     February 18, 25;
     March 4, 11, 18, 25;
     April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29;
     May 6, 13, 20, 27;
     June 3, 10.

Important dates:
February 28th Memorial Day: (no class): Thursday, February 28, 2013
Cancel-add: February 18 to March 2 (add)/3 (cancel)
Period for confirmation of canceled/added courses: Monday-Friday, March 11-15
Second online application for exemption from advanced English class: Monday-Friday, March 18-22
Online registration for high-intermediate GEPT: Monday-Thursday, March 18-28
Children’s Day, Tomb-Sweeping Day and review holiday (no class): Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, April 3-5
Application period for withdrawing from a course: March 4-May 17
Mid-semester online student course evaluations: March 18-April 26
NTU Athletic Meet: Saturday, Sunday March 30-31
Mid-terms: April 15-19
End-of-semester online student course evaluations: May 31-June 13
Dragon Boat Festival holiday: (no class): Wednesday, June 12
Last day of class: Friday, June 14
Final exams: Monday-Friday, June 17-21
Final exam for this class: Monday, June 17 in 外教 201, 3:30-5:20pm
Summer vacation begins: Monday, June 24, 2013
College and department transfer exams: June 24-July 4

Fall 2012
     Total class meetings:
     There will be 16 class meetings this semester:
     September 2012 17, 24;
     October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29;
     November 5, 12, 19, 26;
     December 3, 10, 17, 22.

     Important dates:
No class on Monday, September 10 pending class assignment interviews.
Cancel-add: September 10-23
Finalization of class schedules: October 1-5
Application period for withdrawing from a course: September 24-December 7
Double Tenth National Day: (no class): Wednesday, October 10
Online application for exemption from advanced English class: October 8-12 (tentative)
Mid-semester online student course evaluations: October 8-November 16
Mid-terms (no midterm will be given for this class): November 5-9
Anniversary of the Founding of Taiwan University (no class): Thursday, November 15
New Year's adjustment holiday make up class: Saturday, December 22.
Adjustment holiday: December 31. (NO CLASS)
New Year's Day/Founding Day of the ROC (no class): Tuesday, January 1, 2013
End-of-semester online student course evaluations: December 21, 2012-January 3, 2013
Last day of class: January 4, 2013
Final exams: January 7-11, 2013
Final exam for this class: Monday, January 7, 2013 in 外教 201
Winter break: January 14-February 17, 2013
Chinese New Year's Eve: Saturday, February 9, 2013

This course meets two hours a week, and only earns you one credit. But it is one that is well worth investing time and effort in.

The main goals of this course are (1) to teach you how to listen – this will be done mainly by listening to audio and video files online and answering comprehension questions on them; and (2) to improve your pronunciation.

Listening and pronunciation are probably the two weakest links in English education in Taiwan (though even those of you who have been educated in English abroad may find you have things to learn from this class). Rather than complain about what you didn't get in the past, we encourage you to focus on the here and now — there's still time to fix things. But you must be committed. The things you learn in this class are not assignments to be completed to earn a grade and then forgotten. They will require behavior modification on your part. Anybody knows how hard a habit is to break, and poor pronunciation habits present an especially stubborn case. Producing the correct sounds in class is easy — using them consistently when you're supposed to is the tough part! You will need to tire yourself out for a few weeks or months relearning the way you speak English. It will be well worth it — you'll sound absolutely wonderful every time you speak English for the rest of your life! You can sound like a native — but you have to really, really want it!

     One very important reason to fix your pronunciation is to show respect for other people. When you speak with a heavy foreign accent, other people have to strain to understand you, and that makes them very tired. When you speak clearly and correctly, you make life easier and happier for everybody you come in contact with.

     Course Materials and Activities:
     No textbook is assigned; most class materials will be available through this Website and the Internet. However, if you feel you need extra work on your pronunciation, you might want to consider buying the following textbook with CD recordings:

     Gilbert, Judy. Clear Speech. 4th edition (Taiwan may only have the 3rd edition), with CD. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

     Here's a very useful pdf by Judy, entitled: Six Pronunciation Priorities for the Beginning Student

     and another called Teaching Pronunciation: Using the Prosody Pyramid.

Miller, Sue. Targeting Pronunciation: The Intonation, Sounds and Rhythm of American English. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. 270 pp. Paper, with CDs. May be available at Bookman Books 書林書店.

     Handouts will be mainly be posted on this site and will not be distributed in class.

    Occasional quizzes will be given, usually dictations or ones requiring you to distinguish between correct and incorrect pronunciations.

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 note down grammar points discussed in class and corrections you receive orally or in your written work. You are expected to have your journal open and ready throughout each class, without being reminded.

Class routine: Each of you will introduce yourself on the first day of class. Thereafter, most classes will begin with individual poem recitation to correct pronunciation. Then a new poem will be presented for recitation the next week. Next, the listening comprehension exercise from the previous week will be marked in class, and a new exercise assigned. We will also read a number of prose selections to practice stress, intonation, and overall pronunciation. There may occasionally be oral presentations, such as performing a dialogue from a TV show or movie, or improvisation. Class performances will form the mainstay of the second semester curriculum.

     Grades for the course will be based on: attendance and punctuality, class performance and participation, listening assignments, quizzes, progress made, attitude, and the final exam.

     Link here to hints on how to improve and practice your English, how to choose a dictionary, and so on. Note in particular the section on podcasts.

     A demonstration of how the "echo method" works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNghp9tPXjo

     Pronunciation rules for plurals and 3rd-person-singular verb forms: 34. Phonological rules for English plurals and more

     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)