This required 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 completing cloze exercises, and answering listening comprehension questions on recorded passages; and (2) to improve your pronunciation. For further general information on this course, please see the Fall 2002 syllabus.

     There will be 16 class meetings this semester. No class on June 4 due to the Dragon Boat Festival.
         
Course Materials and Activities:

     Text: Gilbert, Judy. 1993. Clear Speech: Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 132pp. Paper. Available for NT$425 from Tung Hua Bookstore 東華書局 2311-4027 ext. 41.

     Handouts will be mainly be posted on this site and will not be distributed in class.
     Click here for the Poems for Memorization handout for Spring 2003.
     Find more poems online yourself.
     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)

     In contrast to last semester, this semester the class will not be divided into smaller groups; everyone will attend both hours of the class every week and do the same assignments. We will continue to learn and recite one poem a week; keep pronunciation journals; do one listening assignment a week, which will be marked and handed in the following week in class; and cover the material in Clear Speech. There will be occasional dictations and quizzes, and some pair and/or group work in class. There will be an oral imitation assignment, based on the movie Kramer vs. Kramer.

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

     1. Listening Assignment for February 19: BBC Interview with Ray Charles

     2. Listening Assignment for February 19-26: MPR Indian Radio.

     3. Listening Assignment for February 26-March 5: BBC: Pinter and Wesker on the US-Iraq situation

     4. Listening Assignment for March 5-12: Profiles with Tara: Abusive men: part I

     5. Listening assignment for March 12-19: Profiles with Tara: Abusive men: part II

     6. Listening assignment for March 19-26: Gunsmoke: The Liar from Blackhawk (I)

     7. Listening assignment for March 26-April 2: Gunsmoke: The Liar from Blackhawk (II) Perform Kramer vs. Kramer.

     8. Listening assignment for April 2-9: NationalGeographic.com: City of the Dead Perform Kramer vs. Kramer.

     9. Listening assignment for April 9-16: National Public Radio: Orang Metropolis Uncovered

     10. Listening assignment April 16-23: Voice of America Webcast: Foreign language teaching in the U.S. and Yao Ming

     11. Listening assignment for April 23-30: Minnesota Public Radio: Inspiring boys to read

     12. Listening assignment for April 30-May 7: Minnesota Public Radio: Life after prison

     13. Listening assignment for May 7-14: Dragnet: The Big Escape (I)

     14. Listening assignment for May 14-21: Dragnet: The Big Escape (II)

     15. Listening assignment for May 21-28: Minnesota Public Radio: Garbage glaciers

     16. Listening assignment for May 28-June 4: ABC NSW: Cockroaches – friend or foe?

     17. Listening assignment for June 4-June 11: Minnesota Public Radio: Weight loss surgery: the last resort?

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