2020 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses English language courses
Oral Expression in English 6 1
- Academic unit or major
- English language courses
- Instructor(s)
- Makiko Haraga
- Class Format
- Exercise (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Wed (W242)
- Class
- 1
- Course Code
- LAE.E232
- Number of credits
- 010
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
“Oral Expression in English” courses are devoted to improving students’ skills in speaking. Apart from the context of giving presentations, effective speaking also involves effective listening, so the classwork and homework in these courses require students engaged in speech and listening exercises.
As an elective 200-level course, Oral Expression in English 6 extends the materials of Oral Expression in English 5, while maintaining the approach of generating effective oral communication involving listening and speaking between pairs of speakers. Objectives also include using vocabulary and grammar introduced in the textbook and classes.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to confidently discuss a BROADER selection of fairly complex topics to do with society and cross-cultural phenomena in one-on-one conversations with people they have not met before.
Student learning outcomes
実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)
This course will be taught by a bilingual journalist who has been reporting and writing in both English and Japanese on a wide range of issues for a variety of publications. Throughout the course, the instructor will use her knowledge and expertise in the art of story-telling, to help students acquire communication skills that are necessary for presenting ideas effectively and clearly in English to people from culturally diverse backgrounds.
Keywords
speaking, listening,oral communication, interactive
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
While we continue to explore a variety of issues, more emphasis is placed on developing communication skills that are becoming increasingly important in the global community: intercultural competence (the ability to work with people from culturally diverse backgrounds), active listening, and critical thinking. Students are expected to complete assignments, and come to class prepared for discussions. The class is highly interactive.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Course introduction Class activity | Intercultural learning |
| Class 2 | Developing listening and speaking skills Communication exercise: Debate | Students are expected to watch video clips, read articles, and prepare for a debate. |
| Class 3 | How to be a good interviewer Communication exercise: Interview (role playing) | Students will play both roles; an interviewee and interviewer. When they play the interviewee's role will be asked to share their own personal stories while the interviewers will learn how to effectively ask questions. |
| Class 4 | Lecture: Effective presentations Discussion: New technologies | Students are expected to watch video clips, read articles, and prepare for a discussion. |
| Class 5 | Presentation: The first group of students will deliver a presentation on a given topic. The details of the assignment will be provided on Week 4. | Presenters are responsible for preparing a presentation. Students who are not presenting will provide peer reviews to the presenters. |
| Class 6 | Presentation: The second group of students will deliver a presentation on a given topic. The details of the assignment will be provided on Week 5. | Presenters are responsible for preparing a presentation. Students who are not presenting will provide peer reviews to the presenters. |
| Class 7 | Presentation: The third group of students will deliver a presentation on a given topic. The details of the assignment will be provided on Week 6. | Presenters are responsible for preparing a presentation. Students who are not presenting will provide peer reviews to the presenters. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Handouts
Reference books, course materials, etc.
TED Talks https://www.ted.com/
VOA Learning English https://learningenglish.voanews.com/
NPR http://www.npr.org/
TED, VOA and NPR provide video transcripts.
Scientific American
(video and podcasts “60-second science”) http://www.scientificamerican.com/
BBC http://www.bbc.com/news
National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
Evaluation methods and criteria
The grade for the quarter will be determined as follows:
Class participation: 50% (Evaluation will be based on attitude, contribution, progress, and a willingness to learn.)
Presentation: 50%
Related courses
- LAE.E231 ： Oral Expression in English 5
Prerequisites
none
Other
It is recommended that students take this course in sequence with LAE.E231 (Oral Expression in English 5).
Attendance at the first session is compulsory for students planning to take this course.