Oral
English
Mr. Kevin GLADNEY
Spring Semester, 2013
Course Syllabus
Welcome back to our oral English class! Last semester, we spent the majority of our time concentrating on the “mechanics” of spoken English (pronunciation, tone and register, etc.). This spring, I want to concentrate most of our attention on helping you develop your confidence in your spoken English. Many of you suffer from shyness, embarrassment, and awkwardness when speaking English, and I want to help you to overcome these difficulties. To accomplish this, I am going to advise and guide you as you do most of the speaking in class during the semester. We will focus on four central concepts:
1. Voice: Though many of you have strong, powerful voices when speaking Chinese, many students have very quiet, weak voices when speaking English. We will concentrate on developing our voices to sound sure and authoritative when speaking, and as always, will continue to improve our pronunciation.
2. Poise: Poise, also known as bearing or composure, is your ability to remain calm and in control of your mind, voice, and body in a stressful situation such as speaking in front of a group. Many people dance, hug themselves, rock, or play with their hands when they are nervous, and others laugh, say “um…” or otherwise show their discomfort verbally. We will concentrate on avoiding these bad habits.
3. Confidence: Confidence, ultimately, is not created by how much money you have, how smart you are, what your job is, or how much power you wield. Confidence, simply, is belief in oneself, regardless of outcomes. Being confident is really nothing more than a choice you make. I will do my best to help you to believe in yourself and your abilities.
4. Etiquette: Etiquette, or the rules for polite behavior, vary from country to country and from culture to culture. Unfortunately, when Chinese students are taught Western Etiquette, they are often very formal systems that are only really useful in formal situations like banquets and business meetings. We will focus on the day to day behaviors that Westerners consider to be impolite.
Grading System:
This semester, your class grade will be determined by an average of three grades:
1. Class participation: You will be graded on how often and competently you contribute to our discussions in class and how open you are to the somewhat uncomfortable exercises that we do. The ultimate goal of this class is to improve your speaking; if you are unwilling to speak, and resistant to the lessons, this must be reflected in your grade.
2. Presentation: You and one friend will prepare a short presentation, on a topic to be determined later. This project will involve researching your topic, then presenting the information verbally without the aid of Powerpoint or other devices. You will be graded on all of the speaking skills that we have learned this year.
3. Interview: Our final exam this semester will take the form of a mock job interview. You will be given some information in advance to help you prepare. As with the presentation, you will be graded on all of the speaking skills that we have learned this year.
Cheating:
As before, Cheating or plagiarism of any kind will absolutely not be tolerated. Cheating this semester is only likely to occur during the presentation. You are expected to do your own research (in pairs) and to come up with your own ideas for the presentation. Memorizing someone else’s words and using them as your own is plagiarism, and if you do this, you will fail the class. You have been warned.
Course Outline:
Class 1: Introduction
During the first day, we will discuss the syllabus, review the plans for the class, and prepare for future debates.
Class 2: Voice
This class will introduce the concept of strong voice and teach you skills that you can use to speak more powerfully.
Class 3: Speech Practice
As part of my effort to increase your confidence speaking English, I’m devoting several classes this semester to helping you to practice your skills under stressful situations. We will take turns speaking in front of the class without preparation.
Class 4: Debate
By popular demand, we will be conducting a series of debates this semester. We will divide the class into two teams and discuss controversial issues. Your goal in these debates should be to speak naturally and without hesitation. Naturally, you will have a harder time expressing yourself in English than you will in Chinese, and may feel that you aren’t as convincing as you could be. Don’t forget though, the point of this exercise is not to win the argument, it is to use English as naturally as you can.
Class 5: Poise
This class will focus on helping you to control yourself when speaking in an uncomfortable setting. We will concentrate on keeping our voices steady, our bodies still, and using our hands to accent our speech only when it is appropriate. Overall, our goal for this class will be to learn how to look calm and confident, even when we are nervous.
Class 6: Speech Practice
This will be the second of our speech practice classes.
Class 7: Debate
This will be the second of our moderated debates.
Class 8: Confidence
This lesson will attempt to give you some practical ideas and useful guidance for improving your confidence when you speak. As mentioned before, confidence is largely a choice that you make—a decision to believe in yourself and your abilities.
Class 9: Speech Practice
This will be the third of our speech practice classes.
Class 10: Debate
This will be the manners of our moderated debates.
Class 11: Manners
In this class, we will focus on the kinds of western manners than are important to know about, but are rarely taught. Instruction will include personal space, uncomfortable topics, and rules for behavior in public.
Class 12: Debate
This will be our final debate class.
Classes 13-14: Presentation
Graded presentations will take place during these weeks.
Classes 15-16:
The final two weeks of the semester will be the mock job interviews.
Mr. Kevin GLADNEY
Spring Semester, 2013
Course Syllabus
Welcome back to our oral English class! Last semester, we spent the majority of our time concentrating on the “mechanics” of spoken English (pronunciation, tone and register, etc.). This spring, I want to concentrate most of our attention on helping you develop your confidence in your spoken English. Many of you suffer from shyness, embarrassment, and awkwardness when speaking English, and I want to help you to overcome these difficulties. To accomplish this, I am going to advise and guide you as you do most of the speaking in class during the semester. We will focus on four central concepts:
1. Voice: Though many of you have strong, powerful voices when speaking Chinese, many students have very quiet, weak voices when speaking English. We will concentrate on developing our voices to sound sure and authoritative when speaking, and as always, will continue to improve our pronunciation.
2. Poise: Poise, also known as bearing or composure, is your ability to remain calm and in control of your mind, voice, and body in a stressful situation such as speaking in front of a group. Many people dance, hug themselves, rock, or play with their hands when they are nervous, and others laugh, say “um…” or otherwise show their discomfort verbally. We will concentrate on avoiding these bad habits.
3. Confidence: Confidence, ultimately, is not created by how much money you have, how smart you are, what your job is, or how much power you wield. Confidence, simply, is belief in oneself, regardless of outcomes. Being confident is really nothing more than a choice you make. I will do my best to help you to believe in yourself and your abilities.
4. Etiquette: Etiquette, or the rules for polite behavior, vary from country to country and from culture to culture. Unfortunately, when Chinese students are taught Western Etiquette, they are often very formal systems that are only really useful in formal situations like banquets and business meetings. We will focus on the day to day behaviors that Westerners consider to be impolite.
Grading System:
This semester, your class grade will be determined by an average of three grades:
1. Class participation: You will be graded on how often and competently you contribute to our discussions in class and how open you are to the somewhat uncomfortable exercises that we do. The ultimate goal of this class is to improve your speaking; if you are unwilling to speak, and resistant to the lessons, this must be reflected in your grade.
2. Presentation: You and one friend will prepare a short presentation, on a topic to be determined later. This project will involve researching your topic, then presenting the information verbally without the aid of Powerpoint or other devices. You will be graded on all of the speaking skills that we have learned this year.
3. Interview: Our final exam this semester will take the form of a mock job interview. You will be given some information in advance to help you prepare. As with the presentation, you will be graded on all of the speaking skills that we have learned this year.
Cheating:
As before, Cheating or plagiarism of any kind will absolutely not be tolerated. Cheating this semester is only likely to occur during the presentation. You are expected to do your own research (in pairs) and to come up with your own ideas for the presentation. Memorizing someone else’s words and using them as your own is plagiarism, and if you do this, you will fail the class. You have been warned.
Course Outline:
Class 1: Introduction
During the first day, we will discuss the syllabus, review the plans for the class, and prepare for future debates.
Class 2: Voice
This class will introduce the concept of strong voice and teach you skills that you can use to speak more powerfully.
Class 3: Speech Practice
As part of my effort to increase your confidence speaking English, I’m devoting several classes this semester to helping you to practice your skills under stressful situations. We will take turns speaking in front of the class without preparation.
Class 4: Debate
By popular demand, we will be conducting a series of debates this semester. We will divide the class into two teams and discuss controversial issues. Your goal in these debates should be to speak naturally and without hesitation. Naturally, you will have a harder time expressing yourself in English than you will in Chinese, and may feel that you aren’t as convincing as you could be. Don’t forget though, the point of this exercise is not to win the argument, it is to use English as naturally as you can.
Class 5: Poise
This class will focus on helping you to control yourself when speaking in an uncomfortable setting. We will concentrate on keeping our voices steady, our bodies still, and using our hands to accent our speech only when it is appropriate. Overall, our goal for this class will be to learn how to look calm and confident, even when we are nervous.
Class 6: Speech Practice
This will be the second of our speech practice classes.
Class 7: Debate
This will be the second of our moderated debates.
Class 8: Confidence
This lesson will attempt to give you some practical ideas and useful guidance for improving your confidence when you speak. As mentioned before, confidence is largely a choice that you make—a decision to believe in yourself and your abilities.
Class 9: Speech Practice
This will be the third of our speech practice classes.
Class 10: Debate
This will be the manners of our moderated debates.
Class 11: Manners
In this class, we will focus on the kinds of western manners than are important to know about, but are rarely taught. Instruction will include personal space, uncomfortable topics, and rules for behavior in public.
Class 12: Debate
This will be our final debate class.
Classes 13-14: Presentation
Graded presentations will take place during these weeks.
Classes 15-16:
The final two weeks of the semester will be the mock job interviews.