14717 items found.
Improvisation!
Improvisation is speaking, acting or creating something without having prepared it. How do people do that? Where do they get their ideas from? And where do they get the confidence? Let's find out! You will play games together. You will learn to generate ideas, be flexible in your thinking, both work with a team and be confident improvising by yourself. Let's enjoy the thrill of trying something outside your comfort zone.
Your final project will be a group performance.
Intensive French 2 provides the basic skills for A1-A2 level learners of French. Students will learn to understand simple and short sentences in familiar situations and will be able to communicate with French speakers in daily situations. Students will also be able to explain problems by using easy vocabulary.
Intensive French 2 provides the basic skills for A1-A2 level learners of French. Students will learn to understand simple and short sentences in familiar situations and will be able to communicate with French speakers in daily situations. Students will also be able to explain problems by using easy vocabulary.
This course is for beginners at A1 level. Students will learn to understand simple and easy situations in daily life and be able to communicate with French speakers on limited topics and at a slow pace.
In this course, we do not use textbooks. Each one of the four instructors works on a specific task (cultural background comprehension, structure of French, conversational skills, and re-applying the acquired skill) to construct each session, according to the interests of students.
The main purpose of this class is to increase Chines skill by using papers about present China’s foreign policy history written in Chinese.. In these years, China is recognized as a superpower in international society. But China was established just 70years ago and was poor and weak power at that time. At that time, no one imagined China become such a power- full country. So, how China struggled to survive in international society and become a one of the most powerful nations? In this class, we are going to use the documents about China’s foreign policy in 1950’s~90’.
But on the other hand, the main purpose of this class is to increase Chines skill by using papers about China’s foreign policy written in Chinese.
Understanding China's foreign policy is a second priority.
This course is a combination listening, speaking and communication course suitable for students with a TOEFL Paper-Based Test score of up to 459, or students who have passed the Gateway English course. Students will be exposed to a lot listening to aid picking up sounds and comprehending sentences, and through pair and small group work, practice the pronunciation of English sounds, words and sentences.
Throughout the semester, students will be required to listen to and enunciate sounds, words, sentences and longer texts. By the end of the course, students should have the ability to better understand or comprehend English, and when speaking, sound more like a native speaker of English.
Assessment for the course will be short quizzes, some homework, and a peer-assessed short talk about a familiar topic. All homework, summaries and assignments will be done through Moodle.
This course is a combination reading and discussion course suitable for students with a TOEFL Paper-Based Test score between 460 and 524. It is designed to give an introduction to, and preparation for academic work. The aim of the course is to help students become more effective and confident readers on academic subjects.
Students will be exposed to a wide range of interesting academic topics during the course. The readings come from varied sources such as books, textbooks academic journals, newspapers, magazines, and online articles. Each week looks at a different theme, and each week introduces two reading from the one theme. In each class, students will interact in pairs or small groups to discuss the content and issues related to the readings.
All homework for this course will be done online through Moodle so students will require access to a computer and the internet. On occasion, students may be required to bring a computer to class.
Gaining Sharper English Communication
Type:Oral
Keyword:Discussion,Listening,Presentation,Speaking,Vocabulary
Course Description:
The First unit is for introduction and preparation. Each subsequent unit begins and ends with a presentation in order to demonstrate the students’ progress, both to the instructor and to the students themselves. These will be delivered solo, on assigned topics with approximately a minute allowed for preparation. Following the initial presentation, there will be a brief intro followed by exercises and role plays. The role plays will be geared to provide the student with the opportunity of using some part of the skill set in a focused way. Each unit will be organized to gradually expand on the skills involved, in preparation for the exams. Prior to the Midterm and the Final, there will be a consolidation practice day to give the students another opportunity to apply the skills in an integrated way. Any remaining time may be used to begin preparation for the exam
This is a course designed for students who are eager to improve their basic speaking and listening skills. We will meet twice a week for a total of 4 periods (koma). In the first period, we will learn TOEFL test taking strategies, focusing mainly on the listening section. In the second period, we will focus on improving communication skills by taking part in pair work and group discussions, also giving individual and group presentations.
There are many definitions of culture. Some would define it as the art, literature, and music of people, their architecture, history, religion, their traditions. Some others might focus more on the customs and specific behavior of the people. The course chooses a sociological definition of culture as the way of life of a group of people, developed over time and passed down from generation to generation. This broad definition includes every aspect of human life and interaction. The course is chosen to make a values approach focusing on the traditional mainstream values that have attracted people to the states. The course traces how values affect aspects of life.
Students are to read latest articles from weekly news magazine (mainly Time and occasionally Newsweek), Students will be given 2 (occasionally 3) articles every class (they are to choose one for classwork and one for homework or each student may choose any article from the provided news sites for homework). Each student will read, summarize, and analyze one article in class and one at home. Articles will vary from economics, politics to science and culture, but students will be given various types of articles every week. All summaries and analyses done at home must be handed in for the instructor to check the grammar and logic. Analyses will be presented (not by all students) orally in class. (The Instructor will mainly explain and analyze the articles in the first few lessons: students are expected to do the same in the remaining classes of the semester.) All summaries and analyses are to be handed one week after last day of class by email
We're going to do a play in English. You will learn basic acting techniques, and discuss the style of classical and modern writers. At the end of semester, the class will present a play to an audience (either online or on a stage).
If our final presentation is live, you will also be able to learn directing, stage management, costume design, or any other skill you are interested in. If our final presentation is online, you will be able to provide technical design and support. Please discuss with the professor what your learning goals are for the course.
This course uses a similar framework to Professor Rand's previously offered acting classes. However, you will consider different topics, use new materials and approaches, and perform a different play. It is suitable for first-time students as well as repeating students - all are welcome!
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz...
—from “Howl” by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg
After the US emerged as the last man standing from the global nightmare that was the Second World War, a new social order developed. Veterans—young men who were born during Prohibition, grew up in the Great Depression, and then endured the horrors of WWII before they were even adults—were desperate to “return” to an idealized version of “normal.” The rise of the Soviet Union resulted in communist witch hunts that further encouraged Americans to conform to this ideal—a situation that hid continuing problems of racial and social inequality, and which actively oppressed those who did not meet these expectations. Against this backdrop, a group of poets and novelists, referring to themselves as the Beat Generation, rose up against this smothering personal and cultural suppression to assert their own identities. Although the many writers and writings of the Beat Generation reflect a wide array of styles, subjects, and viewpoints, they share a central ideal of personal freedom and the rejection of false social norms—an ideal which came to define the latter half of the 1900s, and whose influence can still be very much felt today. In this course we will read and discuss these influential writers’ works, as well as the profound effects they had on the American—and international—mental landscape. We will read excerpts of their works and examine their impacts on literature, music, religion, and sexuality.
NOTE: This course is conducted in both English and Japanese.
This course is for those who want to think better and to be happier. Students will learn basic critical thinking skills: abilities to analyze and evaluate ideas and arguments skillfully as well as to present ideas and arguments logically and efficiently. Critical thinking is considered a skill to understand and analyze OTHER people's ideas and arguments, but it can also be used to understand YOUR own ideas and thought. Through critical thinking, students will be encouraged to think about themselves: what their values are, who they are, and what they can do to be happier.
Would you like to improve your listening? By listening to real people? In this course, we will interview our classmates and tell stories to each other. Then we will act those stories as short role plays. This technique, called "Playback Theater" means that you can practise living English in real time, and we can see the effect in real time. If you think "yes, they are acting exactly what I wanted to say!", then you have immediate feedback about your own communication. Much better than a test!
This course will help you improve your English listening skills, and how to explain yourself better. You will also learn basic interviewing skills.
An Introduction to India.
The course will help students understand the ideas connected to India on key themes and develop analytical and presentation skills. We will study nation states, communities, orientalism, classical and modern languages, religion, secularism, colonial writing, caste system, Indian living abroad, modernity, food, films and fashion. The course will have group discussion and project presentation. The presentation theme will be decided in class based on a discussion.
The course is firmly based on the idea that language is a powerful reflection of cultural values, and therefore uses translation as a means to explore the workings and characteristics of our own language as well as those of English. Making use of subtitled/dubbed movies and TV shows as material, we will mainly work on Japanese to English translations. In every class, we will challenge ourselves with the task of creating our own "sub-channel" scripts or subtitles. It is an activity-based course in which students are expected to learn from practical experience and experimentation. Creativity, imagination, and humor will be highly appreciated. We will also be working towards a common goal- producing a dubbed ("fukikae") English version of a segment from a Japanese video of your choice in groups. In the beginning of the course we will work on English-language videos translating the subtitles or dubbed versions and "re-creating" the English scripts. After writing Japanese dub scripts for English videos for a few weeks, we finally move on to using Japanese materials to create the English versions.
In class, we will use short video segments and work on the translation in pairs or small groups. Class activities will basically follow the same procedure every week:
1. Watching the video segment
2. Translating and discussing in pairs or groups
3. Presenting the script and sharing each other's work
4. Comparing our versions with the original version
5. Discussing the work and material
This English presentation course is opened to all students who want to develop their presentation skills. You will learn how to conduct and present your research to meet the expectations of your audience. It is an interactive course where you practice the design and delivery of both academic poster and oral presentations.
Students focus on the relationship of art to society, politics, culture and history. We also examine the relationship of art, especially sculpture, to our immediate physical environment, which includes architecture, landscape and urban planning. Supported by survey lectures on Twentieth Century art and through workshops, students study concepts related to curating and commissioning such as site specificity and the role of public sculpture. Students use this knowledge to present projects about Art & Context during the semester with a special emphasis on Artists tackling Global Issues. Students develop the following English language skills: listening and note taking, reading, writing, seminar participation, debate and presentation. Students who intend to major in Art History, Architecture, Modern History, Philosophy, Design, Media, Urban Planning and Entrepreneurship etc. will especially benefit from this course. It is best suited to students who are comfortable taking instruction and participating in class in English.
This class is designed to provide students with the opportunity to experience the intellectual challenges and satisfactions of writing an argumentative research paper on a topic of their choice in the field of EFL or in other fields. For example, students choose a controversial issue on English education (e.g. Should English be taught at elementary schools in Japan?) or on another academic area (e.g. Should the possession of firearms be prohibited in the U.S. ? )and present/defend their point of view using the information gathered. Through this semester-long project, students become accustomed to the process of writing a research paper: reviewing the techniques/rules necessary for academic writing (e.g. paragraph/essay development), using the library and the Internet to get necessary information, conducting a questionnaire /interview to support their position on the issue, and weaving the work of others into their own research paper in the APA style. At the end of this semester, students must submit a final paper (8 or more than 8 typed pages including a cover, abstract, and reference pages). In this class, students interact a great deal with one another, so active participation in pair/group work is essential.
This class is designed to prepare students for the iBT TOEFL but will be good for those wanting to succeed academically in English-speaking colleges and universities as well. The iBT TOEFL test is different from the paper version of the test in that it puts more emphasis on authentic communication; the test requires test-takers to use not only all four language skills (listening, reading, speaking, writing) in isolation but a combination of two or more of those skills. This means no longer would students be able to boost their overall score just by studying grammar. In response to the change, an integrated-skills approach will be incorporated in this class; students will be provided with tasks that challenge them to use more than one skill at a time. For instance, students will synthesize and summarize the academic lectures they have heard/read and present it through speaking or writing. Students will complete these tasks in pairs/groups, in class or individually at home. In addition to these integrated tasks, students will write essays on a variety of TOEFL-type topics using Criterion (online writing evaluation system) developed by ETS. Good attendance and active participation in class are essential.
This class is designed to help students achieve the highest possible score on the TOEIC but will be found appropriate by those wanting to go beyond the fundamentals of English grammar as well. The class will review grammar forms and structures that are most likely to be found on the TOEIC and that reflect the most important recurrent trouble spots for language learners. Students will be asked to complete TOEIC-style exercises at home, discuss why the wrong answers are wrong in groups and in class and finally take some review tests. Although the main focus is on grammar, students will take a short listening/reading test at the beginning of each class and get opportunities for speaking practice on wide-ranging topics including work-related topics. This class is NOT a teacher-centered class, so active participation in group/class discussions is essential.
This class is designed to provide students with the opportunity to experience the intellectual challenges and satisfactions of writing an argumentative research paper on a topic of their choice in the field of EFL or in other fields. For example, students choose a controversial issue on English education (e.g. Should English be taught at elementary schools in Japan?) or on another academic area (e.g. Should the possession of firearms be prohibited in the U.S. ? )and present/defend their point of view using the information gathered. Through this semester-long project, students become accustomed to the process of writing a research paper: reviewing the techniques/rules necessary for academic writing (e.g. paragraph/essay development), using the library and the Internet to get necessary information, conducting a questionnaire /interview to support their position on the issue, and weaving the work of others into their own research paper in the APA style. At the end of this semester, students must submit a final paper (8 or more than 8 typed pages including a cover, abstract, and reference pages). In this class, students interact a great deal with one another, so active participation in pair/group work is essential.
Students learn how to express their opinions creatively in English through responding to music & lyricism. They select music from artists they admire and learn to analyse the lyrics, techniques and patterns in order to establish understanding. Song writing patterns and structures are compared and contrasted and students identify styles and genres. Students identify topics they feel strongly about and explain why these issues are important. They select songs that somehow relate to their chosen topics and deconstruct the lyrics in order to express relevance. Students develop the following English language skills: Listening, Reading, Creative Writing and Interpretation. The core subject is used as a vehicle to examine contemporary issues including: philosophy, psychology, politics, history, theology and globalization and there is a special emphasis on Artists Tackling Global Issues. This course is suitable for students who are comfortable participating in class in English and have an interest in modern music