English B – English for Communication. The goal of this class is to improve your English speaking skills through joining debates and making group presentations.

The goal of this class is for you to improve your English communication skills and most importantly to gain confidence for speaking English in public.

English communication, Debates, Presentation skills

This course corresponds to study objective (D) for students in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and study objective (B) for students in Mechanical Systems Engineering.

Classes will be focused around student presentations. Each week, a group of students will make a presentation about a topic of their choice and debate the topic with the rest of the class.

At the beginning of the semester, there will be a general orientation in which you can choose the English course you wish to take. There are 3 different courses for English B: Basic Skills, English for Communication, and English for Science and Engineering. Please note that for some majors, not all courses are available. This syllabus is for English for Communication.
In English for Communication, you will work to improve your English speaking skills through debating and making group presentations. You will be put into groups at the beginning of the semester and each group will choose two or three topics to present about during the semester. Each week there will be two presentations. After each presentation, I will separate the class into two groups and we will have a debate. One group will argue in favor of the proposal and the other group will argue against it. For example, if the topic was “Should we use nuclear energy?” one group would argue in favor of using nuclear energy and the other group would argue against it.
There will be a short vocabulary quiz once every two weeks and a writing assignment related to the debate topic each week. In addition, you are expected to prepare for the TOEIC held in December on your own time. TOEIC will not be the main focus of this class.

You are expected to actively participate in class each week, complete homework assignments, and take the TOEIC in December. There will be a final exam at the end of the semester.

You are expected to study for vocabulary quizzes and complete writing assignments for homework each week. In addition to the homework assigned in class, you are encouraged to study for the TOEIC as much as possible on your own time.

Your score on the TOEIC will count for 30% of your grade. The rest of your grade will be evaluated based on class participation, homework, vocabulary quizzes, and a final exam.

Grades will be calculated based on the following criteria:
Class participation: 30 pts.
TOEIC-IP Score: 30 pts.
Vocabulary quizzes: 10 pts.
Presentations: 10 pts.
Homework: 10 pts.
Final exam: 10 pts.

Textbooks will be announced at the general orientation.

It is impossible to learn English only from going to class and reading your textbook. If you truly want to learn English, you must spend time every day using English. I suggest that you try to read and listen to English every day and try to keep a daily journal in English. If you only study from your textbook, you will get bored with English very quickly. Also, please try joining English learning activities at the Faculty of Engineering International Center such as English Lunch Chat, Movie Night, and Board Game Night. Do your best to make learning English as fun as possible, so that you will not give up easily!

Every Friday from 14:00 – 16:00 or by appointment.