Instructor Dr. Algirdas Makarevicius Credits: 3 hrs Venue: Room 418
Learning Materials Handbook, class notes, handouts, web pages and recommended reading - books, newspapers articles, and short stories.
Course Description The course aims at enabling students to acquire basic oral and written communication skills. It is designed for non-English majors to develop spoken and written skills at a beginner’s level.
Objective Develop the ability to write and speak for different purposes and for different audiences.
Course Overview The course will develop both face-to-face communication and public speaking skills. Non-verbal communication will include business letters, memos, and CVs. In addition, the learners will be able to acquire cultural skills as well as general knowledge about business communication.
Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the course students will be able to • write clear, concise and grammatically correct sentences in English; • ask and answer typical classroom questions; • recognize and correct common errors in written and spoken English; • make simple oral and written presentations in English; • write clear, well-structured and concise paragraphs in their major fields of study.
Assessment • Oral Presentation: 10% • Written Test 1: 15% • Written Test 2: 15% • Participation: 10% • Examination: 50%
Course Requirements
Each student must fulfill the following requirements of the course.
1. Spend at least four hours per week on self-study. Self-study includes all assignments given by the instructor.
2. Actively participate in classroom discussions by asking questions and giving their comments or opinions whenever required by the instructor.
3. Conduct Internet and library research, revise class notes and handouts, study the textbook, and perform all other activities as requested.
4. Students are expected to comply with the university-wide requirements for academic integrity. The University is committed to academic integrity—the honest, fair, and continuing pursuit of knowledge, free from fraud or deception. This implies that students are expected to be responsible for their own work. Presenting another individual’s work as one’s own and receiving excessive help from another individual will qualify as a violation of academic integrity. Plagiarism is cheating. In this course, using another person’s words or ideas as your own without giving credit, producing a memorized piece (either your own or someone else’s), or having someone do any portion of your work is cheating. Each student is expected to complete their own, original work by using their own words.
5. If you are absent from an exam (quiz, mid-term, or final exam), you will not be allowed to repeat it unless you are granted an excused absence by the Dean. In that case, you would be awarded at most a “D” in the substitute exam.
6. Prepare and give an oral presentation. Each student gives a presentation on a different topic. Topics must be selected and submitted to the instructor by the end of Week 2. The presentation will be assessed 10%. Oral presentation should last approximately ten minutes plus about five to ten minutes will be devoted to questions-answers and discussions. Oral presentation must meet the following requirements: • Plan what to say. A forceful speech must be thought out beforehand. Write it but never read it. • Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to cram into a speech as many points as possible. Your audience will not be able to remember them all. Speak fluently, clearly, loudly, and slowly. Do not hurry. • Use visual means if possible. • Take command. Show your audience who is holding the floor and deserve full attention. The speaker who tries to do the job sitting down abdicates authority. You must come out into the open. The audience wants to see as much of you as possible. They will then feel that you are confiding in them. • Relax. Even an experienced orator such as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, admits: “I feel nervous on every occasion I have to speak.” But never let stage fright show. An audience feels sorry for a panic-stricken speaker to begin with; then listeners lose patience and interest. If you are too nervous, try to forget that it is you who is about to speak. Pretend it is someone else – a speaker you admire. • Stand confidently. The most frequent question I get from students is: “What shall I do with my hands?” Take a pencil or a book and keep in your hand. • Be friendly. Audiences are warm to amiable, happy-looking speakers. Begin with a smile. It switches on your audience, arouses their interest. • Watch your timing. Audiences never forgive speakers who overrun and keep them from lunch. Fifteen minutes is about the maximum time for your speech. If you cannot see a clock face, twist your watch round to the underside of your wrist for discreet time-checks. There’s a Latin proverb for the best possible advice on timing: Praestate dicete et tacete (=“Stand up, speak up and shut up”). Fulfillment of the above requirements is very important for effective development of your English speaking skills.
7. Students are expected to comply with the university-wide requirements for academic integrity. The University is committed to academic integrity—the honest, fair, and continuing pursuit of knowledge, free from fraud or deception. This implies that students are expected to be responsible for their own work. Presenting another individual’s work as one’s own and receiving excessive help from another individual will qualify as a violation of academic integrity. Plagiarism is cheating. In this course, using another person’s words or ideas as your own without giving credit, producing a memorized piece (either your own or someone else’s), or having someone do any portion of your work is cheating. Each student is expected to complete their own, original work by using their own words.
8. Attend lectures, tutorials and examinations. Cheating at examinations is not tolerated and students who are caught cheating during the examination will automatically fail.
9. Any additional questions regarding the Course Outline and the course requirements can be answered during the lecture, after the lecture, during the office hours, or by email. Each student who contacts the instructor by email must write her/his student number, name and section number on the Subject box of the message. Anonymous emails will not be replied.
10. The Course Outline is the main document of the course and the activities that are included into the Course Outline must be performed in class and at home every week.
Oral Presentation Topics
1. My Dream School. 2. Money and the Values of Life. 3. The Importance of Education, Science, Technology and Medicine in Human Life. 4. How to Become a Successful Learner. 5. Film as a Medium of Mass Communication and as an Industry. 6. Children, TV, and Violence. 7. My Favorite Movie Genre. 8. The Advertising Industry. 9. The Internet and Advertising. 10. The Global Economy and Cross-cultural Communication. 11. Principles of Marketing Management. 12. How to Advertise a Product? 13. Continents of the World. 14. Famous Cities and Countries. 15. How to Avoid Cross-cultural Miscommunication. 16. The Modern Wonders of the World. 17. The Ancient Wonders of the World. 18. How to Lose Weight; Dieting and Health. 19. Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs, and their Effects on Human Body. 20. Euthanasia. 21. PCs: Desktops and Laptops. 22. History of the Internet. 23. The World Wide Web and New Business Opportunities. 24. Internet Crime, Computer Addiction and Computer-phobia. 25. Types of Jobs. 26. Stages of Finding a Job in the Job Market. 27. How to Write a Letter of Application? 28. How to Write an Effective CV? 29. Work Ethics and the Importance of Effective Communication in the Workplace. 30. The Importance of Language, Information, Knowledge and Creative Thinking. 31. Language and Global Economy. 32. Table Manners and Etiquette. 33. UFO’s and aliens: Illusions and reality. 34. Human Diseases and How to Prevent Them. 35. Violence and Aggressiveness in Sports. 36. Environment and its Protection 37. Problems of Transport and their Solutions. 38. The Most Famous Painters in the History of the World 39. The Most Famous Writers in the History of the World 40. Healthy Mind is in Healthy Body
Course Outline
Week
Activities
1
Introduction to course. First week of classes. Discussion of the Course Outline. Understanding course objectives, learning outcomes and assessment. Selection of oral presentation topics: each student gives an oral presentation on a different topic (oral presentation topics are attached to the Course Outline). Unit 1.
2
Unit 1. Verbal and non-verbal communication. Cross-cultural communication. The importance of body language in communication. Face-to-face communication. Public speaking (p. 88). Audience and message. Business communication. Grammar issues: how to write logically and correctly.
3
Unit 2. Family and Friends. My Hometown. Jobs. Topics for discussion: Types of Jobs; Stages of Finding a Job in the Job Market; How to Write a Letter of Application? How to Write an Effective CV? Grammar: common errors in writing. Commonly confused words and phrases.
4
Unit 3. Joe and the Thieves. Topics for discussion - Computers and the Internet: PCs: Desktops, Laptops, and The Internet History; The World Wide Web and New Business Opportunities; Internet Crime, Computer Addiction and Computer-phobia. Case Study: Web Pages and How to Develop them. Commonly confused words (p. 89-91).
5
Unit 4. Money. Topic for discussion: How to Become Rich. Written assignment: Money and the Values of Life. Countable and uncountable nouns. Commonly confused words (p. 89-91).
Education. Topic for discussion: The Importance of Education, Science, Technology and Medicine in Human Life. How to Become a Successful Learner, Poor Old Rich Man. Written assignment: My Dream School. Commonly confused words and concepts.
6
Unit 5. Travel. Some countries and capital cities. Discussion: Continents of the World; Famous Cities and Countries; Problems Related to Cross-cultural Miscommunication. Presentation topics: The Modern Wonders of the World; The Ancient Wonders of the World. Other topics for discussion - Movies, Cinemas, and TV: Film as a Medium of Mass Communication and as an Industry. Children, TV, and Violence. Written assignment: My Favorite Movie Genre. Commonly confused words and phrases. Synonyms and antonyms. Written Test 1 (15%).
7
Unit 6. A Race to the South Pole. Language and Communication. Topics for discussion: Language, Information, Knowledge and Creative Thinking; Language and Global Economy. Grammar: Punctuation.
8
Unit 7. New Year’s Day around the World. About the world. Vacation. Topics for discussion: Grammar: adjectives and adverbs. Difficult and commonly confused words and phrases.
9
Unit 8. Rice. Food and Health. Topics for discussion: How to Lose Weight; Dieting and Health; Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs, and their Effects on Human Body; Euthanasia. Basic medical terms.
10
Mid-Semester Break.
11
Unit 9. Tourism. Topics for discussion: about traveling. Job Interview (pages: 10-15). Topics for discussion: What to say and what not to say at a job interview? Job Interview Questions and Possible Answers. Work ethics and the importance of effective communication in the Workplace. Topics for discussion - Communication in the Workplace: Phone calls; Meetings; Business Letters; Memos; E-mails. Workplace vocabulary. Commonly confused words and phrases. Case study: Job Interview.
12
Unit 11. The Most Popular Sport. Topics for discussion: about sports and games. Olympic Games. Unit 12. Traffic Jam. Traffic Accidents. Business Writing. Topics for discussion: Business Letter Writing Techniques. Samples of Business Letters. Memo Writing Techniques. Samples of Memos. Written assignment (informal assessment). Grammar: Capitalization.
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Unit 13. Granny Holds up Bank. Conversation questions: about crime.
Unit 14. The Hardest Language. Topics for discussion: about languages and education.
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Unit 15. Color me Pink. Colors and their associations.
Unit 16. What is a Leap Year? Topics for discussion: about time and calendars. Grammar: Prepositions.
15
Unit 17. Advertising and Marketing. Advertising as Communication. Topics for discussion: The Advertising Industry; The Internet and Advertising; The Global Economy and Cross-cultural Communication; Principles of Marketing Management. Case study: How to Advertise a Product? Useful idioms. Grammar: tenses. Written Test 15 (10%).
16
Preparation for examination; explanation of examination requirements; format and content.
17
Final Examination. Assessment: 50%.
18
Final Examination.
English Teaching and Research Resources, Ideas, Careers, Tips and Advice