What did you think of Academic Skills?

What did you like and not like about the course?
Do you have any suggestions to make it better?

Summary and Reaction

Write your summary and reaction to the movie here please:

Your summary may be in bullet point form or a paragraph, and it should include most or all of the elements below:

setting
characters
mood
point of view
plot
conflict
climax
symbols
irony
theme

Your second paragraph should be your opinion about the movie.

June 30th lesson

Dear students,
Thank you for your contributions in class and to the blog.
We didn't have time to discuss what we will do today, but there is not much time. One lesson will be your final test, and you will also need to hand in your listening portfolios soon.
Today, you will either start a new topic from the textbook, or another TED talks, or if you prefer, you could watch a movie and write a summary and reaction to it. If you bring a DVD which you think is suitable to watch and listen to in English, please do.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

How movies teach manliness - TED Talks

What did you think of today`s presentation? The Bechdel test? Are modern movies really so bad?
Post your comments below please.

June 23rd lesson

Dear students,
Today you will do the quiz at the end of the unit on Shakespeare. After that you will listen to a TED Talks lecture that you will choose in class. Please add your notes, question and answer and summary to your portfolio.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Shakespeare summaries

Post your summaries and comments here please:

June 9th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will start the unit on multiculturalism in Canada.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Correction:
Dear students,
I don't have access to the new units of the course, so could you please choose between unit 3 or 4 today?
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

June 2nd lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have a mid-term test prepared by the Univeristy. It is worth 20 points.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Education - May 26th

How was today`s TED Talk? Post your comments below please.

May 26th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will listen to a TED talks that you will choose together as a class. The worksheet that you will need is here:
http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/as/in-class.pdf
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

May 19th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will start learning about world Englishes.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

May 12th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will listen to a lecture, make notes, answer questions and write a summary. After that you may work on your portfolio.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

April 28th class

Dear students,
Today you will listen to a lecture, make notes, listen and write down the questions you hear, and finally write a brief summary. This exercise is similar to what you should be doing for your portfolio except that there is no visual component; just an audio file.
After that you will start learnig about world Englishes or carrry on with your portfolio. Please download and bring the file below to class.
http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/as/World_Englishes.pdf
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

How was Hall`s classification of culture unit?

Write your comments below here, please. (click on the comment box and type your opinion).

April 21st lesson

Dear students,
Today you will carry on with Hall`s classification of culture, and if there is time work on your listening portfolio,
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

April 14th Class

Dear students,
Today we will study Hall`s classification of cultures. Please download the print and bring it to class.
http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/as/Hall's_Classification_of_Cultures.pdf
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

academic skills textbook

http://www.cl.aoyama.ac.jp/~dias/pdfs/Academic%20Skills%202012.pdf

Listening homework portfolio template

Dear students,
You may download and print a copy of your homework portfolio template here:

http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/as/portfolio.pdf

Kind regards,
Chirs Elvin

Welcome to Academic Skills - Spring 2015

Academic Skills

Spring 2015

Instructor:             Chris Elvin

blog:                     http://ascelvin.blogspot.jp

Course Description

Welcome to Academic Skills. The class goals are;

To participate in seminars in their junior and senior years.

To have further practice in the four English skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

To learn how to make good notes.

To classify certain types of questions such as cause/ effect, comparison/contrast, definition and illustration.

To give opinions and evaluate other opinions.

To study literature, linguistics and communication.

Course Assessment and Grading Criteria

a)        50%     extensive listening portfolio

b)        25%     mid-term lecture listening quiz

c)        25%     final lecture listening quiz

Attendance: You are expected to attend ALL classes. Your first two absences will be penalized by one drop in grade. Your third and fourth absences will be penalized by subsequent drops in grade. If you are absent five times, you will fail the course.

Listening homework portfolio: You are required to keep a record of listening activities that you do outside class. These activities should take up 20 hours or more of your listening time. You may listen to the news, documentaries or songs. You may watch movies, or presentations on TED, for example. What you do is up to you, but you should make sure to keep a record of what you do. Your portfolio should include notes, summaries, vocabulary items, and personal comments, and you should hand this in to your teacher at least one week before the end of the semester.

Mid-term quiz: This challenging lecture listening quiz is worth 25 points.

Final quiz: Your final quiz will take place during the last lesson of the semester. It is also worth 25 points.

Good luck!