Welcome to English Core II-A, which to me is much clearer as simply "Speaking & Listening II" or something similar. This is an integrated-skills offering in which students will engage in and with the four basic skills of language acquisition. Using a series of topics from our textbook, we will explore various modes of expression, including oral presentations and debate. This course will focus on language useful in university contexts. This is a 15-week course offered by the Department of Science and Engineering during Spring, 2020.

The principal focus of this course is on enhancing English that students can and hopefully will use in university contexts. In addition to some reading, writing, and listening, this course will include many speaking opportunities, in which students are expected to actively engage.

Class material will be provided by the instructor and will also be available online. Students are encouraged to bring any electronic devices they feel might be helpful, including by not limited to e-dictionaries, smart phones, and personal computers.

Should you so desire, here is our syllabus.

 Week 1 (May 4, 2020) — Class introduction; e-mail basics 

Good day, everyone, and thank you for enrolling in this course. We will endeavor, as you certainly know, to expand your knowledge of skills necessary to function in English both in your university context(s) and in the wider world.

One important step is for me to invite everyone to our shared Google document. To do so, you will need to send me a polite e-mail and ask me to invite you; this, of course, means your first step is to create such an e-mail.

Obviously, one important facet of functioning in any language is sufficient vocabulary knowledge. In our class you will encounter some new lexis (i.e., vocabulary), and I expect you to make a concerted, systematic effort to acquire those new words and phrases. More specifically, I expect you to create an online vocabulary page using Google Drive; all students are required to do so, and you will add at least five new words or phrases each and every week.

 Homework: 

 Week 2 (May 11, 2020) — Treasures from the Past, Part 1 

Today we will begin with time for taking care of any problems with our class Word Bank. In addition, I will explain the AWL column and the synonym column, both of which you have certainly been wondering about.

Our second task today is to chat briefly about the e-learning components of our class. As you are aware, e-learning constitutes 10% of your final grade, so please be careful to do it. In addition, you may (and can) participate in the Aoyama Chat Room (video), which will earn you two bonus points per visit. Well worth your time, everyone!

Next, I would like to introduce and practice using the Breakout Rooms function in Zoom. This is a very useful function that allows you to interact with a small group of your classmates.

Today we will begin our unit about treasures of the past, which we will understand to mean artifacts (or artefacts if you prefer the latter spelling). In your textbook you'll find this unit on pages 41-67.

 Homework & Class Material: 

 Week 3 (May 18, 2020) — Treasures from the Past, Part 2 

 Homework & Class Material: 

 Week 4 (May 25, 2020) — Treasures from the Past, Part 3 

Today, Gentle Students, we will finish our examination of things past.

 Homework & Class Material: 

 Week 5 (June 1, 2020) — Food, Part 1 

In this class we will venture into the world of food, which is of crucial importance to us all. Of course, we here in Japan have access to a variety and quality of food that was unimaginable some scant 100 years ago, but I fear that we often take this for granted. Let us consider where our food originates, some challenges we face, and possible solutions to those challenges.

We'll begin with this video from National Geographic titled From Farm to Table . As is true of all National Geographic work, the photography is superb.

 Class Material & Homework: 

 Week 6 (June 8, 2020) — Food, Part 2 

Today we will continue our discussion about food, glorious food.

 Class Material & Homework: 

 Week 7 (June 15, 2020) — Midterm Exam 

Today, my minions, groups of four students will be meeting with me for a grand total of 14 minutes. Each person will spend 2.5 minutes introducing and discussing a topic (of your choosing, but somehow related to food), after which you will interact with me. That means, of course, you will have questions prepared (all of you will do so!). Finally, you only need to be in class for about 20 minutes.

 Week 8 (June 22, 2020) — Food, Part 3: Slow Food, etc. 

Good afternoon, everyone. Today we will glance at a couple of food-related topics. The first is the wonderfully-named Slow Food movement, which began in Italy and has spread around the world. The second is the organic food movement, which has spread at a somewhat slower rate because of the various hurdles that have had to be overcome. Nonetheless, the popularity of organic food has continued to rise.

Food aid: Related to our food discussion is the ongoing issue of food aid to those in need. The challenge of feeding all seven billion of us — quite a task. In another TED Talk video, you'll hear Bill Pritchard speak about the reality of food aid and how it is not at all a simple problem with a correspondingly simple solution .

You would do well to be familiar with some of the major organizations that work to address this problem. Even a cursory search will turn up quite a few, many of which have a religious affiliation of some nature. Among them you will find such groups as

When I was in college some one hundred years ago, it became something of a common occurrence to hold a charity event (often a concert) and request that audience members provide a donation of food. Although it antedated you by a few years, you likely are familiar with "We Are The World" from 1985.

You might also devote a bit of time to what is known as donor fatigue, which occurs when donors (or potential donors are repeatedly inundated by requests for donations.

 Class Material & Homework: 

 Week 9 (June 29, 2020) — Space, Part 1 

As you'll recall from my introduction a couple weeks ago, I have a BS in physics and a lifelong interest in science. Why? Well, Good People, the answer lies in the Apollo Project, which is ancient history for many but was a most important part of my childhood. My interest in science began there, and it has not abated. The image to the right, you ask? That is the lunar lander, the Eagle, on the surface of the moon in 1972.

A fine place to spend some time is on the NASA website. There you'll find information about the latest projects, the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, and a host of other things.

Of course, here in Japan we have JAXA, which is home to the JAXA website; please have a good look.

 Homework: 

Weeks 10 (July 6, 2020) —  Space, Part 2 

Recently Professor Stephen Hawking suggested that humans will have to another planet to ensure the survival of our species. In this article featured at Futurism.com, he argues that we have a 600-year time limit to do so.

One of the possibilities is, of course, our next-door neighbor, Mars. As we've seen in our text (p. 129) that would require changing Mars' atmosphere quite a bit, but then we have the technology to do so. To help you imagine such a scenario, here is a National Geographic video titled Terraforming Mars.

Consider visiting the website of the Dark Skies Initiative, which is an effort by the McDonald Boservatory to promote awareness of light pollution and simple solutions thereto. Here you'll find an interesting video about preserving dark skies, which is somewhat difficult to envision while living here in the Kanto area.

We would be remiss if we did not mention the spunky little Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which explored Mars for six and 14 years, respectively. The original plan was 90 Martian days ('sols'), but the two rovers continued on for many years. Below you will find an excellent video on Spirit and Opportunity.

Class Material & Homework:

Weeks 11 (July 13, 2020) —  Space, Part 3 

Today we will be enjoying class even though it is Ocean Day.

Please note that you will use the same format as you did for the earlier report. Thus, your report will include a title page plus the body of your report, which means you will have at least three pages.

Class Material & Homework:

 Week 12 (July 20, 2020) —  Communication, Part 1 

Today we will spend our classtime looking at Chapter 10, Communication. We are, Good People, blessed with the ability to indulge in complex social interaction, both in oral and written form. These are both symbolic, of course, about which I will have a few thoughts to offer you.

As you will see in our textbook, one facet of communication is, of course, the written form. Not all languages have this, but many do, and I encourage you to explore some. One of my favorites is the Nunavut script, which you can see in the image to the right and on the Nunavut government webpage.

A second thought for you all is how we write. Consider for a moment, please, how much you write with a computer vs. how much you write by hand. For me, that ratio is heavily skewed toward writing on a computer, which comprises something like 98% of all writing that I do now. Years ago I had very nice handwriting, but that is no longer the case. However, there is one young man with exquisite handwriting, as you'll see in this video of Jake Weidmann.

More Communication Links:

 Week 13 (July 27, 2020) — Communication, Part 2 

For your final oral exam, a group of five students will meet with me for 15 minutes. prepare a well-organized, well-supported response to one of the four questions presented in class. These questions correspond to the four themes we have examined this term.

Follow this link to tell me your topic, please.

 Week 14 (August 3, 2020) — Communication, Part 3 

This morning, folks, I'd like to read a bit about and then discuss languages in our modern world. More specifically, we will consider the future of English with this reading on world languages, which is courtesy of National Geographic.

 Week 15 (August 10) — Final Evaluation (Consultation with Dr. Elwood) 

Groups of about five students will meet with me for 15 minutes. Each person will speak for 2-3 minutes; please prepare a question for me as well. You only need to come to class at your assigned time.