Objective
The object of this course is to develop students’ conversational competence and public speech
skills by presenting strategies and topics ranging from everyday conversation to formal
presentation. Students will learn to exchange information, make social interaction, and evolve
their teamwork ability. The teacher will encourage students to express their ideas, opinions, and
values through the use of thought-provoking questions.
Required Material
Students will be introduced to a wide variety of contemporary and culturally related topics. By
reading the handouts, students will learn to appreciate English as not only a tool of international
communication, but also as the product of many different cultural backgrounds. We will be using
selections from Speech Communication Made Simple (Third Edition) and Academic Encounters
Listening (Life in Society). One helpful but not required reading material is How to Design And
Deliver Speeches (Eighth Edition). Finally, additional reading material will be introduced to the
class occasionally.
In-class Participation
In class, students will engage in group work, class debates, oral presentations as well as the
requisite question and answer. Students will be given take home assignments and are expected to
come to class adequately prepared for any and all group discussions and activities.
The Talking card is a way to encourage students to speak up and is counted as part of students’
in-class grade. Each student is required to speak up at least once every class meeting; that is, if
students desire to get a perfect score, they need to open up their months during every class
meeting.
Marking Scheme
Class attendance is mandatory and will affect your final grade and students are only allowed to
be absent twice, which means being absent more than twice, students lose 10% of their grades.
Class performance means that students come to class to talk; after all, this class is called
ENGLISH CONVERSATION. About 4-5 in-class activities will be graded and these grades
will be considered part of your Class performance.
Grade policy will be applied when grading any homework. Students will LOSE one letter grade
for everyday late.
The schedule and procedures in this syllabus are subject to change in the event of
extenuating circumstances.
EN308 English Conversation - Advanced
Ms. Shumin Chan
sc0908@gmail.com
Class Outline
Week Topics Homework
9/20 1 Ice Breaking and Rule Setting What is this course about?
9/27 2 What’s it like to be a junior? 90 second talk
10/4 3 NO CLASS
10/11 4 NO CLASS
10/18 5 Speaking to Develop Self-confidence SCMS chap 1
10/25 6 “Old bag” Story of your life with objects
11/1 7 Dress for the Success Interview
11/8 8 Delivering Your Message SCMS chap 2
11/15 9 Controlling Nervousness Reading material
11/22 10 Mid-term Self-promotion (2.5 minutes)
11/29 11 Putting Your Speech Together SCMS chap 3
12/6 12 Demo: TOEFL-iBT Take notes and be ready
12/13 13 English Proficient Exam Intro of all English tests
12/20 14 Speaking to Inform SCMS chap 4
12/27 15 Picture description (demonstrating) Bring 2 pictures
1/3 16 Picture description (Student’s turn) 90 sec individ. Present.
1/10 17 Speaking to Persuade SCMS chap 5
1/17 18 Group Presentation A group of 3 for 10 minutes
The schedule and procedures in this syllabus are subject to change in the event of
extenuating circumstances.