Boston University CELOP

HOSEI University IT English

4-Week Intensive English Program

Summer 2009

 

Teacher: Michael Feldman, (dowbrigade@gmail.com)

Start Date: Monday, August 17, 2008

End Date: Friday, September 11, 2008

Daily schedule: See WIKI page: http://manta.pbwiki.com/HoseiIT

 

Objectives: This program has several parallel objective which work together to maximize learning of language and culture:

 

1) To improve student's English language levels in all skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. This is accomplished through exercises, discussions, homework, role plays and games.

 

2) To learn American Information Technology vocabulary, terminology and current usage. This is accomplished through directed readings, on-line resources, news and magazine sources, teacher generated materials and selected trips to IT events and agencies.

 

3) To allow students to become familiar with American culture and the Boston metropolitan area. This is accomplished through readings, on-line resources and visits to historical, cultural and national landmarks, museums and educational resources.

 

Field Trips: Each week we will take one or two field trips to a location of interest in the Boston area.  These trips will be integrated to the syllabus and the material covered in class and will be used as the subject of reports, discussions and other activities. The trips will be on Wednesdays and/or Fridays, typically from 2 until 4:30 in the afternoon. In general, students will only need to provide subway fare ($4.00 round-trip or $15 weekly combo).

 

Text: The main textbook is “Oxford English for Information Technology” by Eric Glendinning and John McEwan. Published by Oxford University Press, it will be provided by the program.  Because information technology is changing so fast, we will also be using on-line resources, articles and excerpts from other books.  Copies will be provided as well as purchasing information for those who wish to do so.

 

Afternoon Classes: Students will have directed activities for at least two hours every weekday, from Monday through Friday. On some days this will be a Multimedia Learning Lab session with Mr. Feldman, on some days it will be a field trip to an area of interest in Boston and on some days it will be directed study in the CELOP computer lab.

 

Homework: Each weekday, students will be expected to do roughly one hour of studying in the evenings.  This may consist of worksheets, readings, question sets, assignments to go somewhere, do something or speak to someone, or short writing assignments. Sometimes I will just ask you to pre-review and prepare to discuss a chapter in the book or an article.  How much you understand of the next day’s class, and how much English you learn as a result, will depend on your preparation.  If you don’t do your homework and prepare for classes you are only hurting yourself and your language learning progress.

 

On the other hand, I don’t want any of you staying in your rooms studying all night either!  You will learn much more taking your English knowledge out into the streets and into the community and using it to ask directions, listen to lectures, and talk to people in clubs, restaurants, on buses or in the parks. This is why I estimate that, on average, an hour of studying per night should be enough.

 

 

Weekly Topics and Trips

 

Dates	Info Tech chapters	Language Topics	Field Trip
Week One: Aug. 17-22	1-2-3-4	Verb Tenses Asking good questions	Fenway Park Harvard Square
Week Two: Aug 25-29	7-13-14-18-19	Prepositions Idiomatic expressions	Micro Center Museum of Science
Week Three: Sept. 1-4	22-23-24-25	Modals Agreeing and disagreeing	MIT Boston Waterfront
Week Four: Sept. 7-11	26-27-28-29-30	Dependent Clauses Slang and lingo	Boston Public Library Salem

 

 

 

A note on my teaching methodology: While we will cover all of the English language skills, while you are living in Boston and its English language environment, you should concentrate on your listening and speaking skills. Although it may not be easy or natural for you to speak up, converse and discuss in English, you need to try. Don’t worry about making mistakes; mistakes are how we learn!

 

One of my most important jobs is making it easier and more comfortable for each of you to speak up in class. I will use a variety of techniques to get you to practice your speaking skills.  Sometimes I will ask you to prepare to discuss or present something in class the next day.  Sometimes I will ask individual questions to each member of the class.  And sometimes I will just ask a general question to the group, and wait for anyone who wants to answer.  Please try to communicate in English in each of these different tasks.

 

Evaluation: Students will receive a written report on their language strengths, weaknesses and progress at the end of the course. If their participation merits it, they will also receive a CELOP certificate.