** English Conversation 2 **

Website: www.oocities.org/gpsilver2001

Office: Room 410 (phone:450-3373)

*I will also give you many photocopy hand-outs so get a special folder for my class,
such as a clear file.

**You will also have to get a special notebook for the story journals. See below.

Topics and Activities (Things we will do in class)

- Shawshank Redemption Novella by Stephen King

- Shawshank Redemption on DVD Video

- American Sitcoms: Friends / Everybody Loves Raymond

- Internet Labs / Internet Pair Project

- Values Unit: What are your values?

- Money Unit: Do you love money?

- Travel Destinations

- Literature Short Story and Courtroom Debate: Adultery

- Video Activity: From the film 'Jackie Brown' by Quentin Tarantino

- Alanis Morissette Pop Songs

- Common Expressions (Idioms - Phrasal Verbs - Slang)

Grade:

Attendance Policy: Attendance is very important(It's worth 15%!). Remember that this English class could be your only chance to speak and practice your English. So come to class and have fun using your English. Also, don't be late. Attendance will be graded as follows:

1 absent = -2
2 late = 1 absent(-2)
5 absent = F

Participation Policy: Participation in class is also very important, not only for your grade but also for your English learning. The most important aspect of your participation grade is your use of English in the class. It's very simple, try to speak as much English as you can.

These things will help you get a good participation grade:

- Use of English in the classroom.

- Listens carefully when the teacher or another student is speaking. Does not speak at the same time when the teacher is speaking or when another student is making a presentation.

- Makes an effort during class to listen to the teacher and to their classmates. Does not listen absent-mindedly.

- Tries hard to learn and speak English and is not afraid to make mistakes(remember that mistakes are good and that they function as a sign that you are learning).

- Makes an effort to participate well and actively in pair work and group work(group leader, group notekeeper, group speaker, tries to only speak English).

- Volunteers to be the Group Speaker.

- Encourages and helps other students when they are having difficulty or when they make mistakes.

- Has a positive attitude.

- Uses their creativity.

- Extends(to make longer) conversations during speaking exercises.

** Cell Phones: Turn off your cell phones before coming to class. If I hear a cell phone you will lose -2 points to your participation grade.

Dictionary: I recommend you to have an English-English dictionary for this class. It will be very helpful for a lot of class activities, for the Shawshank journal, and for Glen's website bonus points. You can get a small English-English dictionary at any Korean bookstore. Here are some good English-English dictionaries for learners of English:

- Longman Dictionary of American English
- Longman Active Study Dictionary
- Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
- Collins Cobuild Dictionary

Shawshank Redemption Novella / Notebook Journal: There will be 7 reading assignments from Stephen King's novella 'Shawshank Redemption' that you will read each week beginning in week 2 of the semester(September 6th) and ending in week 11 of the semester(November 6th).
Each week you will also write about topics connected to your reading assignment and about new vocabulary expressions that you learned while reading. Students will then share their journal with other students in class.

Shawshank Redemption Movie on DVD: After week 11 of the semester, we will begin watching the movie version of Shawshank Redemption which is very different from Stephen King's story. We will compare and contrast the story and the movie.

Midterm Exam: The midterm is an oral exam which is done in pairs(Teacher chooses your partner based on friendship AND level). During the midterm you will have a conversation with your partner on a topic that we have already discussed in class. This is why it is so important to participate well during pair and group work in class. I will give you several topics to prepare for before the exam and then when you come to the exam with your partner I will chose one of those topics for you to discuss with your partner.

Internet Pair Project: Soon after the midterm, we will have an internet lab class in which you and a partner(you choose who your partner is) will do research on the internet on a topic that your teacher will give you.

Group Project: Near the end of the semester before final exams, groups of 4-5 students will present a 30-minute project to the class. Remember that the project is important because it is worth 30% of your final grade. You will choose your own groups and you will decide what project you want to do. Later in the semester, I will give you some suggestions on what kind of projects you can do. I will also show you a video of group projects done by my students last semester. There are many possibilities, for example, you could design a movie review TV program, a TV style forum discussion, you could design a survey questionnaire on what foreigners think of Korea and then interviewing them, you could act out scenes from the movie Shawshank Redemption and then have a literary discussion about it, or you could make up your own TV drama, act them out , and have commercials. You are free to decide what you want to do. Anyhow, I will explain in more detail about the project later in the semester.

Glen's Website Bonus Points: Every week or every two weeks I will put one simple activity for you to do on my website(www.oocities.org/gpsilver2001). This is not homework and you do not have to do it. But if you like learning English and want to have fun doing it, then I recommend you visit my website. By doing the activities, you can also get bonus points for your final grade. You can get a maximum of 4% points added to your final grade. For example, if your final grade is 92% and you do a lot of the activities and you do them well, I will add 4% more to your final grade which increases your
grade to 96%(from A- to A). So, if you're interested just follow these four steps:

(1) Go on to the internet
(2) Type in: www.oocities.org/gpsilver2001
(3) Click on 'Student Zone'
(4) Follow the instructions.

Excellent(*)    Very Good(+)    So-So(?)

Office Hours: Please come to my office(room 410) if you ever have any English questions or if you just want to have a pleasant conversation. Don't be shy! You are always welcome. Just make an appointment with me.

Final Comment on Using English: Generally speaking, Korean students have a lot of knowledge about the English language through grammar and vocabulary(often more than native speakers themselves!). The problem however is that they do not know how to use this knowledge in a real speaking situation. This is because they do not have many opportunities to use(speak) English. In my class, I will give you plenty of opportunities to use English through interesting speaking activities. I will create interesting pair and group work activities that will help you to use all of your English knowledge that you have never used before. By using your knowledge you will greatly improve your overall English speaking ability as well as your accuracy of grammar and vocabulary. Therefore, it will be important for you to speak as much English as you can and to minimize your Korean as much as you can.

Finally, I hope that you will try hard to learn English in my class and that you will learn a lot and that you will enjoy yourself. Always remember that learning is power.

~ If you are a senior and think that you will get a job and will be absent for many classes, do not take my class. Remember that 5 absences equals F.

~ This class is designed for English majors at an intermediate to advanced level of English. Students from other majors are welcome but remember that you must be quite good in your English ability.

~ The university has a special grading system.
   A Grade = 30 % of class
   B Grade = 35 % of class
   C Grade = 25 % of class