This course is aimed at helping students to become successful users of English. Apart from listening and speaking practice, we will have close reading of literature. Denotations and connotations as well as issues such as gender, race, and class raised by the texts will be discussed in class for an in-depth understanding of both the language and the content. After each reading, questions will be given in class for group discussion and oral presentations. For this semester, we will study a play by August Strindberg, an editorial from The Guardian, and essays by Joyce Maynard, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Nicholas Wroe, Cheryl Lu-lien Tan, William Tsutsui, Anna Mitchell and Larry Diamond. Students are also required to give drama presentation in English at the end of the semester.