This class will provide preparation and practice for the use of English-language skills in both academic and real-life contexts and situations. The ultimate goal of this class is to increase communication ability—both in speaking and writing, but to reach that goal, students need to want to improve, and should be motivated in pursuing every opportunity for learning. Speaking and listening are the most needed parts of language learning for Taiwanese students, so in this class, students will be expected to speak informally (in English!) to each-other and to their teacher every class meeting; formal presentations, to the entire class, as well as in smaller groups, are also required. Moreover, your instructor will only speak English to you, so it is important that you understand what he is saying, and that you ask questions when you do not understand.
The major academic focus of this course will be on composition. Students will compose well-developed, structured, informal, collegiate-level essays. Specific emphasis will be placed on understanding the writing process; paragraph and sentence building; and grammatical correctness. Thus, reading will also play a vital part of this endeavor, and students will be asked to read articles and build their vocabulary in-class and for homework every week. Class readings have been specifically chosen by your instructor to encourage class discussion and lead into writing assignments.