Presentation 4

Dear students,
On January 12th and 19th, 2017, you will have your final presentation. You should speak for at least three minutes about the topic, art. Everybody should be ready to present on the 12th even though we will not be able to listen to all of the talks. The order of the speeches will be random and fixed on this day. Please hand in your vocabulary notes and summaries today, too.
Good luck,
Chris Elvin

Vocabulary test 4

Dear students,
You will be able to access vocabulary test 4 at 9 a.m. on Thursday December 22nd.

Vocabulary Test 4

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

November 10th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will start your mid-term presentations. The topic is Christmas. You should talk for a minimum of three minutes per person. You may be solo or in a group. You will be assessed on fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and content. You should not read your speech. If you do, you will be disqualified.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

November 3rd lesson - Vocabulary test

Dear students,
Today you will start with a 10-point 50-item vocabulary test (provided by 16 students, plus three from the teacher, minus a duplicate). Please click on the link below to start the test.

Vocabulary Test 3

(Available 9:00 a.m, Nov 3rd)

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Vocabulary - study the discussion leader`s words

In order to access the spreadsheet of vocabulary contributed by your fellow classmates, click on the link below:

Discussion Leaders` Vocabulary

Read Discussion Leader Feedback

Learn about how well you did as discussion leader by clicking on the link below:

Discussion Leader Feedback Results

Discussion Feedack and Vocabulary Building Spreadsheet Form

Dear students,
Please use the form below to provide feedback to your discussion leaders.

Discussion Feedback Form

Dear discussion leaders,
Please use the form below to upload your vocabulary.

Vocabulary Building Spreadsheet Form

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

September 29th class

Dear students,

Welcome back to Oral English II. Please read the course outline below.

Oral English II

Spring 2016

Instructor:               Chris Elvin

Email:                    chriselvin@gmail.com

Blog:                     www.elvinoe2.blogspot.com

Course Description 

Welcome to Oral English. This class is designed to accomplish the following:

1) Discuss stories in the news.

2) Keep a vocabulary notebook.

3) Research a topic, and give a group presentation of it.

Course Assessment and Grading Criteria 

a)      20%   Serving as discussion leader

b)      30%   News summary writing

c)       20%   Vocabulary tests

d)      20%   Group presentations

e)      10%   Vocabulary notebook

a) Serving as discussion leader (20)

You should introduce yourself to the others, address the others by name, make eye contact, and use body language to communicate.

Choose a news item from a newspaper, or an online source. Prepare your summary before class. Orally summarize it in class to your group (do not read from notes). Solicit opinions from others about it. Ask follow-up questions. Paraphrase others. Express an opinion in your summary if you wish to do so.

How did you do? Rate yourself using the “assessing discussions” guidelines below.

If you are not group leader, you may still engender a lively talkative group by agreeing, disagreeing, asking opinions, interrupting, clarifying, asking questions, and giving reasons. You are encouraged to do so.

Discussion leader vocabulary homework:

After you have served as group leader, you should upload three vocabulary items to the class vocabulary database via the online form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeE_Y7H8GSrhK-WUmWH7j-Rdb3ZPttAz48ij3AYy8tueX9S3A/viewform

For each word, you should give a meaning (in English or Japanese), and use the word in a sentence, that helps learners to understand its meaning.

Assessing Discussions

After your discussion leader has finished, please provide feedback via the online form:

Discussion Leader Feedback Form

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwfT26bevRNRbXL-O0zv3E8uc8S39qR8B_rurN6PXoNA32Jw/viewform

Explaining

a) Described the main points of the article without reading – 1 point

b) Explained vocabulary when needed, using only English – 1 point

c) Paraphrased partners’ comments accurately – 1 point

        

Questioning

a) Asked partners questions, used their names, and encouraged their participation – 1 point

b) Used follow-up questions and rephrased them as necessary – 1 point

c) Employed questioning to direct the discussion and to clarify points – 1 point

        

Non-verbally Communicating

a) Frequent, natural eye contact – 1 point

b) Appropriate, helpful gestures – 1 point

c) Good posture and sensitivity to the body language of other group members – 1 point

b) News summary writing portfolio (30)

After every lesson you should summarize one of the day’s six discussion topics. (who, what, where, when, why, how). Write about the others’ opinions, too. Conclude with your opinion. Each summary writing exercise should be about 150 words. At the end of the semester, hand in your eight summary portfolio.

c) Vocabulary tests (20)

There will be two online vocabulary tests based on all of the words that you uploaded to the database as discussion group leaders. One will be mid-term, and the other at the end of the semester.

d) Presentations (20)

There will be a mid-term presentation and a final presentation, both of which will need preparation before you speak. Research a topic. Then deliver your presentation. You will be assessed on fluency (not reading), grammar range and accuracy, vocabulary, pronunciation and content. You should speak for at least three minutes, and you should not read your speech nor bring a script.

e) Vocabulary notebook (10)

Keep a vocabulary notebook of new words that you learned in class. Write their definitions in either English, or Japanese, or both. Use your words in a sentence to demonstrate your active knowledge of them. You should add at least ten words per week to your notebook. If you did not learn as many as ten new words per class, you may use the class vocabulary database words to make up the difference. Your notebook is personal, so it should not just be a copy paste of the spreadsheet; It should show your endeavor to learn new words.

Schedule 

You will normally have six discussions per class led by the discussion group leaders, who will rotate from group to group. Your group members will be chosen at random by the teacher. After the discussions, there will be time for summary writing, vocabulary notebooks, or studying the words in the database.

Week 1: Orientation: Watch a video of student discussions

Week 2: Group discussion 1

Week 3: Group discussion 2

Week 4: Group discussion 3

Week 5: Group discussion 4

Week 6: Group discussion 5, online vocabulary test

Week 7: Mid-term presentations preparation, start mid-term presentations

Week 8: Mid-term presentations

Week 9: Group discussion 1

Week 10: Group discussion 2

Week 11: Group discussion 3

Week 12: Group discussion 4

Week 13: Group discussion 5, online vocabulary test

Week 14: Hand in vocabulary notebooks, discussion summaries portfolio, start final presentations

Week 15 Final presentations

Anything else?

Why not visit the chat room? It is a great way to practice English.

http://web.iec.aoyama.ac.jp/chat/index.html

Aoyama Gakuin University Attendance Policy

Your absences may affect your final grade.

There is a grade ceiling policy depending on the absences you have from class.

Between zero and three absences per year: no effect

Four or five absences per year: maximum grade; A

Six or seven absences per year: maximum grade; B

Eight or nine absences per year: maximum grade; C

Ten absences per year: automatic failure.    

These ceilings should not be interpreted that all students may be absent from class up to three times, nor that weak students may be absent from class more than strong students. (Weak students need to come to class at least as much as strong students). Your teacher expects you to attend ALL classes.

Kind regards,

Chris Elvin

Download Course Outline

Oral Presentations

Dear students,
Congratulations on completing the first semester. Most of you did very well!
This is a brief note about next semester`s oral presentations. I have decided that you may not bring a script when delivering your speeches. This is to encourage fluency.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Vocabulary Test 2

Dear students,
Here is your vocabulary test.

Vocabulary Test 2

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

July 7th lesson

Dear students,
Today is your last group discussion for the semester. After the last discussion today,  please prepare your presentation with your group. Again, you will be assessed on fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and content, and you should speak for at least three minutes, but no more than five (10 points).
On the 14th of July, you will have an online vocabulary matching test - a random selection of twenty key words in the spreadsheet (10 points). You should also hand in your vocabulary notebooks (10 points), and discussion summaries (30 points). If you attended ten lessons of which there was a group discussion, you should hand in eight summaries.
(The other 40 points are: 10 for the mid-term vocabulary test, 10 for the mid-term presentation, and 10 for each time you were group leader).
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Discussion Leader Feedback Form

Dear students,
There is now a discussion leader form that I would like you to fill in after each discussion leader has finished. I hope that your feedback will make discussion leaders improve, so your participation is desired.


Discussion Leader Feedback Form


Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Oral English Homework - Vocabulary Form

Dear students,
Your homework is as usual.
1) If you are group leader, upload your words to the spreadsheet.

Vocabulary Form

2) Write a summary of one of the leader`s topics.
3) Write new words in your vocabulary notebook.
4) Study the vocabulary in the spreadsheet.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

June 9th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your usual group presentation lesson. If you are a group leader, try to speak with your group without relying too much on a text. (The purpose of our lesson is ultimately to improve fluency so that you can use English outside of the classroom!)
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

June 2nd lesson

Dear students,
Today is your mid-term test. You should speak for at least three minutes per person, and you will be assessed on fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and content. Each category is worth two points, for a total of ten. Most people will earn one point for each category, so the average score will be about five out of ten points for the class.
Good luck!
Chris Elvin

May 26th class

Dear students,
Today you will prepare for your presentation. If there are some groups who want to present today, you may do so. Otherwise you will present the following week on June 2nd.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin
P.S. You all did well on the test. The average score was 19.15 and the lowest score was 18.

Mid-term Vocabulary Test

Dear students,
When your teacher tells you, you may click on the link below and start the vocabulary test.

Mid-term Vocabulary Test

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

May 19th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will finish the first round of group discussions. After that you will have an online 10-point vocabulary test based on the words in the database that you created. There will be twenty questions of twenty definitions, and you should choose the answer, a word, from a drop-down list of the same fifty words for each question. (Your browser or phone may not necessarily support drop-down menus, but you should still be able to answer the questions).
After the test, you may prepare your mid-term presentation. You should be ready to talk for at least three minutes per person, and your light, show and tell speech will be assessed for content, fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
The groups are as follows:
9 10 14
26 19 25 28
22 23 12
8 18 2 5
17 21 4
11 1 16 13
20 15 6
27 3 24 7

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

New Course Outline (vocabulary notebooks, and attendance policy)

Oral English II

Spring 2016

Instructor:               Chris Elvin

Email:                    chriselvin@gmail.com

Blog:                     www.elvinoe2.blogspot.com

Course Description

Welcome to Oral English. This class is designed to accomplish the following:

1) Discuss stories in the news.

2) Keep a vocabulary notebook.

3) Research a topic, and give a group presentation of it.

Course Assessment and Grading Criteria

a)        20%     Serving as discussion leader

b)        30%     News summary writing

b)        10%     Vocabulary notebook

d)        20%     Group presentations

e)        20%     Vocabulary final test

a) Serving as discussion leader (20)

You should introduce yourself to the others, address the others by name, make eye contact, and use body language to communicate.

Choose a news item from a newspaper, or an online source. Prepare your summary before class. Orally summarize it in class to your group (do not read from notes). Solicit opinions from others about it. Ask follow-up questions. Paraphrase others. Express an opinion in your summary if you wish to do so.

How did you do? Rate yourself using the “assessing discussions” guidelines below.

If you are not group leader, you may still engender a lively talkative group by agreeing, disagreeing, asking opinions, interrupting, clarifying, asking questions, and giving reasons. You are encouraged to do so.

Discussion leader homework:

After you have served as group leader, you should upload three vocabulary items to the class vocabulary database, which you may access from the blog (April 3^rd, 2016 entry). For each word, you should give a meaning (in English or Japanese), and use the word in a sentence, that helps learners to understand its meaning.

b) News summary writing (30)

After every lesson you should summarize one of the day’s six discussion topics. (who, what, where, when, why, how). Write about the others’ opinions, too. Conclude with your opinion. Each summary writing exercise should be about 150 words.

c) Vocabulary notebook (10)

Keep a vocabulary notebook of new words that you learned in class. Write their definitions in either English, or Japanese, or both. Use your words in a sentence to demonstrate your active knowledge of them. You should add at least ten words per week to your notebook. If you did not learn as many as ten new words per class, you should use the database words to make up the difference. Write the database words in a sentence to demonstrate you understand of their meaning.

d) Group presentations (20)

There will be a mid-term presentation and a final presentation, both of which will need some preparation time inside and outside of class. Research a topic with your group. Then deliver your presentation. You will be assessed on fluency (not reading), grammar range and accuracy, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

e) Vocabulary final test (20)

At the end of the semester, there will be an online vocabulary test based on all of the words that you uploaded to the database as discussion group leaders. (You may access the database for study from the April 3^rd blog entry, or by clicking the green spreadsheet icon on the original Google form).

Attendance Policy

You are expected to attend ALL classes.

A typical lesson plan

If all goes, well, you will have six discussions per class led by the discussion group leaders, who will rotate from group to group. Your group members will be chosen at random by the teacher. After the discussions, there will be time for summary writing, vocabulary notebooks, or studying the words in the database.

If the class needs an extra activity, I will upload something to the blog for you to download. Hopefully, this will not be necessary.

Anything else?

Why not visit the chat room? It is a great way to practice English.

http://web.iec.aoyama.ac.jp/chat/index.html

Assessing Discussions

Circle any of the nine pass criteria below. Score one point for each pass mark circled (maximum nine points). How many marks did you award yourself?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Explaining

Pass    a) Described the main points of the article without reading

Pass    b) Explained vocabulary when needed, using only English

Pass    c) Paraphrased partners’ comments accurately

Fail      I read the article aloud. (zero points for this category)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

          

Questioning

Pass    a) Asked partners questions, used their names, and encouraged their                               participation

Pass    b) Used follow-up questions and rephrased them as necessary

Pass    c) Employed questioning to direct the discussion and to clarify points

Fail      I read the questions aloud. (zero points for this category)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

          

Non-verbally Communicating

Pass    a) Frequent, natural eye contact

Pass    b) Appropriate, helpful gestures

Pass    c) Good posture and sensitivity to the body language of other group members

Fail      I made no eye contact, nor gestures. (zero points for this category)

Aoyama Gakuin University Attendance Policy

Your absences may affect your final grade. There is a ceiling depending on the absences you have from class.

Between zero and three absences per year: no effect

Four or five absences per year: maximum grade; A

Six or seven absences per year: maximum grade; B

Eight or nine absences per year: maximum grade; C

Ten absences per year: automatic failure.    

Download new course outline  

Course Outline

Dear students,

Here is your course outline:

Oral English II

Spring 2016

Instructor:               Chris Elvin

Email:                    chriselvin@gmail.com

Blog:                     www.elvinoe2.blogspot.com

Course Description

Welcome to Oral English. This class is designed to accomplish the following:

1) Discuss stories in the news.

2) Keep a vocabulary notebook.

3) Research a topic, and give a group presentation of it.

Course Assessment and Grading Criteria

a)        20%     Serving as discussion leader

b)        30%     News summary writing

b)        10%     Vocabulary notebook

d)        20%     Group presentations

e)        20%     Vocabulary final test

a) Serving as discussion leader (20)

You should introduce yourself to the others, address the others by name, make eye contact, and use body language to communicate.

Choose a news item from a newspaper, or an online source. Prepare your summary before class. Orally summarize it in class to your group (do not read from notes). Solicit opinions from others about it. Ask follow-up questions. Paraphrase others. Express an opinion in your summary if you wish to do so.

How did you do? Rate yourself using the “assessing discussions” guidelines below.

If you are not group leader, you may still engender a lively talkative group by agreeing, disagreeing, asking opinions, interrupting, clarifying, asking questions, and giving reasons. You are encouraged to do so.

Discussion leader homework:

After you have served as group leader, you should upload three vocabulary items to the class vocabulary database, which you may access from the blog (April 3^rd, 2016 entry). For each word, you should give a meaning (in English or Japanese), and use the word in a sentence, that helps learners to understand its meaning.

b) News summary writing (30)

After every lesson you should summarize one of the day’s six discussion topics. (who, what, where, when, why, how). Write about the others’ opinions, too. Conclude with your opinion. Each summary writing exercise should be about 150 words.

c) Vocabulary notebook (10)

Keep a vocabulary notebook of new words that you learned in class. Write their definitions in either English, or Japanese, or both. Use the word in a sentence to demonstrate your active knowledge.

d) Group presentations (20)

There will be a mid-term presentation and a final presentation, both of which will need some preparation time inside and outside of class. Research a topic with your group. Then deliver your presentation. You will be assessed on fluency (not reading), grammar range and accuracy, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

e) Vocabulary final test (20)

At the end of the semester, there will be an online vocabulary test based on all of the words that you uploaded to the database as discussion group leaders. (You may access the database for study from the April 3^rd blog entry, or by clicking the green spreadsheet icon on the original Google form).

Attendance Policy

You are expected to attend ALL classes.

A typical lesson plan

If all goes, well, you will have six discussions per class led by the discussion group leaders, who will rotate from group to group. Your group members will be chosen at random by the teacher. After the discussions, there will be time for summary writing, vocabulary notebooks, or studying the words in the database.

If the class needs an extra activity, I will upload something to the blog for you to download. Hopefully, this will not be necessary.

Anything else?

Why not visit the chat room? It is a great way to practice English.

http://web.iec.aoyama.ac.jp/chat/index.html

Assessing Discussions

Circle any of the nine pass criteria below. Score one point for each pass mark circled (maximum nine points). How many marks did you award yourself?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Explaining

Pass    a) Described the main points of the article without reading

Pass    b) Explained vocabulary when needed, using only English

Pass    c) Paraphrased partners’ comments accurately

Fail      I read the article aloud. (zero points for this category)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

          

Questioning

Pass    a) Asked partners questions, used their names, and encouraged their                               participation

Pass    b) Used follow-up questions and rephrased them as necessary

Pass    c) Employed questioning to direct the discussion and to clarify points

Fail      I read the questions aloud. (zero points for this category)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

          

Non-verbally Communicating

Pass    a) Frequent, natural eye contact

Pass    b) Appropriate, helpful gestures

Pass    c) Good posture and sensitivity to the body language of other group members

Fail      I made no eye contact, nor gestures. (zero points for this category)

Download Course Outline