NCHU Course Outline

Course Name	(中) 英語溝通與表達(0919)
	(Eng.) English Communication and Expression
Offering Dept	Language Center
Course Type	Required	Credits	2	Teacher	Ho, TAI-CHUN
Department	General	Language	English	Semester	2025-FALL
Course Description	With a range of classroom activities and exercises, this one-year course is designed to enhance the English communication skills of first-year NCHU undergraduates. The lecturer will guide participants through a wealth of English learning resources and authentic materials dealing with the following topics: 1) language learning, 2) public speaking and 3) AI. In order to facilitate learning and classroom discussion, students are required to complete listening and reading assignments before coming to class. Every week, participants will have to take quizzes, speak English both in small groups and in front of the class, and engage in a series of tasks. A communicative approach which emphasizes teacher-student interaction is adopted, though attention is also paid to familiarize students with the complex sentence structure and grammar of the English language as well as common English expressions used in a variety of topics and daily life situations.
Prerequisites				self-directed learning in the course	Y

Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%)			Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives
Course Objectives	Competency Indicators	Ratio(%)	Teaching Methods	Assessment Methods
At the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) Speaking: -speak more confidently and fluently about various topics -speak with fewer simple grammar mistakes -develop public speaking and debating skills 2) Reading -improve reading skills -become familiar with different genres of English materials 3) Vocabulary -increase vocabulary, especially vocabulary related to the topics in online English materials and selected readings 4) Grammar -improve usage of already-learned grammar in writing and speaking 5) Listening -improve listening for both main ideas and details on a variety of topics			Exercises Discussion topic Discussion/Production	Attendance Oral Presentation Quiz
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content Week 1 9/9 (M) Meet and Greet Self-Introduction Week 2 9/15 (M) Language Learning Reading Article 1: Holly Young’s ‘Do young people care about learning Languages? Speak about your experience of learning languages Quiz 1: ‘How Quickly Can you Learn English Week 3 9/22(M) Language Learning Reading Article 2: Sarah Johnson’s ‘Learning a language in later life: Are you ever too old’ Speak about the benefits of learning languages Quiz 2: ‘Speak any language instantly’ Week 4 Holiday Week 5 Holiday Week 6 General English Test Week 7 10/20 (M) Language Learning Reading Article 3 ‘How Friends taught the world to speak English – from Jürgen Klopp to Korean pop megastars’ Speak about your experience of learning English through watching TV series Week 8 10/27 (M) Film Watching the 1938 film Pygmalion (available on YouTube with English subtitles) Week 9 11/3 (M) Film Discussion Group Presentation on Pygmalion Week 10 11/10 (M) Public Speaking Reading Article 4 Suzanne Bearne’s ‘How to crush stage flight and become a master in public speaking’ Share your experience of public speaking Quiz 3: Does Punctuation Matter? Week 11 11/17 (M) Public Speaking Reading Article 5 Gaby Hinsliff: ‘How to be Heard Teaching By TA Quiz 4: Learn a thousand foreign words Week 12 11/24 (M) Film Watch the film The King’s Speech Week 13 12/1 (M) Film Discussion Group Presentation on The King’s Speech Week 14 12/8 (M) AI Reading Article 6: ‘Don’t ask what AI can do for us, ask what it is doing to us’: are ChatGPT and co harming human intelligence? Speak about the impact of technology in your daily life Quiz 5: Should We Fear Chatbots? Week 15 12/15(M) AI Reading Article 7 Rachel Hall’s ‘Sliding into an abyss’: experts warn over rising use of AI for mental health support Speak about your experience of using ChatGPT Quiz 6: Can Ai have a mind of its own? Week 16 12/22 (M) AI-related Debate self-directed learning    01.Participation in professional forums, lectures, and corporate sharing sessions related to industry-government-academia-research exchange activities. 5 November, 13:10–15:00 Professor Elly McCausland’s book launch at the NCHU library: Eating and Reading Taylor Swift’s lyrics: Bake it Off and Swifterature https://www.lib.nchu.edu.tw/news_detail.php?Key=383
Evaluation
Grades 30% class participation (based on your speaking frequency) 30% in-class presentations (3-minute talk 5%; group presentations 20%; debate 5%) 15% attendance 25% exams (quizzes 10%; General English Test 10%; English Score 5%) ＞3-minute talk: You will have to give an individual 3-minute speech on any topic of your choice. For each week, 2-3 students will take turns presenting. ＞Group presentation: Group presentations on the film ‘Pygmalion’ and ‘The King’s Speech’ ＞debate: You will have to participate in one debate and help your team win. 30% class participation: A 0-10 scale system is used. 1-4= didn’t speak but attended the classes 5-6= spoke only a few times 7-8= made a few comments 9-10=talked a lot Absences ＞Sickness: If you can’t come to class because you’re sick, please apply for a leave of absence via the university’s online system and attach a document which shows your doctor’s notes or your visit to a clinic or hospital. On the day of a quiz, you will need to show me absent notes approved by the university; otherwise, your absence will be unexcused. ＞Tardiness: You should come to class on time. If you arrive late after I take attendance, you will be marked absent. If you arrive after the quiz is finished, you cannot retake it. ＞Other reasons: Please discuss them with me beforehand.
Textbook & other References
Online English Resources: BBC Six-Minute English and The Guardian
Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website
Worksheets containing reading and discussion questions are available via I-Learning 3
Office Hours
Monday 3:10-5:00 pm (by appointment)
Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs(Link URL)
03.Good Health and Well-Being   04.Quality Education include experience courses：N

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Update Date, year/month/day：2025/10/06 20:54:27	Printed Date, year/month/day：2025 / 10 / 19
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