NCHU Course Outline
Course Name (中) 大一英文(0920)
(Eng.) Freshman English
Offering Dept Language Center
Course Type Required Credits 2 Teacher Ho, TAI-CHUN
Department General Language English Semester 2025-SPRING
Course Description With a wide range of classroom activities and exercises, this one-year course is designed to enhance the English skills and proficiency 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) The Art of Public Speaking 2) Travel 3) Environmental Pollution 4) New Media and 5) Food.

In order to facilitate learning and classroom discussion, students are required to complete listening and reading assignments before coming to class. Every week, they will have to take quizzes, speak English both in small groups and in front of the class, and engage in a series of writing 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
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
6) Writing -learn to describe their daily life, events and stories in short paragraphs
1.
2.
3.
4.
50
30
10
10
Lecturing
Discussion
Exercises
topic Discussion/Production
Quiz
Assignment
Attendance
Written Presentation
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content
Week 1 Meet and Greet
17/2 (M)
Introduction
What I did during the Winter Break

Week 2 24/2 (M) Public Speaking
Reading Article 1
Suzanne Bearne’s ‘How to crush stage flight and become a master in public speaking’
In-class activity:
Speak about your experience of public speaking
Quiz 1
Does Punctuation Matter?

Week 3 3/3(M) Public Speaking
Reading Article 2
Gaby Hinsliff: ‘How to be Heard
In-class activity: debate
Quiz 2
Learn a thousand foreign words
Week 4 10/3 (M) Public Speaking
Watch the film The King’s Speech
Week 5 17/3 (M) Film Discussion
Group Presentation on The King’s Speech
Week 6 24/3 (M) Travel
Reading Article 3
Ted Talk: Pico Iyer’s ‘Where is home?’
In-class activity:
Speak about your experience of traveling
Quiz 3: Should tourists go to Antarctica?
Week 7 31/3 (M)Holiday
Week 8 7/4 (M)Environmental Pollution
Reading Article 4
Paul Bogard’s ‘Let there be Dark’
In-class activity:
Speak about issues of environmental pollution
Quiz 4: Is there more of the world to explore?
Week 9 14/4 (M) Mid-Term Exam

Week 10 21/4 (M) Freshman English Exam
Week 11 28/4 (M) New Media
Review of Mid-Term Exam
Reading Article 5
‘The price of shame’ by Monica Lewinsky
In-class Activity:
Speak about cyber bullying
Quiz 5:‘The fame game’

Week 12 5/5 (W) New Media
Teaching by TA
Reading Article 5
‘The price of shame’ by Monica Lewinsky
Quiz 6: ‘Bullying or normal competition’
Week 13 12/5 (M) Food
Reading Article 6
Tom Parker Bowles’ ‘How Taiwan Became The Hottest Food Destination On Earth’ (2015)
In-class Activity:
Speak about Food
Quiz 7: ‘Brazilian Food’
Week 14 19/5(W)Food
Reading Article 6
Tom Parker Bowles’ ‘How Taiwan Became The Hottest Food Destination On Earth’ (2015)
Quiz 8: ‘Cycling for Food’
Week 15 26/5(M)Food
Reading Article 7
Tedtalk: Jamie Oliver’s ‘Teach Every Child About Food’

Week 16 2/6(M) Final Exam

Week 17 6/6(M) Self-Learning
Submit a 150-word written response to the film The King’s Speech by 13/6
Week 18 13/6(M) Self-Learning
Evaluation
Grades:

40% participation (3 minute-talk 5%; group presentations 10%;
class participation 15%; attendance 10% )
60% exams (quizzes 10%; Midterm 25%; Final 25%)


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: 2 group presentations on the film ‘Pygmalion’ and selected readings.
Class participation: I will give points based on your speaking frequency during the in-class activities

0-15 scale system is used.
0= didn’t speak 1-5= spoke only a few times
6-10= made a few comments 12-15=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. You will need to show me absent notes approved by the university on the day of a quiz or test; otherwise, your absence will be unexcused. Each class absence will drop 1 point off your final grade.
>Tardiness: You should come to class on time. If you arrive late after I take attendance, you will be marked absent.
>Other reasons: Please discuss them with me beforehand.

Textbook & other References

Selected Readings (See the details of the programme above)
Online English Resources:

BBC Six-Minute English; Learning English with News Report; Ted talks
Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website
Worksheets containing reading and discussion questions are available via I-Learning
Office Hours
Monday 3:10-5:00 pm (by appointment)
Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs
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Update Date, year/month/day:2025/02/14 09:33:14 Printed Date, year/month/day:2025 / 2 / 16
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