January 9th and 23rd lesson

Dear students,
On either January 9th and 23rd you will deliver a five-minute speech to your audience. Please choose your topic from;

a) history
b) travel
c) technology

You will be assessed on attitude, content, delivery, fluency, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. You should also give feedback to your classmates using the form below. Try to average at about seven points per category per person. Please be fair and honest and refrain from giving only 10s to everyone!

Peer Presentation Feedback Form

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin
PS. Everybody should be prepared to give their speech on January 9th even if it is not possible for everyone to finish that day.

December 19th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your last discussion of the year.

Attendance

Discussion Leader Feedback

How was today?

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

December 12th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your fourth of five discussions, round four of four.

Attendance

Discussion Leader Feedback

How was today?

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

December 5th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your third discussion of round four.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

November 28th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have another round of discussions.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

November 21st lesson

Dear students,
There were some very good presentations in the last couple of weeks, so well done all those who took time to research, write, and memorize their speeches.
Today we will start a new round of discussions. As usual, you should sign in when you arrive, give honest, accurate, and consistent feedback to discussion leaders, and end the lesson by filling out the reflection form, how was your day?

Attendance

Discussion Leader Feedback

How was today?

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

November 14th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have more five-minute presentations about health, and then you will decide your final discussion leader schedule for the next five weeks.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Peer Presentation Feedback Form

November 7th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will deliver a five-minute speech about health. Everyone should be ready on the first day as the order of the speeches will be randomized. Your peers will give feedback to you, so those who are giving feedback should be honest, fair, and consistent. If a presenter reads, then it will be difficult to assess fluency, vocabulary, or grammar.

Peer Presentation Feedback Form

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

October 31st lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have the last of your five discussions before your presentation mid-term assignment.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

October 24th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your fourth discussion of the semester.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

October 17th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your third discussion of the semester.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin
P.S. Some of you are giving twenty points to any discussion leader. This is neither true nor helpful. Please be fair and honest; otherwise your feedback is meaningless.

October 10th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your second discussion.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

October 3rd lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have five discussions of sixteen minutes each. Please make sure that I know who you are by placing a name card in front of you or wearing an ID that I can easily read.
Kind regards,

Attendance

Discussion Leader Feedback

How was today?

Chris Elvin
PS. Remember to sign in.

Reflection Comments

Dear students,
Thank you for your thoughtful opinions. I think most of you want to improve your English, which is great, and I will change things again after reading your comments.

Two people didn't write any reflection at all. For the record, one of these people copy-pasted her summary from the Internet for the very first assignment in April and then tried to send me elsewhere with a fake URL. The other skipped the first two lessons in April for whatever reason, wanted an extension to the deadline of the vocabulary test, and wrote the 何度も涙を流した大げさ message to Academic Affairs in July. Why didn't you write anything today?

My plan for this semester is this: You should come to class and want to speak English as much as possible. Your score will be attendance * effort * ability. For example 10 for attendance, 8 for effort, and 7 for ability will yield 56 points and will fail. Nobody will fail unreasonably. You can control your attendance and I will judge your effort and ability.

This semester your grades will be based solely on performance in class. There will be no summary writing and no vocabulary test; only talking.  Consequently, group discussions will last for sixteen minutes, five times per class. There will still be presentation time but it won't be assessed by the teacher. Instead, students will provide numerical and written feedback.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

September 26th lesson

Dear students,
Welcome back to class. First of all, please sign in as usual.

Attendance

There have been some changes to the class procedure since last semester as a result of feedback and reflection from the first semester. I would like you to know about these changes.

Vocabulary Test
This test will now be a ten minute test. The purpose of the change is that it should not take you any longer than ten minutes to finish anyway, and a longer test only allows the possibility that a student may try to cheat by accessing the answers on the Internet.
The deadline for the test will be precise. Your watch should read the same as mine in this modern age. If it doesn't, allow me to be the time keeper. If you try to submit beyond the deadline, it will be too late. This is because it is not fair to give one student a 20-minute test, and someone else a 21-minute test.

A deadline story

Summary Writing
You will no longer be allowed to read an article about a discussion to write your summary. You should take notes in class, if you wish, and write about only what you listened in class. You should write a minimum of about 150 words (specifically, 900 characters). You should not collude with discussion leaders about their topics nor write your summary in advance.

Presentation
You will not be allowed to bring "notes" to your presentation. If you read, I can't judge your fluency, grammar, or vocabulary, so the test becomes meaningless.

I hope you can agree that these changes are necessary and have been brought about to promote fairness.

Today you will write about what you think about the cheating in this class.

Reflection Form

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Attendance and other forms

Attendance

News Summary Writing Form

Discussion Leader Feedback Form

Vocabulary Upload Form

September 26th lesson

Dear students,
Welcome back to Oral English.
Today you will sign up to be a discussion leader. After that you will prepare and present about your summer vacation in groups.

Course Assessment and Grading Criteria

a)      20%   Serving as discussion leader

You must attend your lesson as leader. Failure to do so will mean that you will be penalized ten points (10 points will be taken away from your present score). This is to ensure smooth discussions for the class.

b)      40%   News summary writing

You must write about what you heard in class. You should refrain from accessing the Internet to write your summary, nor should you write it in advance!

c)      20%   Vocabulary tests

These online tests are made by your discussion leaders' weekly contributions of three words each. Check your spelling before you upload.

d)      20%   Presentations

You will be assessed on fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and content. If you read your speech, it will be difficult to judge your fluency, grammar, and vocabulary. Consequently, you will be greatly penalized.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Vocabulary Test - July 2019

Dear students,
Please click on the link to start the test.

Vocabulary Test - 2019

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Education and Psychology

Dear students,
Last week I asked you not to copy from the Internet because in doing so you are committing plagiarism. This is taken very seriously at most academic institutions, including ours. If you want to improve your writing, practice is best - not copy pasting.
This week, I want to ask you to stop writing your summaries in advance. It would be fine if our class were reading and writing, but it is not. The purpose of our class is to improve oral fluency by practicing speaking and listening fully for ninety minutes. Please write your summaries based on what you hear in class.
Last year, the class collapsed because so many students were shirking their leadership responsibilities or were arriving predictably late. It was so bad that the only good student sensibly quit. This year, just two students are arriving consistently late. I think they are annoying, don't you?
Fortunately, this year we are not as bad as last year. Please use the opportunity we have in class to improve your English. If you are concerned about your grade, honesty will be the best policy.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

July 18th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have a vocabulary matching test (10 points) followed by your presentations (10 points). The order of the presentations will be randomized so everyone should be ready today.
Your speeches will be judged on fluency (not reading), vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and content.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

July 11th

Dear students,
Today you will have your final discussion of the semester. Please refrain from using the Internet to write your summary. There are now five people who have copied their summaries, one person twice, and none of them will get a grade higher than “c”.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

July 4th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your fourth discussion of round two.
Please continue to arrive punctually, to participate actively and almost entirely in English, and to be honest and diligent in your summary writing - which is almost invariably of very high quality.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

June 27th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have another round of discussions. When it comes to writing your summary, please don’t *copy from the internet. If you do, your grade will be “c” at best, “f” at worst.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

*
Don’t copy sentences.
Don’t copy sentences then change the words.
Copy paste strings of five words or more may be construed as plagiarism.

June 20th lesson

Dear sutdents,
Today you will have discussion two of round two.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

June 13th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will start your second round of discussions. Group leaders please remember to upload three vocabulary items to the vocabulary vocabulary spreadsheet as well as to post your summary to the news summary spreadsheet. Discussion participants remember to give feedback to the discussion leader and also to write a summary.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Attendance

Dear students,
You can access the attendance form posted in April on the welcome page or below here:

Attendance

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

June 6th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will continue with and finish your presentations.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Vocabulary Test 1

Dear students,
This vocabulary test will be made accessible on May 31st.

Vocabulary Test

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

News summary writing

Dear students,
You should write five summaries for each of the rounds of discussion that you have, which means that you should also summarize the topic that you chose for discussion. Please also click on your own name when writing your summary - otherwise your score may be lost.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

May 30th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have a 10 point matching test based on the vocabulary items that you uploaded. Then you will start your presentations about places to visit (also 10 points). You may present alone or in a group. Regardless, you should speak for a minimum of three minutes.
You will be assessed for content, fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. The order of these speeches will be randomized so everyone should be ready on the first day.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Vocabulary Study

Dear students,
Here is the link to the spreadsheet to study the words for next week's test.


Vocabulary


Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

May 23rd lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your final round of discussions before the mid-term presentations fortnight and vocabulary test next week.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

May 16th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your fourth discussion.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin
PS. "Paste" means "copy and paste the entire text". Paste the article you read (if you did so) into the appropriate text box. Do not paste the link as I can't read that directly.

PPS. Here are your scores for your third discussion:

May 9th lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your third discussion. Remember to sign in once you arrive to class, and discussion leaders remember to post your three words to the spreadsheet, thanks.
Below are the scores from the previous two weeks.

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 3 lesson

Dear students,
Today you will have your second round of discussions.
Below are your scores from last week:

Most writing was good, but remember that if you copy directly from the internet, you will not score any points.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Week 2

Dear students,
Today you will start your first of five discussions. After the fifth discussion, there will be a vocabulary online matching test and your mid-term presentations.
Kind regards,
Chris Elvin
PS. Did you remember to sign in today?

Week 1

Dear students,
Today you will sign in. (You should sign in as soon as you arrive in class every week as your time of arrival will be recorded).

attendance record

Then, I would like to ask you to participate in a pre-course survey that I ask all my students.

pre-course survey

Then you will learn about your course and what is expected of you (see previous post).

Kind regards,
Chris Elvin

Welcome to Oral English II - 2019

Welcome to Oral English II. The success of this course depends entirely on you and your participation. Please be responsible and do your best!

Oral English II

Spring 2019

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)      40%   News summary writing

c)      20%   Vocabulary tests

d)      20%   Presentations

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. The length of each discussion will be eleven or twelve minutes, ideally with no Japanese and little silence.

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.

An absent discussion leader is extremely costly to the success of the class, so you must attend both sessions per semester to earn 20 points. If you are present for your session you will earn 10 points. If you are absent for your session, you will be penalized 10 points.

Discussion leader vocabulary homework:

After you have served as group leader, it is your responsibility to upload three vocabulary items to the class vocabulary database via the online form (You will have to submit three times).

Vocabulary Upload Form

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.

Discussion Leader Assesment:

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

Discussion Leader Feedback Form

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

The points that you assign to your discussion leader will not affect that person's grade, nor yours, whatsoever. Honesty is the best feedback you can give.

b) News summary writing (40)

After the discussion has ended you should summarize one of the day’s discussion topics (who, what, where, when, why, how). Conclude with your opinion. Each summary writing exercise should be between 150 and 250 words. You will have until the end of the lesson to post your summary. Each of these summaries will be graded from zero (plagiarism) to four points (excellent).

You should use your own words – otherwise you may be charged with plagiarism. 

Examples of plagiarism are; copying a sentence, copying a sentence but changing a few words for synonyms, copying phrases, and using vocabulary that is beyond your understanding. Students who are accused of plagiarism will get a maximum grade of “C” for the semester.

Please use the online form below for submitting your summaries.

News Summary Writing Form

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.

Schedule

You will normally have five or 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

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 

Week 7: Online vocabulary test, 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

Week 14: Online vocabulary test, 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. Please be present for all classes and do not be late. You should anticipate that trains don't always run on schedule during rush hour in the morning. As soon as you arrive in class (and no earlier), please sign in using the form below.

attendance record

Kind regards,

Chris Elvin