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.
Friday 27 September 2019
Thursday 26 September 2019
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
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
Monday 16 September 2019
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
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
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