経済学部Faculty of Economics

Writing and Interaction 2B is a one semester course that aims to help students improve their ability to structure written text as well as speech in a logical and convincing manner. Through exploring global issues and solutions, it hopes to instill the concepts of global citizenship, social responsibility and open-mindedness into students. Through interactions with their peers and people in the international community, students will learn to embrace differences and find common ground. The class duration is 90 minutes, and it is conducted once a week in person over a 14-week semester.

At the end of the semester, students will demonstrate
-a higher level of language proficiency in writing and speaking utilising coherent and grammatically correct sentences, varied styles of expressions and a wider range of vocabularies;
-an improved ability to put forward an argument and advocate their views, ideas and thoughts in front of an audience and respond confidently to queries and feedback;
-a higher level of acceptance towards differences in the multicultural environment and awareness of their position and responsibility in the global society.

ディプロマポリシーのうち、「DP3」「DP5」に関連

英語 / English

The course is conducted in English and adopts a pragmatic and global approach to acquisition of English as a second language. Each class is highly interactive and requires students to be participative and responsive. Students will leverage on their knowledge of the Japanese language and local economy to enable them to express their opinions eloquently in English. Japanese language will be used to facilitate understanding of concepts and to promote bilingualism. In addition to group discussions and presentations, students will also be given individual assignments.

あり / Yes

なし / No

授業形態/methods of teaching：対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

Week 1[対面/face to face]：Introduction

-Icebreaker Game “Get to Know Your Friends”
-Self-Introduction
-Course Introduction and Appraisal System

Week 2[対面/face to face]：Goal Setting

-Class Discussion – Topic: “What do you hope to achieve in this course?”
-House Rules
-Grading Overview
-Individual Assignment: Goal Setting

Week 3[対面/face to face]：Famous People and Their Inspirational Quotes Part 1

-Class Activity – Discover: “Who is Tadashi Yanai and what is he famous for?”
-Class Discussion – Topic: “What are inspirational quotes?”
-Group Activity: Each group will research on Tadashi Yanai, choose one of his many quotes, paraphrase it in a different way and share why the group finds the quote inspiring

Week 4[対面/face to face]：Famous People and Their Inspirational Quotes Part 2

Introduction of “Famous People Around the World and Their Stories”
-Group Activity: Each group will research on a famous person, introduce his or her story to the class, choose one of his or her inspirational sayings, paraphrase it in a different way and share the reasons why the group finds the quote inspiring.

Week 5[対面/face to face]：Famous People and Their Inspirational Quotes Part 3

-Continuation of Group Presentations
-Individual Assignment: “Research on a famous person, write a one-page essay to include the following:
1.his or her story;
2.one of his or her inspirational sayings and paraphrase it in your own words;
3.the reasons why you find the quote inspiring

Week 6[対面/face to face]：Current Affairs Part 1

-Class Discussion – Topic: “Interest Rates”
-Group Activity: Based on the topic - “Advantages or Disadvantages of Low Interest Rates in Japan”, each group will take one stand, put forward its argument and respond to different opinions
-Debate

Week 7[対面/face to face]：Current Affairs Part 2

-Class Discussion – Topic: “What is happening around the world and what is its impact?”
-Group Work: Choose one global issue and make a presentation to include the following:
1.an explanation of its impact;
2.a proposal of possible solutions; and then respond to feedback

Week 8[対面/face to face]：The Individual 10 min Presentation Overview

-Grading Overview: Script on Slides, Speech, Handling Audience and Feedback
-Class Discussion – The Role of the Audience
-Class Activity – Deciding the Theme: What is the issue? Is it local or global? What is its impact? Who and what are affected? What are the possible solutions? Are the solutions practical? etc.
-Script Writing and Presentation Preparation

Week 9[対面/face to face]：The Individual 10 min Presentation (In Class Preparation)

-Class Activity: Exploring Sentence Structures, Script Layout etc.
-Individual Work and Query Clarification

Week 10[対面/face to face]：The Individual 10 min Presentation (Evaluation)

-Each student will make a presentation on a topic and respond to queries from the audience

Week 11[対面/face to face]：The Individual 10 min Presentation (Evaluation)

-Each student will make a presentation on a topic and respond to queries from the audience

Week 12[対面/face to face]：The Individual 10 min Presentation (Evaluation)

-Each student will make a presentation on a topic and respond to queries from the audience

Week 13[対面/face to face]：The Individual 10 min Presentation (Evaluation)

-Each student will make a presentation on a topic and respond to queries from the audience

Week 14[対面/face to face]：Course Review and Reflection

-Class Discussion – Topic: Regarding your learning journey, “What was good?”, “What could have been better?”, “Did you fulfill your goals?”
-Break Out and Group Presentation
-Individual Reflection

Most of the work will be done in class. The amount of time to be spent on class preparation, revision and/ or homework varies from student to student. An extra time commitment of 30-60 minutes outside class per week will put the students in a good standing.

No particular textbook is required.

Optional Readings:
-Beardsmore, H.B, 1986. Bilingualism: Basic Principles. Multilingual Matters.
-Brown, P., and Levinson, S., 1987. Politeness: Some universals in language use. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
-Takahashi, S., 1996. Pragmatic transferability. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, vol. 18, No.2:189-223

Students will be graded in the following manner:
-class participation 20%
-group work and presentation 20%
-individual short essay 30%
-individual presentation 30%

At the end of the semester, there will be a course review and reflection.

A fully charged smartphone or laptop with internet access.

Enjoy the learning journey!

Students must have completed English A and B or otherwise satisfied requirements for first-year English to enter this class.