ADVANCED ENGLISH CONVERSATION(1)

This course will focus on helping students develop their skills and confidence in conversational English. As such, the main focus of the course will be on providing students with opportunities to communicate in a variety of situations, e.g., pair and group activities. Students will have the opportunity to discuss a broad range of topics, give a variety of different presentations, and enhance their cultural competence in terms of appropriateness of language and idiomatic speech. They will also have opportunities to increase their competence in listening and reading comprehension, vocabulary, pronunciation, oral grammar, and conversational strategy use.

This course will seek to develop students' abilities to discuss a range of issues and communicate their ideas in a manner that is readily comprehensible to both a native and non-native speaker of English. Students will take a more active role in the initiation and continuation of conversations, and they will be capable of presenting information in a variety of ways. They will also become more skilled at directing the flow of a conversation and running group discussions. Students will be more skilled in interacting in such settings through the use of such strategies as interruption and clarification requests. Students will gain increased confidence in their English comprehension and communicative ability while improving their vocabulary, pronunciation, and oral grammar. In addition, They will come to appreciate the importance of appropriacy and register in the successful holding of a conversation. They will learn to take a more active and independent role in their education, and they will also become more familiar with a range of contemporary topics and issues.

Students are expected to play an active role in the class and to interact with both the instructor and each other solely in English. Given that this is a conversation class, attendance and punctuality are important. In addition, if students are asked to bring materials to or prepare for class, it is expected that this will be done. It is also expected that students will display some independence in their learning, be capable of vocalizing their goals in English, and work independently toward achieving them.

Students should have a reasonable command of spoken English and should feel capable of expressing themselves in English. Students should also be willing to participate actively in class and to interact with both each other and the instructor. As this is a conversation course, students' contributions in class will have a key bearing on their final grade. As such, consistent and substantial effort will be required throughout the course.

Students taking this course will be able to use the knowledge and confidence they gain to function in a wide variety of conversational settings. They will gain an increased understanding of the requirements of their interlocutor and of cultural conventions, and will develop the ability and the confidence to handle themselves appropriately in both one-on-one and group exchanges with both native and non-native speakers of English.