Day 1
Mon. Mar. 22
Intro to class
Learning about culture through film: observations on 《都挺好》 and Boyhood
Review: “summary-response”
Homework
➤ Read Syllabus and Course Handbook.
Read the syllabus and course handbook. The former describes the general vision and goals for the course; the latter describes my course policies (how class works).
➤ Writing Exercise #1: Summary-response to EAP102B Syllabus
(Length: ~1 page double spaced)
Due before next class
How to submit: Send me your assignment as a .doc or .docx file over WeChat or email (austin.woerner@dukekunshan.edu.cn).
What is your understanding of the goals of EAP102B, as described in the syllabus, and how do those goals compare with your own personal goals for your English learning at this point in your college career?
Begin by summarizing the course's main goals (as you understand them) as described in the sections "What is this course about?", "What will I learn in this course?", and "What will I do in this course?" Show me that you know how to write a good summary. (Remember that a summary should have a focus. It should highlight the parts you think are most important or relevant, not just list everything the text says. For a review, I recommend you watch my video "Four Key Points about Summarizing" on Youtube.)
Then, "respond" to the creators of the syllabus by describing what your main goal(s) are for your English at this point. What do you feel you most need right now, as an English learner, and why? Is your goal(s) similar, or different, from the goals the designers of EAP102B had in mind for you? Describe these things in enough detail that I can get a clear sense of you as an individual learner and understand how I can best help you.
Grading: This assignment will be ungraded. I will give you a letter grade that represents how well I think you've demonstrated the "summary-response" form, but that grade won’t “count.”
➤ Notice a phrase and use it
Note down one new phrase that you notice between now and next class, either in a reading or in a classroom conversation, that you could imagine yourself using.
In a Word document: 1) Write down some notes about that phrase’s context — who said it? what were the circumstances? what was it being used to describe? 2) Then, write a sentence using that phrase to express something meaningful — something you’d actually want to say.
Upload your Word document to our shared Box folder, in the subfolder titled “1-New word or phrase (Day 1).”
➤ Plan to attend the viewing of “American Factory” on Friday afternoon
Your first essay (due Week 3 of class) will be about the documentary American Factory. There is a showing of the movie this Friday at DKU, and I highly recommend you attend! Please mark your calendars and arrange your schedules accordingly.