Anshan English

For university students who are studying English as a Foreign Language.



The Year Ahead

Published: 2011-08-25

Welcome. This course plan is for the winter semester of 2010 at Anshan Normal University as taught by Derek. The course will roughly follow the book, "Inside Out," by Sue Key & Vaughan Jones and published by the Shanghai Foreign Language Press. However, this book is far to easy for second year university students, so we will not copy from the book exactly, but rather use it to guide some topics for each class. If students wish to purchase this book, they may do so, however it is not compulsory.

To accompany the course, Derek has created this website, www.1hhh.com for student to use. Articles will be published on this site several times a week in step with the lessons taught in class. An article introducing each class subject will be published on the Monday of the week before. So you will have 7 days to prepare prior to the class being taught. Classes will be much more fulfilling if you take advantage of this website and preparation time.

There are some additional English language exercises that will be published on this site. These should be suitable for 2nd year university students. You can complete these as you have time. They are not compulsory however they are highly recommended. You can email the answers for marking if you like.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," says the old English proverb. To that end, I have included some fun stuff on this site. I think it's important for language students to learn some culture about English countries such as the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. This background knowledge will aid your understanding of the language. Each week I will post a music video and a movie clip. Each of these are famous in the UK or USA. There will be links you can follow to find out more.

Course Plan

Below is a week by week break down of the classes. Students must attend all classes. Assessments will be made of student performance in each class which will count towards your final score. It is therefore important to be active in class. There will be exams at the end of year, during the last two weeks of December.

Week 1 - The Beginning - 2011-08-29

  • Introduction
  • TV and Media

Week 2 - Images - 2011-09-05

  • Images of the 20th Century
  • Madonna and other famous stars
  • Self-image

Week 3 - Family - 2011-09-12

  • Relationship with parents
  • Your future family life, you as the parent.
  • Dating

Week 4 - Money - 2011-09-19

  • The 1849 Gold Rush
  • Making Money
  • Treasured possessions

Week 5/6 - Body - 2011-09-26

  • Health and Fitness
  • Dieting
  • Smoking

Week 6 - October Break - 2011-10-03

There are no classes between Friday the 1st of October and Thursday the 7th October inclusive. However, watch this space for some homework activities.

Week 7 - Ritual - 2011-10-10

  • Football
  • Habits
  • Weddings
  • Marriage

Week 8 - Digital - 2011-10-17

  • Mobile phones
  • Computers
  • Computer games

Week 9 - Escape - 2011-10-24

  • Holidays
  • Travel
  • Tourism

Week 10 - Attraction - 2011-10-31

  • Descriptions
  • Cosmetic surgery
  • Dating

Week 11 - Genius - 2011-11-07

  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Inventions

Week 12 - Sell - 2011-11-14

  • Advertising
  • The media
  • Cinema

Week 13 - Student - 2011-11-21

  • Education
  • Backpacking
  • Work

Week 14 - Home - 2011-11-28

  • Houses
  • Rooms
  • Food
  • Home pages (web sites)

Week 15 - Morals - 2011-12-05

  • Lost and found
  • Sickness and health
  • Matters of life and death
  • Your life decisions

Week 16 - Literature - 2011-12-12

  • Famous western novels
  • Chinese novels
  • Poetry

Friday 17th, December begin examinations.

Week 17 - Exams - 2011-12-19

Continue examinations

Week 18 - Exams - 2011-12-26

Continue examinations

Week 19 - Begin Winter Break - 2011-12-30

No more classes till after the holidays.

Examinations

Exams will be conducted during normal class times beginning on Friday the 17th December (end of week 16) and run until Thursday the 30th of December (end of week 18). The exam will be in the form of an oral test. Students will be graded on correct grammar, pronunciation, fluency and use of advanced vocabulary. The exact details of the exam will be announced in class the week before (week 15/16), giving students 7 days to prepare.

In addition to the final exams, students will be continuously assessed in each class throughout the semester. Students performing well in a class will be give extra credit which will count towards their final score. It is therefore important that students give their full attention in class and play an active role. Extra credit will be given for any activity that demonstrates English skill or good work ethics.

This Week No.38

List of articles


That's all for now. Check back next week for more articles.