SPECIAL TOPICS

Catalog description

ST/MOVIE MAKING (6): Improves English skills and builds self-confidence by focusing on movie-making projects. Students will receive an introduction to recording and editing digital video. The course develops vocabulary, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, reading and listening comprehension, and presentation skills. Students form teams to produce short videos on subjects of choice. Graded P/N. ST/AMERICAN STUDIES (6): Introduces students to the culture and history of America through diverse readings, videos, audio recordings, and first-hand experiences. Skill emphases include vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Students create presentations to share what they learn about American traditions and customs. Class discussions explore the culture and history of the United States and its international relations with students' home countries. Graded P/N. ST/TECHNOLOGY TOOLS (6): Designed to explore social networking sites such as blogs, delicious.com, plurk.com, and ning.com. Skills gained such as linking, posting, uploading, etc. will be transferrable to many technology situations. Engaging activities are designed to foster language learning in the online environment. Graded P/N. ST/CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION (6): Explore what culture is, what influences it, and how it affects the way people understand the world and communicate with others. Students learn about American culture, behaviors, norms, and values, and those of their classmates by comparing them to each other through a variety of interactive activities. Students have the opportunity to share a classroom with American university students. Graded P/N. ST/IT'S NEWS TO ME (6): Course focuses on reading and vocabulary comprehension skills, and conversation skills through the use of adapted and authentic media sources, including print newspapers, news radio, and news video. Students become familiar with the conventions of journalistic writing and learn about the structure of English language newspapers. Activities include reading, comprehension tasks, analysis of news stories, presentations, and creating a class newspaper. Graded P/N. ST/BUSINESS VOCABULARY BUILDING (6): Course focuses on improving the use of business English vocabulary and idioms. Students learn and apply a variety of authentic words from the text, in-class activities, and assigned practice to help them communicate more effectively in a business context. The course focuses on both acquisition of targeted vocabulary and strategies for decoding and retention. Graded P/N. ST/ALL ABOUT OREGON (6): Introduces students to the diversity of Oregon culture, geography, geology, history and folklore. The course is both content based, teaching general information about Oregon, and language focused, with an emphasis on content-related vocabulary, listening strategies and reading skills. Students are encouraged to actively participate in learning by taking a field trip to a relevant site of interest.