KUGF Course Guide 2018

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Skill Up for Studying AbroadFoundation for Academic EnglishThis course develops English proficiency and academic study skills needed for those interested in taking English-mediated content courses at Kansai University or study-abroad destination. The course makes use of mini-lecture series based on the KUGF curriculum (Global Frontier subjects), draws on academic journal articles of various subject areas, and integrates online resources and tools for independent learning and out-of-class practice. 2 creditsSpring SemesterFall SemesterTOEFL Score up Training IThis course is designed to help students prepare for standardized tests　of the English language. Its main objective is to help students feel confident and well-prepared when taking TOEFL test (primarily focusing on the TOEFL Internet-based Test [iBT]), which is widely used by foreign universities as an evaluation criterion of a prospective student's English fluency in the academic context. In this class, students will familiarize themselves with various types of tasks concerning grammar, reading, listening, writing, and speaking, placing special emphasis on strategies to deal with the TOEFL iBT. This course provides students with an opportunity to take TOEFL trial test of all four sections during the class hours. Furthermore, the material covered in class will help them improve their English communication for use in academic and professional setting. The students are expected to know their learning styles and gain new strategies effective to generate improved scores in TOEFL and other standardized English tests.2 creditsSpring SemesterFall SemesterTOEFL Score up Training IIThis intensive English skills development course is designed to help students at intermediate to high-intermediate level of English to prepare for standardized tests of the English language. Its main objective is to help students feel confident and well-prepared when taking TOEFL/TOEIC tests, which are widely used by foreign universities as an evaluation criterion of a prospective student's English fluency in the academic context. This course provides students with an opportunity to take TOEFL/TOEIC trial tests followed by discussions on the answers. Each class session will be devoted to the study of a particular skill and test-taking strategy, and the material covered in class will help them improve their English communication for use in academic and professional setting. In this class, students will be able to:・Reading: Preview, read faster, use contexts, make references, skim and scan, make connections, and summarize.・Speaking: Anticipate the first question, support their answers, understand the task, adapt notes, prepare key phrases, and pace themselves.・Writing: Respond to the topic, use an outline sentence, identify sources, make connections, include a variety of structures, and edit their writing.・Listening: To get organized, preview, use visuals, read screen text, and understand campus context.2 creditsSpring SemesterFall SemesterPresentation SkillsThis class introduces you to the basic principles for delivering effective oral presentations by developing clear, well-organized, and audible speeches, engaging and gauging your audience, using effective delivery techniques, and using PowerPoint. Students will practice these skills in a variety of situations, from short imprompt talks to polished scripted speeches.2 creditsSpring SemesterFall SemesterAcademic Writing PracticeIn this course, students will learn how to write essays in English for academic purposes. We will learn the fundamentals of paragraph writing, and will extend them to essay writing. We will first focus on how to organize information in English, noting that its organization differs from the Japanese language. Second, we will learn what good writing is by reading academic papers in students’ areas of interest. Third, students will learn to become competent and independent writers by engaging in the process of writing and by being encouraged to explore and organize their ideas in writing.2 creditsSpring SemesterFall SemesterAcademic Discussions & DebatesAcademic Discussions and Debates are key elements of both academic and political discussion and the key methods of promoting an issue through rational, civilized discourse. This course introduces the key ideas and principles of modern formal discussions. It analyzes the history and development of debate and shows students how to participate in formal debates by teaching the core structures and strategies of the art. Students will learn to create, support and refute arguments, study the different forms of discussions and participate as teams in direct competitive debate on subjects of topical importance.Each weeks lesson will consist of two sections: Discussion of topical issues from Japanese and world news, and study of how discussion works as a skill.2 creditsSpring SemesterFall SemesterCourse Guide 201813