Freshman English Conversation

BEN10102 & NEN10103

Weekly Writing

This conversation class depends on your preparation. Each week, you have an assignment to complete to find and prepare information and ideas to share and discuss. Most important, is the preparation you do in your own mind, and writing down your thoughts helps you to better work through your own ideas and prepare better for speaking.

Each week, your written work is due at the beginning of class and should be placed on the teacher's desk as you enter the room. If you feel that you need what you wrote to help you speak during the class, you may make an extra copy for yourself. I will return your paper the following week with very brief comments.

Midterm Conversation

Choose your own partner or group of three. Practice talking with each other about any of the topics we have discussed in class. During your turn, you should share opinions and ideas. Speaking in more detail about fewer topics is better than speaking very generally about many things.

Final Interviews

These are similar to the midterm, but each interview will be conducted individually in my office within 10 minutes.

Remember that it's important to

make clear and specific points.
talk more in depth about few topics than say a little about many things
give clear examples to show what you really mean
demonstrate that you really know something about your topic
show that you can speak naturally and clearly making meaningful points

Grading reference for Oral exams, both midterm and final

Score	In General	1. Content: Depth & Detail	2. Fluency	3. Grammar	4. Vocabulary
9-10	Easy to understand and subtleties expressed well.	Makes meaningful, insightful and relevant points.	Few pauses. Can easily speak at length. Can naturally link ideas together to speak in depth.	Uses a variety of sentence structures, including simple and complex sentences. Verb tenses, etc.	Uses a variety of words accurately and precisely.
7-8	Small errors do not cause problems with understanding	Good ideas, but not always explained in detail	Few pauses, can speak at length, not always easy to connect ideas	A variety of sentence structures and lengths with errors that don't cause trouble for understanding	Uses good words to express ideas.
5-6	Understandable with a little effort	Makes general points but seldom explains deeply or gives meaningful examples.	More pauses to search for words and. Sometimes restates rather than develops ideas.	Mostly simple sentences. Complex sentences often have errors.	Can express meaning but sometimes words are not accurate.
3-4	Understandable with much effort	The points made are understandable, but not explained.	Difficulty speaking at length. Longer pauses and short statements that are not always logically connected	Most sentences have errors making understanding somewhat difficult.	Word choices sometimes cause confusion.
1-2	Mostly difficult to understand.	It is difficult to undertstand what points are being made.	Short answers to direct questions. Little or no elaboration.	Few sentences without errors making comprehension very difficult.	Word choices frequently cause confusion.

Teaching Website for 2014-2015 School Year (Academic Year 102)

Freshman English Conversation

BEN10102 & NEN10103

Assignments

Weekly Writing

Midterm Conversation

Final Interviews