HIEC
Intermediate Conversation 2 (High Intermediate)
- Pukyong National University (Daeyeon Campus)
- Fall 2020
- Course #109819
- Room: C25 #531 (allotted rooms, but not likely used)
- Instructional medium: This course will be conducted with a blend of live Zoom sessions and some uploaded, pre-recorded videos in the LMS. It is unlikely that we will hold live classes in our classroom.
Prof. Kent Lee
- Office: C25-1103
- Office hours: By appointment
Contents
1 Course description
This course deals with academic English for your college studies, including (1) better English learning strategies, and (2) basic academic English speaking skills for college life. This course is what we call English for academic purposes (EAP), and so this course will be quite different from your past high school and 학원 courses (at least in normal times, it would be quite different; the online format will affect this).
We are assuming that there will be no live in-person classes this semester. Thus, this course will be conducted with a blend of live Zoom sessions and pre-recorded lecture videos via the LMS.
2 Assignments
Click on the 'Expand' applet on the right to see or collapse past assignments and materials.
2.1 SV#1
This is the first of several short video assignments. For these assignments, you will record a video of yourself and upload it to this LMS assignment space. You can record it in any normal video format or program (Zoom recording, Kakao recording, smartphone, webcam / laptop, video camera, mp4, Quicktime, mkv, flash video / flv, etc.). This first video is an informal self-introduction video, in which you talk about any of the following points that you would like to discuss.
- About yourself
- Where you are from (and anything interesting to see in or near your hometown)
- Your travel experiences (in your country and/or in other countries)
- Your experiences with learning English or other languages
- Your academic motivation or motivation toward learning English or other languages
- Your study habits
- Your personality (e.g., introvert / extrovert, and how that influences your study habits, travel habits, or anything else)
- Your current or future plans
This video should be about 2-2.5 minutes long, and is due before the holiday break.
You can record this by yourself (solo, individually), or with 1-3 other persons. If you record it with other persons, it can be done in a conversational or question-answer style, as long as each person speaks for a total of 2-2.5 minutes.
Grading criteria:
- Clear explanations
- Sufficient detail & contents
- Clear speaking & vocal delivery
- Contents that are informative, thoughtful, or interesting
- SV #2
- Favorite genre
- What is your favorite genre, that is, your favorite genre within any kind of entertainment media or literature. If you don't have a favorite genre, tell me about what types of media or literature you like.
- Why do you like it?
- What is your favorite example of this genre, and why do you like it?
- Midterm video
For this video assignment, you will discuss the following.
- If you were to produce your own film or TV show (or write your own book), which genre would you do?
- Why do you like that genre?
- What are the typical elements of that genre (in film, TV or books)?
- What kinds of tropes, plot and characters would you use? Are there some tropes that you would not want to use? (And why not?)
- SV #3 - Video critique
For this assignment, you will record and upload a video of 2-2.5 minutes in length, in which you critique a video media product (a video that is in English). The video that you critique can be a music video or a TV commercial (commercial advert). You will critique it by discussing either video production aspects, or social aspects. This should be a video that we have not discussed in class.
Video production aspects can include:
- How the video was produced
- The production quality - good or bad
- How practical effects were done
Social aspects can include:
- Positive or negative social messages that the video conveys
- Elements of sexism, gender bias, racism, xenophobia, elitism, or other social baises
- How the video promotes or exemplifies such attitudes, or
- How it challenges such attitudes
- Final presentation - Film / TV proposal
Final Creative project For the final, you will record and upload a presentation to pitch an original, low-budget, independent film (or TV show) idea to potential investors. You can do this solo (by yourself) or in a group; you can organize group on your own of 2-6 people.You can use the very same topic as for the midterm, or you can modify or change it. (If you did a book idea, you can readily transform it into a TV show or film.) As before, you can post the video in the LMS assignment space. For a group presentation, this would be all members of your group presenting one film proposal, in which case each person will discuss a different aspect of the proposal.
Due date: 19 December Length (minimum - maximum): 1 person (solo): 6-10 minutes 2 persons (duo): 5-8 minutes per person 3-6 persons: 4-6 minutes per person
Grading criteria: This will be graded more strictly than the midterm or previous assignments. I will grade according to the following criteria in the textbook appendix for major presentations.
- Rationale, goals, objectives
- General contents
- Support & details - for the film / TV show itself
- Project details - for the whole project
- Clarity
- Organization
- Speaking & vocal delivery
- Interaction with audience
- Visual aids*
- Equal participation
- Value
- Reception & effectiveness
[*] Your PPT file (or other visual aid) will be submitted separately, in a separate assignment space in the LMS. This is the so-called pitch deck or presentation file, and it can be a PPT file, a Prezi, or a brochure (e.g., created in a word processor or publishing program and saved in PDF). When you record the video, please record just yourselves, without putting the visual aid in your Zoom recording. I would like to be able to see the video and visual aid file separately.
Please see the following sections in the book. Be sure to download the most recent version (uploaded on 26 Nov.): https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Upt5xBj1UFu2nzDj-YZvkPDTgUVqYXH/view?usp=sharing
- Chapter 6: Video production & other terminology
- §8.2 - §8.3: Project & project guidelines
- A make-up lecture video in the LMS (for the Tuesday of the Chuseok holiday; attendance applies to Week 15) presents a sample presentation
- There is a sample write-up in §8.4 of the book; this is from past semesters, when I required a written essay for this assignment, but this is no longer required. The idea in this example is slightly different from the example in the lecture video example.
2.2 Readings and materials
The textbook for this course is a course packet, which will be made available in a PDF file in the LMS. Other materials will be available in the LMS and at the course website
3 Genres
See also the page on genres and the page on plot elements.
3.1 Introduction: Visual arts genres
In your group, choose one particular visual arts genre (TV/film) or literary genre to discuss. For your genre, what are common genre elements? Discuss this, and write some notes or answers to these questions below.
- Defining features or typical features (“ingredients”)
- Typical elements (plot / plot elements, setting / scene, characters / actors, protagonists, antagonists, contents, film techniques)
- Audience: target audience, audience expectations
- Appeal: reasons for its appeal
- Important subgenres
- Social value - what is the social value or utility of this?
- Vocabulary - important terms that you need to know to discuss this genre
3.2 Music genres
Discuss the following genres and subgenres. What are their typical or defining characteristics? Where did they come from? What are some typical examples of each subgenre? Which are your favorites – and why? Feel free to add other genres or subgenres to this list.
Classical
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Jazz
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Rock (rock & roll) / pop
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Folk music
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4 Humor and humor genres
Humor can be classified into different genres based on the source or topic of humor, how it is delivered, or the context, i.e., when, where, or how it is delivered. Discuss the different genres or types of humor that you can think of. What are some typical examples? Which ones do you like or not like, and why? See the page on humor genres.