Compulsory

The course is designed to outline the steps of a thesis design and supervise students through the process of conducting and presenting a research project. Students are required to demonstrate research knowledge and understanding of second language research methods through an original research project on a significant topic in the field. This project will involve shaping a research focus, formulating research questions, developing data collecting instruments, analysing data in coherent qualitative and/or quantitative models, and discussing and highlighting findings relevant to the field of second language teaching and learning. Each student will work with a personal thesis supervisor, with the final approval of the thesis being given by the thesis committee. The thesis must be presented at a public oral defence.

This course is an additional support to improve pre-service teachers’ employment of materials in their teaching practice. The course centralizes on the role of materials within the English language training curriculum and how to deal with them. It primarily looks at the evaluation, adaptation, and development of materials for teaching and learning purposes. Specific pieces of materials and their usages in particular settings are analyzed and discussed. Learners’ experience from the teaching practicum periods is synthesized for critical reflections. The course fosters learners’ capability of using materials to facilitate their students’ learning quality and motivation.

This course is designed for English majored students to achieve intermediate level (equivalent to B1 – CEFR) in reading. The meaning of new English vocabulary provided before main readings is inferred from examples or paragraphs; the students, thus, can develop their guessing the meaning of new words through various contexts. Distinct tasks of the vocabulary skills also help them acquire much more vocabulary after the reading process. In addition, with a variety of reading tasks, the students are taught skills of reading for gist and details and the skill of speed reading by using the “keyword’’ technique. Moreover, they learn to use charts and graphs for reading texts faster and more efficiently. Last but not least, the students can enhance their critical thinking, creativity, and inferences.

This course aims to help first year English majors reach the upper-intermediate level of their reading ability (B2). Through exposure to reading texts of different academic topics and text types and engagement in a variety of reading tasks, students are given chance to practice not only basic reading skills but also advanced ones such as making inferences, identifying tone and mood, recognizing the writer’s attitude and bias, identifying source of information, recognizing cause and effect, and reading statistical data. In addition, this course aims to enrich students’ vocabulary resource and develop their critical thinking. Last but not least, through the engagement in classroom activities and homework assignments, students are able to build up their skills of communication, presentation, individual work and teamwork.