During the next ten weeks, this course will help you understand the North American academic culture and how to interact properly with American peers and instructors. Also, this course will help you learn skills and strategies necessary to function in everyday American life. Throughout the course, we will learn to be autonomous learners and develop a deeper sense of responsibility for our own learning.
Office hours will be Tuesday and Thursday, 4:30 to 5:00, and by appointment.
It is required once a week to check the official web site for this seminar. It has links to sites where you can study English and TOEFL skills by yourself, a syllabus, assignment for this seminar, and so on. The address is:
http://members.aol.com/Maihata/BridgeHome.html
Handouts will be distributed as needed. It is strongly encouraged to keep all the handouts and notes from this seminar in one folder or a binder so that you can refer back to the information whenever needed after you leave the Bridge Program. Some of the handouts are adopted from the below resources:
The Japan - United States Educational Commission (1996). 97 Pre - Departure Orientation Handbook. Alc; Tokyo, Japan.
Jacobs, I. and Shatswell, E. (1996). International Students Guide to the U.S.A. Princeton Review Publishing, L.L.C. ; New York.
Madden, C. and Rohlck, T. (1997). Discussion and interaction in the academic community. The University of Michigan Press; Michigan.
Harrington, D. & LeBeau, C. (1996). Speaking of Speech. McMillan Language House, Tokyo, Japan.
Steer, J. (1995). Strategies for academic communication. Heinle & Heinle; Boston.
Curriculum Design project for Shanghai Tandem Software (1997). Shangrila Group.
Wecksler, S. (1995). Study Skills for Academic Success. Heinle & Heinle; Boston.
Cole, B. & Toki, M. http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Meadows/5468//
1st week
Getting to know each other
Academic vocabulary
Campus resources
Speech act: greeting
2nd week
Banking
Choosing a major
Getting familiar with course catalogue
Speech act: non-verbal communication
3rd week
Transferring units from Senzoku College
Making an academic schedule
Speech act: apologizing
4th week
Academic culture 1: assignments, grading, communicating with instructors
Speech act: polite requests & refusals
5th week
Cultural differences between USA and Japan
Social life
Safety
Speech act: compliments
6th week
Managing your money, working on campus: social security number, tax
Group work
Speech act: non-verbal communication 2
7th week
Renting and utilities
Presentation skill
Speech act: invitations
8th week
Getting help: more campus resource, going to see a doctor
Time management and note taking skill
Speech act: complaining
9th week
American topics: educational system, brief history, etc.
Test taking skill
Speech act: discussing
10th week
Topic: T. B. D.
Speech act: T. B. D.