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 an academic setting in English speaking countries. 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 between 6:10 and 7:00, 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 to be determined and will be posted here:
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//