HIEC

Intermediate Conversation 2 (High Intermediate)

• Pukyong National University (Daeyeon Campus)
• Fall 2023
• Course #?
• Room: C25 #?
• Instructional medium: This course will be conducted as live, in-person, face-to-face class sessions. If we need to make up a session, online recorded lectures will be used to make up lost class days.

Prof. Kent Lee

• Office: C25-1103
• Office hours: By appointment

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

2.1 Google Form assignments

The following are online Google Form assignments, which will be posted in the LMS. These will typically be 10 points each, though some longer ones can be 20 points.

• Intro form: Some info about you and some survey questions.
• Reaction form #1: You will watch a Youtube video and react to it.
• Reaction form #2: You will watch a music video on Youtube and react to it. (Susan Boyle video)
• Reaction form #3: You will watch a music video on Youtube and react to it. (Pet Shop Boys)
• Reaction form #4: You will watch several music videos on Youtube and react to them. (OK Go)
• Final self-evaluation form: You will evaluate yourself over the past semester.

2.2 Short Video assignments

Click on the 'Expand' applet on the right to see or collapse past assignments and materials.

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 current or future plans
• Your favorite types of music, TV, movies, or literature

This video should be about 2-3 minutes long, and is due before the holiday break.

Grading criteria:

1. Clear explanations
2. Sufficient detail & contents
3. Clear speaking & vocal delivery
4. Contents that are informative, thoughtful, or interesting

SV #2

Your own Youtube channel

Imagine you and your group members have the opportunity to set up your own Youtube channel. What kind of channel would you like to run? What kind of format would you like - i.e., the type(s) of content and video length? Here are some options to consider. Be ready to present your ideas to the class.

1. Purpose: What is the main purpose, topic(s)
2. Type of content: What type of content will you do? Will it all be one type of specific format and content, or multiple channel lists for different types of videos?
3. Target audience (e.g., demographics)
4. Sponsorhip: Would it be commercially sponsored or supported? How would the sponsors be chosen, and how would the sponsors be featured in your channel?
5. Format: Would these be short-form videos (regular videos under 10 mintues), long-form content (over 10 minutes), and/or Youtube shorts?
6. Production: How will videos be filmed – how will they be produced and edited?
7. What will you call your channel?
8. How will you promote your channel, e.g., advertising messages, slogans, how you will describe the contents, etc.?

This video should be about 2-3 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.

SV #3 - Video critique

For this assignment, you will record and upload a video of 2-3 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 (for a pop or rock song, e.g., on Youtube), or a TV commercial (commercial advert). After briefly describing the video, 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. This is due on 28 Nov.

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
• Other types of social or political messages or attitudes
• How the video promotes or exemplifies such attitudes, or
• How it challenges such attitudes

2.3 Midterm video

Midterm video

Midterm: Creative project

For the midterm, you will record and upload a presentation. This can be based on the previous assignment, Short Video #2, or a different topic. You can do this solo (by yourself) or in a group, and you can form a group on your own of 2-5 people (e.g., a back-and-forth conversation or other format). Length: About 4-5 minutes per person Due date: 26 October NOTE: There will be no class sessions during midterm week, since you are doing a midterm project on your own time.

Topic: If you were to produce your own orignal film or TV show (or write your own book, or create your own music), which genre (or subgenre) would you do? What kind of work would you want to create?

Main points to address:

1. What is your favorite genre, that is, your favorite genre within any kind of entertainment media or literature (film, TV, music, literature, etc.).* If you don't have one favorite genre, tell me about what types of media or literature you like. Why do you like it?
2. What is your favorite example of this genre, and why do you like it?
3. What are the typical elements and characteristics of that genre (e.g., in film, TV or books)? (See, e.g., p. 39)
4. What are some typical or representative examples of the genre (and some atypical ones)?
5. If you were to make your own creative product (film, TV, music, literature, etc.), what kind of product would you like to create?
6. What kinds of tropes, plot, characters, or other genre elements would you use? Are there some tropes that you would not want to use? (And why not?)*
7. How might your project be unique or different from other works in the same genre?
8. How would you like for your work to affect viewers / listeners / readers? (audience engagement)?

You can draw from previous assignments or in-class discussions from this semester. As before, you can upload it here in any regular video format.

Note: *For some projects, like music projects, some elements like tropes won't be applicable here.

Grading criteria: This will be graded a bit more strictly than the previous assignments. I will grade according to the following criteria, which are based on the criteria on p. 20 in the book for major presentations.

1. Rationale, goals, objectives
2. General contents (and for groups, equal participation of group members)
3. Specific details
4. Clarity
5. Organization
6. Speaking & vocal delivery
7. Interaction with audience
8. Value & effectiveness (e.g., persuasiveness; informativeness; the uniqueness, or potential artistic, social or commercial value of the project)

I will not consider PPT, and you should not use PPT or other presentation media for this; 'interaction with audience' here would be basic eye contact with the camera / viewer, body language, etc. For pairs or groups, each person should participate equally, and everyone needs to introduce themselves at the beginning.

The following sites might be helpful for some terminology.

• https://www.enwiki.org/w/Plot_elements
• https://www.enwiki.org/w/Genre
• https://tvtropes.org/ An online wiki for TV and film tropes
• https://www.imdb.com Internet movie database: A reference source for various movies, TV shows, actors, etc.

Good luck.

2.4 Final presentation

Creative project - Film / TV proposal

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: 15 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 - e.g., 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 PPT / visual aid in your video (unless it is shown as a video insert that takes up no more than 20% of the screen). I would like to be able to see the video and visual aid file separately.

Please see the following sections in the book.

• 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.

During the video presentation, you should primarily be visible, rather than the presentation file. It is okay if the presentation video is visible part of the time, or in part of the screen, but the presentation video should mainly show you talking to the audience / camera.

2.4.1 Visual aid

The file should be uploaded in the LMS, or a link to it can be entered in the LMS assignments space. The file can be in one of the following formats.

• A PPT file (or similar format)
• A link to a shared Google Slide presentation (make sure it is fully shared, i.e., check the file permissions and make sure that the link works)
• A link to a Prezi file (make sure the link works)
• A brochure or handout in PDF, Word, or LibreOffice / ODT format

This will count as a minor ten-point assignment (like a Google Form assignment), and as one of the 10-12 grading criteria for the final presentation.

By the way, here is a link to the presentation slides for the demo presentation that I did (my fictional presentation for 'Warped'). https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YTR_bAhXiawERIPcZHqX2tA65TYsVKJMzf5uoQV_N50/edit?usp=sharing

2.5 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 Renaissance Baroque Classical (classical proper, of the 18th/19th century classical period) Romanticism Modern classical (e.g., experimental styles, twelve-tone)

Jazz Jazz: Ragtime, Big Band, smooth / lounge jazz, progressive jazz, fusion, acid jazz, vocal jazz, experimental jazz Blues

Rock (rock & roll) / pop Folk rock Rock / pop Punk, new wave, alternative Hip-hop / rap R&B (rhythm & blues) Urban Metal (heavy metal, thrash metal) K-pop, J-pop... Others:

Folk music Celtic Bluegrass (western) Bluegrass (Cajun – French Louisiana) Country (country & western)

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.