The only way to learn to read quickly is to do a lot of reading. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time in class to spend on reading. So...
Please choose a book you would like to read. An easy book. Something light and enjoyable. Our library is a great place to start, and is full of easier graded readers. Actually, for Reading/Writing five, your reading skills and vocabulary are probably enough to read 'real' books. One suggestion is to look at 'juvenile books', ones aimed at the teen-age market. All of the earlier Harry Potter novels fit in this, as do ton's of romance and action novels. I'm still a teenager at heart, and I read the first three Harry Potter books (in Thai) before I read them in English or saw the movie. I did this to help my Thai reading (which is still very poor), just as you should read in English to improve your reading speed. Read any book you like, it certainly doesn't have to be Harry Potter. But remember, if you don't have a book chosen by Wednesday next week, your nasty old teacher will tell you which book to read! Much better to chose for yourself!
Speaking of Harry Potter, we missed the five minute 'free writing' in today's class. Why not make an entry in your personal blogs about magic? I'll do one too, and we can compare.
Have a great weekend, and don't forget to work on your assignment.
John
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Assignment One (20% of course grade)
Please note: Dates have been corrected:
Chose an academic area in which you are interested. Using the term-paper on The Anthropological View of Religion as a model, write a paper of 1000-1500 words acting as a textbook introduction to some area of this field. Your paper must have a clear thesis statement, and should:
Chose an academic area in which you are interested. Using the term-paper on The Anthropological View of Religion as a model, write a paper of 1000-1500 words acting as a textbook introduction to some area of this field. Your paper must have a clear thesis statement, and should:
a) Define several key terms used in this area.
b) Give supporting and extending examples for these terms
c) Include at least four references to authorities in the field.
d) Contain a reference list in APA format.
Schedule:
· Monday April 30th: be prepared to discuss your chosen area in class
· Wednesday May 2nd. Be prepared to discuss which terms you will explain, and defend why these terms are so important to this field.
· (Optional) submit first draft by email to aeprw5@auathailand.org by midnight Friday, May4th.
· (Optional) first drafts will be returned with comments on Monday, May 7th.
· Mandatory papers are due (by email) by midnight, Friday, May 11th.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Reading and Study Strategies
Yesterday (I usually make entries in this blog early in the morning on the day after class) we started talking about a very important subject for all university students. You are going to be swamped with reading. And, the reading is going to be full of words you don't know, or word usage that you are not familiar with. Consider the word swamped in the second sentence of this paragraph. It is a metaphor, an allusion or a reference to a word which is comes from a different topic area (can you guess the meaning of allusion from this sentence?) In this case, the reference is to boats and sailing. Sometimes small boat gets hit by a very big wave, and fills with water. In this case the boat is swamped and might even sink. If you are swamped with something, it is like you are drowning in work (another metaphor), and don't know what to do.
As a student there are several things you must learn to do. The first is just to keep reading -- trying to get the general meaning, and not stopping with every single word you don't know. True, there will be a few readings (usually the professor will tell you which ones they are) which are so important that you really must understand them completely. But for the most part, you are only expected to get the 'general idea' of the reading. Further, as you study in higher and higher levels at university, you will have many readings on the same subject. This means that the readings support each other as the meaning gradually builds. [Did you notice that support and build are metaphors to the 'construction' of knowledge?]
So, keep reading. But how can you remember the general idea of what you have read? One way that works for many people (including me) is to use colored high-lighters. Another idea is to quickly make a few pencil notes in the margin of the reading. I do this sometimes to link ideas between readings. Certainly if the same idea is mentioned in several different readings, that confirms that it is a main idea and worth remembering.
If you (or your professor) think this is a really important paper, it might be worth making some more extensive notes for it. In class we looked at using a graphic organizer for this purpose, but of course, you can use any technique you like. If you want to go even further, you can write a short summary of the reading. One suggestion is to close the reading, and work only from your notes. This is a good check that you have taken the right notes, and also avoids plagiarism.
We will spend most of today and Friday's class on the idea of plagiarism, and the 'answer' to plagiarism, which is the use of references, citations and a bibliography. We will also be looking more deeply into the idea of the genre of academic writing, and the uses of the reference list within that genre. More in class today!
John
As a student there are several things you must learn to do. The first is just to keep reading -- trying to get the general meaning, and not stopping with every single word you don't know. True, there will be a few readings (usually the professor will tell you which ones they are) which are so important that you really must understand them completely. But for the most part, you are only expected to get the 'general idea' of the reading. Further, as you study in higher and higher levels at university, you will have many readings on the same subject. This means that the readings support each other as the meaning gradually builds. [Did you notice that support and build are metaphors to the 'construction' of knowledge?]
So, keep reading. But how can you remember the general idea of what you have read? One way that works for many people (including me) is to use colored high-lighters. Another idea is to quickly make a few pencil notes in the margin of the reading. I do this sometimes to link ideas between readings. Certainly if the same idea is mentioned in several different readings, that confirms that it is a main idea and worth remembering.
If you (or your professor) think this is a really important paper, it might be worth making some more extensive notes for it. In class we looked at using a graphic organizer for this purpose, but of course, you can use any technique you like. If you want to go even further, you can write a short summary of the reading. One suggestion is to close the reading, and work only from your notes. This is a good check that you have taken the right notes, and also avoids plagiarism.
We will spend most of today and Friday's class on the idea of plagiarism, and the 'answer' to plagiarism, which is the use of references, citations and a bibliography. We will also be looking more deeply into the idea of the genre of academic writing, and the uses of the reference list within that genre. More in class today!
John
Monday, April 23, 2007
Welcome everyone to the AEP RW5 Term3 Class
Welcome!
You are reading my the first entry in the teacher's blog for AEP Reading/Writing five. It was great meeting you all yesterday, and I hope you learned something in the lesson. One of the problems in teaching is that students don't necessarily learn what you think you are teaching.
My plan yesterday was to introduce the course and the textbook to you, and get some idea of your initial reading and speaking skills. The homework I assigned, the letter to me, will give me an idea of your writing skills. I hope you 'read between the lines' of my lesson, and took something valuable from it.
Today's lesson will have a lot to do with computers, as I want to make computers and computer use part of this course. That reflects the reality at universities today, where most written work must be submitted type-written, and where computer literacy is very much expected.
I'm looking forward to reading your first blogs, and to seeing your comments on this entry!
John
You are reading my the first entry in the teacher's blog for AEP Reading/Writing five. It was great meeting you all yesterday, and I hope you learned something in the lesson. One of the problems in teaching is that students don't necessarily learn what you think you are teaching.
My plan yesterday was to introduce the course and the textbook to you, and get some idea of your initial reading and speaking skills. The homework I assigned, the letter to me, will give me an idea of your writing skills. I hope you 'read between the lines' of my lesson, and took something valuable from it.
Today's lesson will have a lot to do with computers, as I want to make computers and computer use part of this course. That reflects the reality at universities today, where most written work must be submitted type-written, and where computer literacy is very much expected.
I'm looking forward to reading your first blogs, and to seeing your comments on this entry!
John
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