Available courses

This is the moodle for CE 203 using World Link book 2 A.

This is a place for students to get extensive listening in the form of podcasts on topics related to class textbooks and other relevant themes.

Hello everyone! 

My name is Rebecca Schmidt and I will be your Academic English instructor.  Let's have a good time reading and writing, learning vocabulary, and discussing interesting stories. My goal is to help you learn to love reading and writing and see it as an endless adventure of knowledge and imagination.  Another goal is to help you develop good learning strategies and study skills that will further help you study English on your own for a lifetime. 

I look forward to getting to know all of you better. 

We will use the textbook Q Skills for Success: Reading and Writing 4B

The link to online practice is here: https://q3e.oxfordonlinepractice.com/
The class code is C 764 671 0931
You must complete the online work as part of your course grade. Deadlines will be at the end of each unit.  Students who do the online work slowly throughout each unit will get a much higher score on exams. 

Please get used to using an English-English dictionary. Please avoid translators for learning new words. I recommend using Longman's Learner's Dictionary https://www.ldoceonline.com/

You may email me anytime at rschmidt@sky.miyazaki-mic.ac.jp.  My office is room 1-401. My office hours are Mondays 2:00- 5:00.  If you want to meet at another time, please email me. It is very important that you read your emails!!

Although I try to answer emails as soon as I can, I cannot promise to respond immediately to emails sent after 5:15 and before 8:30 or on the weekends.  You may send them, but please be patient if the reply takes time.  

I am looking forward to getting to know you even better.

Let's make learning fun!

This moodle course is where you can get the handouts and extra links for Academic Writing 2. You can also turn in some of the writing assignments here!


This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Canadian culture and language. The syllabus is divided into two main sections: 70% focused on cultural aspects and 30% on language learning. Through interactive lessons, discussions, and real-life type experiences, students will gain valuable insights into some of the societal aspects of Canada's rich heritage, traditions, and language.


The course introduces students to basic features of the English language (listening, pronunciation, spoken fluency, vocabulary, grammar, discourse competence, politeness) and evaluates how different study methods can be used to make improvements in these areas.

This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of British culture and language. The syllabus is divided into two main sections: 70% focused on cultural aspects and 30% on language learning. Through interactive lessons, discussions, and real-life experiences, students will gain valuable insights into Great Britain's rich heritage, traditions, language, and social norms.

The course will serve as an introduction to linguistic topics such as phonology, phonetics, and speech perception and their applications to the the teaching of pronunciation.

Topics of study include:

■Classification of speech sounds
■How differences in phonology contribute to difficulties in pronunciation
■The shortcomings of English spelling
■Second language (L2) phonological theories
■English pronunciation teaching methods

Academic English (AE) is a four-skills course focussing on Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), or academic proficiency (see references below). The courses are offered every semester at different CEFR levels.

Continues proficiency development in written and spoken English. Strengthens oral proficiency through various speaking exercises. Develops reading skills through intensive and extensive reading practice. Strengthens written proficiency through practice in organized multi-paragraph essays. Further develops structural accuracy and fluency using more complex forms.

 

The course develops fluency in basic oral expression through various active learning methods such as pair-work, brainstorming, group discussions, games and activities, role-plays, presentations and active listening. Students are expected to record conversations focusing on a main functional objective with minimal planning and notes while utilizing conversation strategies.

This second semester course continues to challenge students to develop their reading skills through the use of in-class timed readings and comprehension questions, intensive readings with comprehension and vocabulary building activities, and extensive reading conducted mostly outside of class time. Homework consists of reading for meaning, for pleasure, and for the purpose of vocabulary building. Students also engage with software to work on extensive reading, to develop critical reading skills, and to build and practice vocabulary.


The course develops fluency in basic oral expression through various active learning methods such as pair-work, brainstorming, group discussions, games and activities, role-plays, presentations and active listening. Students are expected to record conversations focusing on a main functional objective with minimal planning and notes while utilizing conversation strategies.

This course introduces the literary genres – prose (short stories), poetry, and drama – with an emphasis on developing reading, speaking, and writing skills through the analysis, interpretation, and production of fictional texts. Our emphasis will be to experience literature using active, co-operative methods in order to learn how to respond to literature in ways that are both critically informed, expressive and creative.


This first semester course focuses on developing reading skills through the use of in-class timed readings and comprehension questions, intensive readings with comprehension and vocabulary building activities, and extensive reading conducted mostly outside of class time. Homework will consist of reading for meaning, for pleasure, and for the purpose of vocabulary building. The overall goals of the course are to increase reading fluency, to improve understanding of grammatical forms and vocabulary encountered in simplified written texts, and to gain skills and strategies necessary for further development of reading comprehension. It is hoped that students will also develop an increased interest in EFL reading.

Introduces initial basic proficiency in fluency and accuracy in spoken English. Develops fluency in basic oral expression. Develops reading skills through regular reading practice. Introduces writing skills form the paragraph level. Introduces vocabulary for academic purposes.

The course develops fluency in basic oral expression through various active learning methods such as pair-work, brainstorming, group discussions, games and activities, role-plays, presentations and active listening. Students are expected to record conversations focusing on a main functional objective with minimal planning and notes while utilizing conversation strategies.


Introduces basic theories of economics. Topics covered may include: economics as a science; production, specialization and exchange; demand and supply; elasticity; utility; output and costs; industry structure; factor markets; business cycles; national output and macro-economic policies; market failure; and international trade.

For 2nd-Year students submitting:

Area Studies - 7500 words
Independent Study - 3750 words
English - 3750 words

Upload your work here

This course examines contemporary issues in the English-speaking world. Students will learn to evaluate such issues, compare them with their own societies, assemble evidence from other sources, and express their own views in a written format. For language development, the course builds on the skills required in the academic writing course. Students learn to use sources of evidence to support their writing on common issues in the English-speaking world. They learn to use quotations and paraphrases, summarize texts and avoid plagiarism. The use of citations and references as a standard feature of academic writing is addressed. Vocabulary, grammar and written fluency are also reinforced.

This course is designed for all second year students in the fall Study Abroad on Campus program requiring a minimum TOEIC score to continue on with upper division courses at MIC. 

Surveys the masterpieces of Japanese Art from pre-history to the present, emphasizing the interplay between Japanese and Chinese cultural traditions.

Through comparing and contrasting Japanese and international/ traditional and contemporary art, JAC 204 encourages students to develop a critical awareness of the roots and evolution of some of the greatest works of Japanese art.


This course examines contemporary issues in the English-speaking world. Students will learn to evaluate such issues, compare them with their own societies, assemble evidence from other sources, and express their own views in a written format. For language development, the course builds on the skills required in the academic writing course. Students learn to use sources of evidence to support their writing on common issues in the English-speaking world. They learn to use quotations and paraphrases, summarize texts and avoid plagiarism. The use of citations and references as a standard feature of academic writing is addressed. Vocabulary, grammar and written fluency are also reinforced.

Students read texts that are related to the cultures of English-speaking countries around the world, especially the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The learning goals include increased reading comprehension of academic English texts, habitual use of a number of reading strategies, mastery of certain grammatical and lexical forms, increased reading fluency and the acquisition of dictionary skills.

The goals of English 3 are to further develop oral fluency and accuracy in academic settings. In particular, students will complete tasks based around the topic of cultures of the English-speaking world. The course continues practice in listening skills, pronunciation practice, conversation management and fluency development. Students will also learn and practice using grammar objectives and vocabulary.

This course examines various themes, approaches, and genres in American literature, and relates this literature to its historical, cultural, and social context. We will explore the literature of the early twentieth century. 

This course will focus upon important and representative works of American literature in their historical and cultural contexts. We will focus on poetry and prose that provide insight into the literary and intellectual climate to which each work belongs.

We will begin by exploring the colonial origins of the United States and its colonial literature. We will move to examine American literature in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. We will be looking at some of the major historical and cultural events in American history, such as the American Civil War, and asking how literature may be involved within them. We will read a lot throughout the course and think critically about the texts, which is to say, we will analyze the texts and interpret meaning from them. The class examines the work H. D. Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Fredrick Douglass, Langston Hughes, Willa Cather, W. E. B. Dubois, and Toni Morrison

This seminar is the capstone of the course of study for the Global Leadership Certificate (GLC). The seminar tests and builds upon the leadership skills that students were first introduced to during the 1st year GLC seminar ‘Development Studies,’ and which they were encouraged to apply during their study abroad independent study and while working on their praxis capstone and senior thesis projects. Students will be introduced to and comprehensively study selected public problems in the realms of ‘peace and conflict,’ ‘environment and conservation,’ and ‘human social development’ at the local, national, and/or global level. Each student will then propose, prepare, and engage in a leadership project that offers immediate and long-term solutions to a public problem of their choice. The seminar will conclude with critical evaluations of the hands-on leadership projects, including their rationale, planning and execution, and expected outcomes.

Specifically, the course introduces major (economic) issues that are challenging global leaders. The course starts with (economic) theories about global production, international trade (structure), the impacts of information and technology, etc. Then the course synthesizes some development challenges that the global leadership is facing. The course is a seminar type where some selected issues and policies will be presented, analyzed, and discussed actively by students. Some specific cases of the rising powers, energy and environmental issues may be covered. The specific topics are subjected to change and adapted to students’ level and interest.

The content and significance of issues in economics vary according to changing market conditions at the local, regional, and global levels. This course identifies and explores economic topics that stand out for their special significance both from the standpoint of economic theory and the prevailing economic practices of the day. 

Specifically, the course content would cover emerging policy issues during the development of the economies.