Miyazaki International College Moodle

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.

This moodle section will be used for Ellen Head's AE 1-1 class to pick up useful documents and links. The coursebook for this course is Q Skills for Success, Reading and Writing, Book 1A. Please make sure you have a copy or the course book and you are also able to log in to the Q Skills for Success E-learning page.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

This course offers an introduction to the basic concepts of critical thinking and propositional logic. The aim is to present students with a balanced survey of inductive (content) and deductive (formal) kinds of arguments. Students will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of argumentation, thereby gaining a comprehensive vision of the capacities and limitations of rationality in general. The course begins with a discussion of the fundamental principles of argument analysis. Students learn how to distinguish between premises and conclusions, how to recognize arguments from non-arguments, and also gain tools for assessing the strength and cogency of arguments in our everyday language. Students also learn how to identify and fix both formal and informal fallacies. If time permits, propositional logic will take up the last section of the course. Students will become acquainted with truth tables and natural deduction, and will practice translating from natural language into symbolic notation. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on the application of logic within our everyday lives, helping students to develop clear thinking skills, while exploring the usefulness of logic for philosophy and theoretical subjects generally.

This course introduces the principal components of written and oral argumentation. This course provides students with opportunities to analyze arguments, map viewpoints, and advocate for claims of their own.

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion using all means possible. In this class students explore the various means of persuasion,particularly in written and spoken forms. Students learn how various means can be employed artfully to achieve specific desired ends, to persuade others of the value of an opinion, viewpoint, or understanding. Rhetoric is fundamental to all acts of communication. The study of rhetoric will enhance the student’s effectiveness in communicating and in understanding communication. Through the study of rhetoric students will deepen their knowledge and understanding of how argument and rhetoric work in many communicative spheres: visual, literary, business, advertising, and politics. 

This course surveys leading thinkers and ideas that shaped the European intellectual tradition. We will consider works by thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, and Freud.

This course focuses on the role of subjectivity in the emergence of the modern European world. One of the most important differences between the ancient Greek worldview and the modern worldview comes from a modern preoccupation with the tensions between subjectivity and objective reality. Is experience a reliable source of knowledge? Do things exist objectively beyond consciousness? Or is the mind the basis for all of reality? This course traces these specifically modern European questions about subjectivity back to Descartes’ Meditations and then explores some of the most significant breakthroughs in the debate.

This course offers an introduction to the basic concepts of critical thinking and propositional logic. The aim is to present students with a balanced survey of inductive (content) and deductive (formal) kinds of arguments. Students will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of argumentation, thereby gaining a comprehensive vision of the capacities and limitations of rationality in general. The course begins with a discussion of the fundamental principles of argument analysis. Students learn how to distinguish between premises and conclusions, how to recognize arguments from non-arguments, and also gain tools for assessing the strength and cogency of arguments in our everyday language. Students also learn how to identify and fix both formal and informal fallacies. If time permits, propositional logic will take up the last section of the course. Students will become acquainted with truth tables and natural deduction, and will practice translating from natural language into symbolic notation. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on the application of logic within our everyday lives, helping students to develop clear thinking skills, while exploring the usefulness of logic for philosophy and theoretical subjects generally.

The course introduces the economic development of Japan. The course examines the economic institution, and mechanisms. The course covers work organization, information structure, incentives, distribution and governance in the corporate firms, regional contracting between firms and corporate grouping, the role of financial institutions and the government.

This course surveys a wide range of global issues. Topics will be covered include, for example, globalization, conflict and cooperation, global security, global economy, development, environment, human rights, gender issues, etc. Students will learn basic concepts, analytical tools, and approaches for studying issues affecting social change on a global scale.

This course has two important goals. The first is to give students an understanding of major global issues. Students will learn about diverse cultures, regional integration, globalization, and global conflict. The second is to train students to use a variety of data to analyze global and societal issues, as well as to suggest solutions to real-world problems. Students will be expected to develop critical thinking skills and perspectives to better understand the global issues.  Students will engage in various types of class activities, such as class participation, group discussions and presentations. 

Topics/Assignments:

The course is divided into two main sections:

i) Global issues

ii) Presentation and discussion on global issues

English Linguistics 1 is an introduction to the nature of language, with a focus on the English language. The course aims to develop students’ knowledge of the formal features of language. The topics that will be covered are phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Each of these modules will be examined through the lens of first and second language acquisition.

This  course  introduces  the  methodologies  and  foundations  of  Comparative  Literature,  a

discipline  which  systematically  studies  literatures  from  different  nations,  languages  and/or  times.  The

course  aims  at  students  acquiring  the  means  and  tools  for  appreciating  textual  productions  from

varying  perspectives  through  a  comparative  study  of  texts  from  different  cultural  traditions  that  raise

questions  about  the  nature  and  function  of  storytelling  and  literary  expression.  Comparisons  may  be

thematic,  formal,  and/or  historical,  preferably  with  one  side  of  the  comparison  being  an  instance  of

Japanese  literature  in  translation.

This course is designed primarily for those who will be involved in English language education in the future and those who are currently involved in English and Chinese language education, and will teach foreign language teaching methods at a higher level than undergraduate education.