Miyazaki International University 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.

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. 

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!

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:

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.