English Course

The Importance of Freshman English

There are two areas that freshmen need to improve in learning English: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, along with basic reading and writing skills, and Academic English Ability in professional fields. In fact, the improvement in Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills will provide the foundation for higher proficiency in Academic English Ability.
In both undergraduate and graduate programs, many courses will be instructed via English handouts and/or English textbooks. Therefore, a sound foundation built from freshman English courses will enable students to be successful in applying for short-term overseas programs, pursuing graduate degrees in foreign universities, or immigrating to other countries in the future. It will also enhance students' academic competence and in turn their qualification for the future job market.
In addition to the practical implication, English itself is an interesting subject. With proficient English, students' worldviews will be broadened and their lives will become more fruitful and colorful.

Ideals and Goals of Freshman English

The ideal of freshman English is not only to improve both Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills and Academic English Ability but also to enhance students' humanity disposition. Therefore, students are expected to become fully-functioning persons.
With the idea of student-centered teaching in mind, lecturers will offer meaningful course contents and materials based on students' backgrounds and interests; the objective is to shape the students' independent learning capabilities. The specific goals of those learning capabilities include the following areas.

Listening: To be able to understand daily conversational English and to respond properly
Speaking: To be able to communicate with teachers, classmates, and friends in English in a natural and meaningful fashion
Reading: To be able to apply various reading skills in understanding the content of general articles
Writing: To be able to clearly express opinions with various phrases, paragraphs, and articles

Placement test and Differentiating Teaching

Differentiating teaching commenced at the semester of Fall 2006. Based on the results of the placement test during enrollment, students will be divided into one of the three levels - Basic, Intermediate, and High-intermediate. Under this policy, teaching difficulties resulting from the potential huge gaps among students' competence can be avoided. Students should try their best in the placement test to avoid improper categorization of their actual English proficiency. Otherwise, courses can be either too easy or too difficult and students' learning outcome may then be compromised.

Programs Of Required English

or Students of Entrance Year 2008 or After

Dept. Program	Daytime Dept.	Evening Dept.
Dept. Program	Program (credit)
1st Semester of Freshman	Freshman English (2)	English (2)
2nd Semester of Freshman	Freshman English (2)	English (2)
1st Semester of Sophomore	Sophomore English (2)	－
2nd Semester of Sophomore	Sophomore English (2)	－
Total Credits	8	4

The English courses taught by The Language Center are part of the University's general education curriculum. When it was established in 2006, the Center offered the compulsory "Basic English" course (6 credits) lasting one academic year and "Advanced English" (4 credits) a one semester course. In 2008, the Center revised the curriculum into Freshman English (4 credits) and Sophomore English (4 credits), both required courses. In addition, in 2011, the Center began offering “Remedial Foreign Language Skills” classes to meet the needs of students through to their graduation.

Beginning in 2013, sophomore students at the higher intermediate level of English were able to choose between the “daily English module” and the “workplace English module”. The following year, the Center recruited students with a higher English proficiency to participate in the six-hour per week course "Elite English I," instead of the first-year basic English course. The content of the Elite course focused on training students for the IELTS exam to develop the language skills necessary for overseas studies as exchange students. The Center also began offering a one-semester "Elite English II" course the next year (2014), which will exempt students from taking Sophomore English.

In order to meet the future needs of students in the workplace, commencing 2018 the Sophomore English course began to focus exclusively on Workplace English, while Freshman English maintained its focus on daily English, and from the present school year (2020), the name of the freshman English course was officially changed Daily English to better express the course content. Likewise, in 2021, the name of the sophomore English course will be Workplace English. Thus, the courses of The Language Center account for eight out of the ten credits of the daytime students' general language proficiency courses, accounting for about 27% of the total General Education credits of the University.

Since its inception, The Language Center has offered a growing number of 2-credit elective courses in Japanese and Japanese tourism, German, Spanish, and English Conversation, later adding French, Vietnamese language and culture, Malay language and culture, Korean and other foreign language courses, expanding the students' multicultural opportunities. Over the past six academic years from 2020, The Language Center has expanded its offerings to include elective courses in advanced practical English, such as "Workplace English," "Design, Cultural, and Creative English," "Presentation English", "News English: Listening," "Technology English," "Advertising and Marketing English," "Travel English" and "Tourism English." Since 2018, the Center has also been offering a variety of short-term courses to diversify the students' options.

Originally, foreign language courses totaled 4 credits for night school, students, representing about 14% of the General Education requirement. However, by the 2020 school year, English Courses increased to 8 credits, accounting for nearly 29% or one third of their total General Education requirement.

Since 2006, the Center offered compulsory Freshman English (2 credits), lasting one academic year, and Advanced English (2 credits), a one semester course. To fulfill the students’ workplace needs, the general English courses were modified from 6 to 4 credits per year. The classes were named “Foreign Language” and “Second/Foreign Language”. The “Foreign Language” courses were divided into English and Japanese modules, which students selected according to their needs. Beginning in 2021, the Center will modify the “Foreign Language” classes into “Basic English” for freshman and “Practical English” for sophomores.

Since its inception, The Language Center has offered 2-credit elective courses in Japanese, German, and Advanced English Conversation. In 2015, the Center added “Korean Language and Culture.” Two years later, the Center created two more elective courses, “Tourism Japanese” and “Tourism English." In 2018, the Center further expanded its offerings to include Spanish, Vietnamese language and culture, and Korean, increasing the students' language learning opportunities.