Seoul National University

Language Education Institute

Foreign Language Education Center

Level 7

Instructor: Daniel Park

INSTRUCTOR E-MAIL:

Office Hours:by appointment

COURSE MATERIALS: Arranged by instructor in class

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Students placed in English Conversation Series Level 7 can develop topics easily, coherently and fully, with little repetition, hesitation or self-correction. They have clear, sustained and flexible pronunciation that can be easily understood at almost all times. Their wide lexical range allows them to discuss virtually any topic at length and they are familiar with many idiomatic and less common terms, though some errors may be made with these. Their grammatical range is extensive and the majority of their sentences are error-free, but a few errors may persist.

Upon completion of the level the speaker should be able to actively direct and sustain conversations. When discussing unfamiliar topics, the speaker is successfully able to use a variety of strategies such as paraphrasing and circumlocution to communicate the message can use a variety of hedging strategies to moderate claims. The speaker will also have the ability to manage and participate in group discussions of a somewhat academic nature. He or she is able to use debating and persuasive speaking strategies to introduce and support their own opinions as well as respond to those of others.

Students who are awarded the certificate are fluent in virtually all conversational situations. They can develop topics fully, have extensive and appropriate knowledge of spoken cohesive features and usually hesitate only to consider content (rather than to search for words or grammar). Their pronunciation is clear at all times, and no effort is required to understand them. They have more than enough vocabulary, including a full range of phrasal verbs, collocations, idioms and adjectives, to discuss any topic fully and accurately. They rarely make grammatical errors, except for ones that are typical of those made by native English speakers.

Selected Key Functions

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Selected Key Grammar

  • Hedging claims and softening opinion; distancing the speaker from a claim
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  • Hedging: using modals and auxiliary verbs to hedge claims;

  • Leading a short seminar on a topic of general interest
  • Understanding the difference between academic/formal vocabulary and informal vocabulary (examine, investigate compared to check out)
  • Delivering and supporting an opinion
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  • Meta-discourse language used to organize and present information and opinions
  • Today I’m going to talk about…, First, I’ll discuss…, Then, I’ll go on to…

  • Responding to and managing questions
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  • Framing responses: That’s a good question…, Well actually…,

  • Managing a group discussion
  • Summarizing and reporting discussions
  • Circumlocution and Paraphrasing
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  • Signaling agreement, disagreement, clarification, etc. politely