Unlike traditional English classrooms in Korea where aspects of English such as grammar and punctuation are taught, Korea University’s (KU) elective course Practical English Reading and Writing delves into the elements of speaking and writing that can easily be used in everyday life. Fruitful discussions and vigorous debates are bound to leave students with a strong sense of achievement after completing this course.
Practical English Reading and Writing is a course that has multiple classes which are divided among professors and lecturers. Although each professor or lecturer has their own preferences in teaching methods, the structure of the course remains the same. Discussion takes up a large part of each class, with presentations and debates on specific topics or articles. Alongside discussions and assigned readings, students also write personal essays, journals, and short in-class essays. Although it may seem like a lot of work, most of it is finished through group activities during class.
With discussions held in every class, Practical English Reading and Writing serves to strengthen students’ ability to think rationally and independently. Students are urged to express their opinions in a clear, logical manner and if they wish to disagree with another student, they are pushed to give a coherent reason as to why. To amplify this skill, some instructors make use of response journals, reflection papers, and online discussion boards to give students the chance to connect concepts and to find their own reasoning based on what was discussed in class. Overall, the course allows students to become critical thinkers that question various sides to all issues.
As the course name suggests, the purpose of the class is to teach students how to put English to use in real-life situations. Therefore, more than simply memorizing information, this course’s curriculum prepares university students for their future and shows them how they can put English to use in their daily life. For instance, pursuing a career is a topic that is hotly discussed in university. As students near graduation, the task of filling out application forms and qualifying for job interviews becomes more important as well as daunting. In order to ease this stress that all university students suffer from, Practical English Reading and Writing teaches students how to write in a formal manner, which is important for those applying for jobs.
Based on undergraduate KU student Lee Jee-Woo’s (’20, Business) experience in lecturer Im Hyun-Sun’s (Institute for General Education) class, students had the chance to practice writing resumes and cover letters. “It was all very new,” said Lee Jee-Woo. “I was used to writing strictly formatted essays, so the work we did in Practical English Reading and Writing was a different yet informative experience. I learned how to concisely and effectively portray my strengths in a resume, and I am sure that this will help me later on.”
As important as formal writing is, being exposed to societal issues and ongoing controversies is also critical to building practical English skills. The course requires students to read articles on a variety of social and global issues with topics such as the aging population, the negative sides of social media, and artificial intelligence. After reading articles or listening to presentations on such topics, students share their thoughts. These topics related to social issues further emphasize the practicality of the course because linguistically, it provides students with a chance to familiarize themselves with specific vocabulary that may only be used in regard to certain issues or fields. Moreover, it enables students to form connections between problems in their lives and problems that are affecting society and to discuss these problems accurately.
Furthermore, there are neither prerequisites nor restrictions regarding one’s major for this course. Although many believe that only fluent English speakers would take this course, this is not the case. Many non-native English-speaking students take the class and voice their opinions freely, with instructors helping students to build logical arguments.
The focal point of the class is to *improve* one’s own speaking and writing skills compared to before taking the course. On that note, instructors value students’ willingness to participate as well as their enthusiasm, not solely their ability. Based on the reviews on the KU-specific course review site named Klue, many students revealed that as long as students follow the instructor’s instructions and actively participate in class, they will be able to end the semester feeling accomplished and more confident about their English skills.
Kim Sun-Hee (Department of English Language and Literature), one of the lecturers who teach Practical English Reading and Writing, shared her thoughts about this course.
GT: What is the main goal of this class?
Kim: My goal is to enable students to take responsibility for their own learning and gain confidence in articulating their thoughts either through speaking or writing. In order to meet this objective, I ask my students to reflect upon personal experiences and perspectives and co-construct knowledge together as a class. On top of that, I ask my students to incorporate and utilize their understanding and knowledge in relation to the reading topic in order to express and organize their ideas more effectively.
GT: What are your grading criteria when assessing students’ performances?
Kim: This course is based on an absolute grading scale. Unlike many other classes, this class has no exams. However, this course takes a learner-centered approach – so in order to receive good grades in this course, attendance and active participation are crucial. Other than writing response journals and doing writing assignments, everything that is done in class is, in fact, to prepare students to successfully conduct the final group project. Good grades never come easy! But one great thing about the assessment is that hard-working students soon realize that they are enjoying their journey by taking responsibility for their own learning and that this path ultimately leads to satisfying results.
GT: Do you have any last words for KU students?
Kim: By instructing this course, I have also learned a lot from my students with regard to their passion for learning. This course welcomes students – regardless of major or year of study – who are willing to make progress in fostering their critical literacy skills using English, and I hope to see many students’ active participation this semester.