Course Syllabus

Reading British & American

Culture
Friday, period 3, 4 OR 5,6 OR 7,8

Professor: A. Hayashi
010-5710-8066
professorhayashi@gmail.com
Course Description
This well-rounded content based reading course focuses on various aspects
of British and American Culture. An assortment of reading strategies will be
learned and adopted in order to advance reading comprehension in English.
Students will discover interesting aspects of the two cultures through
reading the textbook, newspaper articles and a novel of the student’s
choice.

Course Objectives
1. Read and speak in ENGLISH (and only English!)
2. Learn and apply various reading strategies.
3. Learn about British and American Culture through reading the textbook,
newspapers and novels.
4. Demonstrate confidence and mastery of the materials covered in class.
5. Further English proficiency levels though vocabulary extension.

Professionalism
A professional business-like attitude is a must if you are to succeed in the
marketplace. Professionalism means being fully prepared, having a positive
attitude, being punctual, participating fully and being courteous to others.
This is an intensive, interactive course. Students must be prepared to fully
engage themselves with the material and participate in an active manner.
Final marks will reflect your level of professionalism.

Required Textbook
1) Aspects of Britain and the USA, Oxford University Press, by Garwood,
Gardani and Peris
2) A British or American novel of your choice
Assessment
Professionalism 10%
Book Club 10%
News Portfolio 10%
In-Class Presentation 15%
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 30%

Notes on Assessment:
Every week, the designated class captain or assistant captain will be
responsible for taking attendance and checking homework. Professionalism
will be earned by making yourself available, unique and memorable. The
more a student engages with the material, the greater amount of
professionalism marks will be awarded. Attendance and homework also
essential to this component.
Throughout the semester, we will have book club days where students can
bring in a book of their choice to read. On the final reflection day, students
will complete an in class assignment to demonstrate the grasp of the
material.
Students will also be expected to keep a news portfolio. Students will collect
interesting news articles from British and American newspapers and write
short reflection pieces. The more articles a student collects, the higher the
portfolio grade will be.
In addition, students will be required to make one short in-class
presentation on an article from their news portfolio. A handout will be
distributed along with an explanation of the material.
Both the midterm and final exams will be of a similar format. This includes
multiple choice, short answer, and fill in the blanks.

Class Day/Period: _____________________________________________________

Class
Captain:__________________________________________________________

Assistant Class Captain:_______________________________________________

Tentative Outline
Week 1 – September 2
Introduction and Class Syllabus
Week 2 – September 9
The British People
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 3 – September 16
The Geography of Britain
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 4 – September 23
Book Club Day
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 5 – September 30
British History
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 6 – October 7
British Institutions
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 7 – October 14
Midterm Review Session
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 8 – October 21
Week 9 – October 28
The American People
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 10 – November 4
American Geography
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 11 – November 11
Book Club Day
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 12 – November 18
American History
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 13 – November 25
American Institutions
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 14 – December 2
Book Club Reflection (10% of final mark)
In-Class Presentation:
________________________________________________________________
Week 15 – December 9
Final Exam Review Session
News Portfolios due (10% of final mark)
Week 16 – December 16