Academic English

Listen to the recording about college classes and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Teacher: Okay, Okay, let’s begin. Hello, everyone. My name’s Karl Roberts, and I’ll be your teacher for this class, Intercultural Communication 311.

To begin with, uh, please look at the syllabus in front of you. You should all have one by now, I think. Um, this class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:50. We will be meeting in this room for the first half of the course, but we will be using the research lab every other week on Thursday in room 405 during the last two months of the class.

Uh, this is the text for the class, Beyond Language. Unfortunately, the books haven’t come in yet, but I was told that you should be able buy them at the bookstore the day after tomorrow. Again, as you see on your course outline, grading is determined by your work on a midterm and final test, periodic quizzes, a research project, and classroom participation.

My office hours are from 1:00 to 2:00 on Wednesdays, and you can set up an appointment to meet with me at other times as well. Okay, let me explain a little bit more about the class and its objectives.

• intercultural (adjective): occurring between two or more cultures 
  – In this class, we will discuss intercultural relationships and marriages.
• syllabus (noun): an outline of a course or class
  – Please review the syllabus tonight, and we will review it tomorrow.
• be determined (verb): be the reason for a decision  
  – Your grades will be determined by your performance on quizzes and tests.
• midterm (test) (noun): an exam given at the middle of a school year 
  – The midterm will be next Monday, so please prepare.
• periodic (adjective): happening regularly over a period of time 
  – The teachers give periodic quizzes to check your understanding.
• objective (noun): a goal or purpose 
  – What are the main objectives of this class?