Explorations in English: Preface

Preface

One important thing to remember when receiving a set of classroom materials is that real education is not what happens on paper - it is something which occurs in your minds. To a significant degree, language learning is a social process. Learning new vocabulary items and grammar points is only part of the story - learning new attitudes and ways of communicating are equally important. What we will learn in this course over the following weeks can never be predicted exactly. The following pages contain some points we might cover - but it is not a dictum of what must be covered. Many of the most significant points you learn may not be in this book.

Instead of thinking of this as a summary of what WILL be taught, please consider it as suggestions for what MIGHT be taught. If there is something you'd like to discuss which is not contained here, please let me know and probably we can find a way to accomodte your wishes. Also, if some lessons seem boring, too easy, or too difficult let me know. Based on your feedback, we can skip certain topics, go into other topics in more depth, or discuss new topics entirely. Your input is essential to the success of this course.

In Japan when people get tired they often take a special hi-powered energy drink which has many vitamins. One way to think of this course is as an "English energy drink". An energy drink can provide a short-term boost of power. However, for a long term increase in power you may need to change your lifetsyle. In the same way, to make a long term change in your English ability you may need to change some of your learning and speaking habits. To help you make some changes, optional homework activities will be mentioned at the end of each lesson.

Let's make the most of this semester!