This course is intended to provide practice using the English language to communicate in a variety of situations that might be encountered in real world. Hence the focus will be primarily on actually using the language to get things done rather than simply talking about the language.In short, we will talk( and listen)a lot in order to get better at actually communicating in English. Though this will be four-skill course, the emphasis will be on speaking and listening. Text: Sanabria, Kim. Academic listening Encounters; Life in Society. New York: Cambridge University Press,2012. Week eight will be the mid-term test period and we will have our final tests in week sixteen. Both the mid-term and final tests will follow what we have done during the semester and will be composed of both a listening and speaking portion. Grading: As this is not a lecture course, but an interactive class in which we will actively practice using the language, attendance and participation will be a large part of your grade. You will not be able to get a high grade simply by doing well on the tests. For example, if you have perfect attendance and get 100% on all the tests, but don't speak 100% English in class, look at your cell phone, or finish activity and sit silently or chat with your partner in a language other than English, you will not receive an A for your final grade. I will go into some detail below about attendance and participation so that you know at beginning of the semester how to get high scores in those areas. Attendance:10% Participation:25% Midterm listing/content/structure test:10% Midterm speaking test:20% Final listing/content/structure test:10% Final speaking test: 25%