科學英文

This course provides students with an opportunity to practice and improve their English language skills by learning about scientific theories and experiments. Each week, students will read about a particular theory or experiment, listen to a short lecture about it, answer questions about it, and discuss it with their classmates and the instructor. The course is divided into two parts. In the first part of the course, the instructor will choose the readings, deliver the short lectures, ask questions about the readings, and lead the class discussions. In the second part of the course, the students will do all of these things. More specifically, each week, one group of students will work closely with the instructor to choose a reading, prepare and deliver a short lecture, prepare questions about the reading for the other students to answer, and lead the class discussion with the instructor.

This course aims to enhance students’ ‧ English reading abilities by requiring them to read challenging texts each week; ‧ English listening abilities by requiring them to listen to short lectures and class discussions; ‧ English speaking abilities by requiring them to engage in class discussions and deliver short lectures; and ‧ English writing abilities by requiring them to complete weekly reading comprehension exercises, come up with one discussion question per week, and take the midterm and final exams. Moreover, this course aims to enhance these English abilities with respect to the use of English in science in particular and in academic settings more generally.

Weekly reading comprehension exercises: 10% Each week, students will work in groups to complete a short exercise based on that week’s readings. These exercises are graded pass-fail—students who complete the exercise in class will receive full credit; otherwise, no credit will be given. Weekly discussion questions: 10% Each week, students are responsible for coming up with one discussion question based on the reading, which they must email me the day before that week’s meeting. These questions may concern an aspect of the reading that they found interesting, confusing, or problematic in some way. These questions are graded pass-fail—students who email me their discussion question before class will receive full credit; otherwise, no credit will be given. Lead one class meeting: 30% Students will work in small groups to lead the class for one meeting during the second part of the course. More specifically, each group will work closely with the instructor to choose a reading from Magie (1935), prepare and deliver a short lecture, prepare questions about the reading for the other students to answer, and lead the class discussion with the instructor. The instructor will be a member of each small group, and will work closely with the students so that they can achieve these goals. Midterm exam: 25% The midterm exam will cover all of the readings from the first part of the course. Questions will focus on information that we discussed in class. Final exam: 25% The final exam will cover all of the readings from the second part of the course. Questions will focus on information that we discussed in class.

Dalton, John, Wollaston, William Hyde, & Thomson, Thomas (1893). Foundations of the atomic theory. Alembic Club reprints, no. 2. Edinburgh: William F. Clay, 18 Teviot Place. —This book contains excerpts from early nineteenth century work in chemistry by Dalton, Wollaston, and Thomson on the atomic theory. Readings from the first part of the semester are drawn from this book. Magie, William Francis (ed.) (1935). A source book in physics. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. —This book contains excerpts from primary sources from the history of the physical sciences. Authors include Newton, Boyle, Hooke, Davy, Faraday, Maxwell, and J. J. Thomson, among others. Readings from the second part of the semester are drawn from this book. Students will work in groups and consult with the instructor in order to select the readings that we will focus on.