新聞英文

Course Description: Newspaper English This course focuses on enhancing your critical reading, analytical thinking, and academic discussion skills through modern news media. By engaging with diverse news articles, you will develop essential reading strategies—such as distinguishing fact from opinion, evaluating source credibility, and identifying systemic bias. Additionally, this course explores how to responsibly co-pilot your analytical workflows with AI chatbots, ensuring you build skills as an independent thinker in the digital age. Active weekly participation is crucial; you are expected to read all assigned materials and come to class ready to debate and discuss. Course Objectives By the end of this course, you will be able to: • Analyze complex arguments and evaluate diverse perspectives in mainstream media. • Construct and deliver rational, well-structured arguments and critiques. • Utilize AI chatbots effectively as tools for brainstorming and polishing, rather than relying on them as substitutes for independent thought.

This course requires a CEFR level of B1-B2.

Grading & Assessment (30% / 30%) 1. Weekly Participation & Presentations (30% of Final Grade) Throughout the semester, we will cover 4 major news articles. You will act as a primary presenter for 2 of these articles. Your presentations should last 3 to 5 minutes and must follow a strict, logical structure: • Part 1 (Summary): Use the Toulmin argument framework (claim, grounds, warrant) to summarize the author’s core point that you found most important, problematic, or intriguing. • Part 2 (Critique): Use the Toulmin framework to show why you agree or disagree with the author, providing two distinct reasons/examples to support your stance. • Conclusion & Q&A: Conclude with a brief wrap-up sentence and present 2 discussion questions to the class to kickstart the open debate. 2. Critical Feedback & Peer Review (30% of Final Grade) For the 2 articles where you are not the primary presenter, you will drive the classroom discussion (each critique is worth 25% of this category). You can fulfill this requirement in one of two ways: • Option A (Formulate Arguments): Ask 2 targeted questions to the presenter and explain your rationale using the Toulmin framework (claim, grounds, warrant). • Option B (Constructive Feedback): Provide a live analysis of your classmate’s presentation, identifying logical flaws, inconsistencies, or strengths in their reasoning.

Weekly Participation & Presentations (30%): Deliver 2 structured presentations (3 mins each) based on assigned texts throughout the semester. Critical Feedback & Peer Q&A (30%): Actively engage with peers by asking targeted questions or providing constructive analytical feedback during presentations. Mid-Term Examination (20%): Comprehensive assessment of reading strategies and critical frameworks covered in the first half of the semester. Final Examination (20%): Final analytical assessment.

Course Materials: To facilitate preparation, all reading materials and news articles will be provided digitally at the absolute beginning of the semester. Students are expected to read assigned texts before coming to class.