It is important to appreciate that this is not a geography course, but an English one. The teacher is not an expert in geography, but in English. Though all the material we’ll work with has a bearing on geography, you will not learn any geography on this course, whether in English, Czech or any other language. You will, however, learn how to use a dictionary, a thesaurus and the Internet to find the English equivalent of Czech geographical terms yourself, should you not know how to do so already. This course develops your skills and insights, including how to find and use geography material in English. There is no textbook. We learn by doing and reflecting. It is not possible to pass this course by not attending class and attempting to catch up later. It is not possible to pass this course by not participating actively in class. Requirements The course is Pass/Fail. If you meet all the requirements, you will pass. 1. Attendance and active participation at the weekly seminars. For you to meet this requirement, you need to be in class, sharing your work and ideas. You can miss two classes without penalty, and with no excuse needed (let me know in advance if you’re going to be absent). If you miss more than two classes, you are at risk of failing. If you do not actively participate in each class, you are at risk of failing. 2. A weekly written reflection. At weeks 1,2 and 3, weeks 5,6 and 7, and weeks 9,10 and 11, write a short reflection (half to 1 page) on your last English class. You may write anything, but it would help you most to consider what surprised you and what new things you’ve realised about learning, about university and about yourself. 3. Write and submit four consolidating reflections. At weeks 4, 8 and 12, submit your reflection (1-2 pages) on your last three weeks’ reflections. At week 13, submit your reflection (2-3 pages) on your whole semester’s development. 4. Test. There will be a small test towards the end of the semester. Weekly Learning Cycle Sequence Component Activity Note Before class Preparation Perusal/Discussion/ Research/Planning Notes from the last geography class; Assigned material During class Seminar Part 1 Facilitating/Teaching Active participation; Metacognitive development During class Seminar Part 2 Review/ New skills and language input Guided exploration and language development After class Weekend Report Reflection / Self-assessment Development of self-awareness and autonomy Preparation (teamwork) For Seminar Part 2: (you will use the assigned material as the starting point of the class discussion) 1. You may do this either on your own or with your teammates. 2. Peruse the material assigned for that week (there is no need to study it). 3. Take general notes (there is no need for detailed notes). 4. Think of how your classmates and your teacher might respond to what you plan to say about the material specifically and about the topic in general. Seminar Part 1 (teamwork) 1. Sit with your team. 2. Share what you’ve learned in geography during the past week or decide on a geography topic that you’re all familiar with. 3. Decide what your team will teach your English teacher in English. 4. Prepare a strategy for how to teach a 15-minute lesson, including what part each team member will play. 5. You are free to use the classroom technology. 6. As a team, teach your English teacher what you’ve learned in your area of expertise (15 minutes). You may employ any format. A formal presentation is not required, although you are free to do this if you wish. 7. The main macro-skills you will learn in Part 1 are facilitation, coordination, linking and synthesising. 8. The teacher may be a very good student and ask many questions. Pay good attention to how she does this, as you will need these techniques in Part 2. Seminar Part 2 (whole class) 1. The teacher will present the material that was assigned for that week (max. 15 minutes). 2. The class as a whole will critique that material (15-20 mins.) without the teacher. Full active participation is required. 3. This is a free discussion in which you concur, challenge, extend, qualify, contradict or in other ways keep the discussion going. 4. The teacher takes notes during the discussion. 5. The teacher gives the class a language lesson based on the English used in the material and during the discussion. After Class Reflection and Weekend Report (individual work) 1. Pick a dedicated hour at the weekend for doing your reflection. Always write your reflection during this hour. 2. Think back to the last English class you had (consult your class notes as a reminder). 3. Write rough reflective notes on what the class experience meant for you. You may write anything. If you’re stuck, you might find it useful to think of your first impression, what surprised you, what made you nervous, what you liked/did not like, what excited you, etc. 4. Use your rough reflective notes to write your Weekend Report of between half a page and one page in length. 5. When writing the first draft of your Weekend Report, don’t worry about grammar and spelling at all. Just get your thoughts down. 6. In your second draft, rearrange your writing in a coherent manner. Don’t worry about grammar and spelling yet. 7. In your third draft, fix all grammar and spelling. Your computer can find most of spelling and grammar that you might need to fix. 8. Make sure you write your name and class at the top of the page. 9. Your Weekend Report is now ready. Upload your Weekend Report to the Homework Vault online by Sunday 24:00/Monday 00:00. Geography topics for Seminar Part 2 Topic Material 1 A year on Earth https://youtu.be/82p-DYgGFjI 2 Facts versus experience: Earth https://youtu.be/ZyIVaZXDhho https://youtu.be/r17kLJxJcwM 3 Geological World Heritage Sites https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/wcpa/what-we-do/geoheritage 4 Pandemics and Epidemics https://youtu.be/tefAgSl-SWs 5 Enclaves and exclaves https://youtu.be/gtLxZiiuaXs 6 Tanker graveyard https://youtu.be/ckK2gDStCn4 https://youtu.be/WOmtFN1bfZ8 7 Antique smuggling https://youtu.be/ejVQPpg6Rj4 8 India’s geography problem https://youtu.be/6mDsa-AqNcQ 9 Sahara https://youtu.be/jEo-ykjmHgg https://youtu.be/Bi9bJhRZtKA 10 Mumbai slum https://youtu.be/fU8AnqSOih0 11 Countries at risk of extinction https://youtu.be/1vP3Ju7J4gk https://youtu.be/SboNzluN6Nc 12 An EU of nations or an EU of watersheds? https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/01/when-borders-melt/513077/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_watershed https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2015.00005/full If you are unsure about anything, feel free to email Anjuli: anjuli.pandavar@mail.muni.cz