Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course (Revised Edition)

Author: Luo Lisheng, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" was commissioned by the Beijing Graduate English Teaching Research Association and developed by relevant universities in Beijing based on the "Graduate English Teaching Syllabus" (Trial Version) and the practical needs of graduate English teaching in recent years. It is suitable for non-English major master's students in humanities, sciences, engineering, medicine, agriculture, forestry, and other disciplines in higher education institutions. The guiding principle for developing "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" is primarily based on the listening requirements specified in the "Graduate English Teaching Syllabus" and the "Examination Syllabus," emphasizing practical training in listening skills, integrating listening and speaking, focusing on the practicality and of the course, and meeting the current needs of listening and speaking teaching as much as possible to adapt to the development of graduate English teaching in the 21st century. Each unit in "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" is divided into three main parts: 1. Listening Practice; 2. Speaking Practice; 3. Listening Test. The entire book consists of 16 units and requires approximately 32 class hours, suitable for use over one semester. Schools can flexibly select units based on the arrangement of listening class hours. "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" highlights training in listening skills at the discourse level, strengthening the ability to accurately obtain required information and improving comprehension of listening materials with higher linguistic authenticity. During the development process of "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course," the following six points were noted: 1) Materials focus on linguistic core, with daily life themes as the main content, striving for novelty, emphasizing ideological depth,, and knowledge. 2) Diverse exercise formats are adopted, including recording, answering questions, filling in tables, creating tables, filling in diagrams, and true/false judgment, to cultivate students' ability to analyze and summarize based on comprehension and enhance their authentic language use skills. 3) Integration of listening and speaking, with listening as the primary focus and speaking as a supplement. After each unit's listening practice, a moderate amount of speaking exercises are provided. Listening materials can be directly used for speaking practice. 4) Progression from easy to difficult, with the first six units being relatively simple to help new graduate students adapt. 5) Each unit includes listening simulation test questions. These tests are strictly compiled according to the requirements of the examination syllabus, including specialized listening exercises in dialogue form, short passage listening exercises, and full simulation tests. 6) Listening materials are of moderate length and difficulty, with standardized language. The content of the lower volume of "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" mainly includes thematic lectures, news reports, reports, culture, history, biographies, etc., with a length of approximately 200 to 350 words. Exercise formats primarily involve fill-in-the-blanks, filling in tables and diagrams, true/false judgment, selection, recording, and written responses, while also incorporating tasks such as organizing notes and summarizing key points. "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" is divided into two volumes, both in 16K format; the upper volume focuses on listening fundamentals, while the lower volume focuses on listening improvement. The upper volume is suitable for foundational courses, and the lower volume is suitable for advanced courses and elective courses. "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" emphasizes speaking practice training for graduate students, providing a certain amount of speaking exercises in each unit. Additionally, it includes corresponding listening simulation exercises tailored to the needs of graduate English degree examinations to help students better adapt to degree course exams. "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" places great importance on recording quality, speaking speed, and the clarity of audio tapes, ensuring effective listening teaching. "The Graduate English Listening and Speaking Course" was developed by teachers from institutions such as Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, and Beijing University of Science and Technology. Australian English teacher Mary Tarrant thoroughly reviewed the manuscript and made some revisions.