Required Textbook:

Seiler, W.J., & Beall, M.L. (2002). Communication: Making connections (5^th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Course Objectives:

The overall goal of this course is to help students develop speaking and listening skills by studying the process and theory of communication and by applying communication principles to various speaking situations. By the end of this session, you will:

- Be aware of the communication process;

- Be familiar with preparation for and delivery of informative and persuasive speeches;

- Understand the importance of effective communication; and

- Understand the impact of communication on human relationships, self-esteem, and personal development in an organization, the community and society.

Class Organization:

In order to reach the objectives of the course, the class will be structured with a combination of lectures, discussions, and speech presentations. Regarding the nature of this course "Oral Communication," you are expected to actively participate in class practices, including class discussion, dyadic role taking, and small group activities. Therefore, attendance and participation are taken into account for your final grade.

At the beginning of the session, there may be knowledge and skill gaps between those who have a lot of speech experiences and those who do not. Since my teaching philosophy is to promote students' learning processes, I will accommodate your learning needs based on your individual background. The course will not be difficult but it needs substantial work for everyone in the class to achieve the objectives mentioned above. Please do not hesitate to meet me individually in order to catch up with the class progress.

Tests:

There will be three tests that would help you review the concepts about communication processes and theories, and speech practices. There will be a review session before each test.

Assignments:

There will be two speech assignments that would help you gain skills, including an informative speech and a persuasive speech. The detail requirements will be described in handouts and in class. Please let me know in advance if you need an individual conference with me before your speech presentation in class.

Grading:

Each speech has to be presented according to the schedule. There will not be accepted excuses for one’s absence during the day when she/he is scheduled for presentation, if I do not receive a written notice from the absentee one day before the presentation day. Legitimate reasons for re-scheduling should not include working order, doctor appointment, sick without doctor’s notice, and other minor personal matters.

All the work turned in to this class should be your original work for this class. According to University policy, plagiarism will result in FAILURE of the course and further DISCIPLINARY ACTION. Plagiarism includes "borrowing" or "sharing" another student's paper or another writer's work, submitting the papers that you wrote for other courses.

The grading composition is shown as follows:

The grades will be weighed by the percentages shown above and combined to result in your final course grade. The letter grading scales are shown as follows:

Tentative Schedule: