Session 13: IELTS Listening Listening Practice Test
Summary: We took an IELTS listening practice test. You also signed up for your IELTS practice speaking test.
Some students’ English spelling needs a lot of help! Please use these tools:
Language Tool Free Spell Checker
Note: Available IELTS Speaking Practice Test Times by appointment with Stacey Vye. Please let her know your preferred times in the Zoom Class in the chat with our AEW1a link and passcode. The first person to type the time you like gets that time. As students make an appointment, she will update the current available times below:
Times for Stacey Vye’s Tuesday and Thursday 1st period Sessions only:
Tuesday (01/13/2026): 1:00 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:00 pm, 2:30 pm
Wednesday (01/14/2026): 11:00 am, 11:30 am, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 4:00 pm, 4:30 pm
Thursday (01/15/2026): 1:00 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 4:00 pm, 4:30 pm
Tuesday (01/20/2026): 1:00 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:00 pm, 2:30 pm
Wednesday (01/21/2026): 11:00 am, 11:30 am, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 4:00 pm, 4:30 pm
Thursday (01/22/2026): 1:00 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm
Homework due at 1 pm, a day before Session 14: Please complete one essay of your choice in Write & Improve for 5 essays required for the 1st quarter. You can get feedback and editing to improve your writing as much as you like, and I recommend it. Therefore, could you please do at least enough entries on the essay topic you would like to write about in detail? Here is the convenient link:
This is a requirement to complete at least one Write & Improve practice essay five times or more and improve the essay based on your own learning and the AI Write & Improve Robot. If you are behind, please write and revise more than one essay.
Session 12: Catching up on your APA 3rd, 2nd, or 1st Drafts/Mini-IELTS Preparation
Summary: Please check Campus Square & your email inboxes for the Zoom link to this class.
Thank you for your papers. I have sent feedback to four students on their 3rd drafts and await their second drafts with in-text citations in APA style, including the date, page number, section, and paragraph number, so that I can check them.
In our Zoom Meeting, I will work on individual feedback on your papers and let everyone know what they need to do.
Then, we briefly focused on preparing for your upcoming IELTS practice tests (we are behind), mainly on the listening test. Those of you who took our AEW1a class last term will probably improve your score by .5 if you try hard.
Homework Due at 1 pm the day before Session 13:
- Submit your 2nd, 3rd, or final draft via email. Sorry, late students will get -2 points each week their final draft does not come in after January 19th at 1 pm.
- Option to read only if you are late with your 3rd draft or if you have already done this assignment in AEW1a with me. For extra credit of two points, please also take detailed 2 to 3 pages of notes on the PDF file on IELTS Information for candidates attached below, and include your notes, keywords, diagrams, drawings, and charts in your own words as much as you can.
Instructions: Take a picture or screenshot and input the photos into the Class 12 IELTS of your Google Doc, if you would like the extra credit of 2 points.
Other students get to see your work and share it. Just doing the work will give you credit for the homework. Document attached also below. Here are two samples of IELTS note-taking:
UCLES. (2019). Information for candidates: Introducing IELTS to test takers. IELTS.
2. Requirement to complete one Write & Improve practice essay at five times and improve the essay based on your own learning and the AI Write & Improve Robot:
Please follow the instructions as best you can, following one of the five essays you chose to write this quarter. You can write again and again, following the guidance to improve your score. All essays are due at 1 pm before Session 15 in January.
Session 01: Orientation & Talking About Academic Writing
Summary: An orientation to the course was provided, explaining the documents below, including what is expected of you in our classes, your homework, how to excel, and how to maximize your English writing skills in this course.
How will your grade be calculated?
Homework (30%)
IELTS Practice Midterm (20%)
APA Academic Final Paper (20%)
Class Participation (10%)
Five Essays: Cambridge Write & Improve (20% – 10% is part of online class participation)
Total = 100%
First, please send an email in class. Your teacher will then invite you to create a Cambridge Write & Improve writing account and join W & I with our class code.
Homework due at 1 p.m. before Session_02:
Second, you can complete the essay after setting up your online account with a class code that will be emailed to you based on your email address in class. Do not use AI or Chat GBT Please write your own essay, but you can use Write & Improve or Grammarly to spell and grammar check. In this first class, the teacher demonstrated how to complete the assignment, so for any absent students, don’t hesitate to get in touch with them.
It is essential to review your score and notice your mistakes to improve your draft after the submission. Each time you submit, your university pays a lot of money for it, so please take advantage of this homework opportunity. Please complete the essay
Please use these question prompts to help you with a 200-250-word essay.
What kind of academic essay writing have you done so far in English?
What is puzzling for you about academic essay writing (i.e., what questions do you have about academic writing)?
Which specific writing concepts/skills do you most want to develop in this quarter? Why? How? Please provide a detailed explanation, including clear reasons.
Please review the guidance of Write & Improve, and revise the essay again and again as many times as you like.
You can find this Write & Improve essay on one of the teacher’s pages, so please click the page numbers to find the essay, like this screenshot:
Files to Download:
AEW1a Syllabus (short version)
Class 15: Creativity & Innovation Presentation Day 1
Summary: There were five innovative observation presentations based on your reports. The first presentation was on _________________. The second presentation involved __________________. Finally, the third presentation ________________________________. Congratulations, presenters, as we had fruitful question and answer discussions.
Guidelines for your Presentation that are not included in the document.
1. Your talk should be about 8-10 minutes and then 3-5 minutes for questions, comments, and answers.
2. It is good to practice your presentation several times on ZOOM so you can focus on your content while speaking to the camera.
3. There are usually 16 to 20 slides.
4. Your reference page is single-spaced with APA formatting.
5. Please include in-text citations such as parenthetical citations (Miller, 2021, par. 3). You can also do narrative in-text citations like Miller (2021) suggested that…
6. Here are two free websites where you can download free and beautiful images and pictures:
Note: For this ESP2a 2022 Class we do not have a Presentation Day 2 because the class is small. Thanks for your lovely observations on creative solutions! Free Rice is due on:_____________
Homework due via email on 11/19/2023 at 5:00 PM for Presentation Day 2 presenters:
1. Do your best on preparing for your presentation slideshow with images and cite in APA references and in-text citations. The Word document of the presentation guidelines is useful to follow while adding content and your script in notes in the PowerPoint based on synthesizing your notes. Please be on time to send your submission so that you can get feedback on your presentation in Class 16.
2. Everyone, don’t forget to do 2,000 correct answers of Free Rice!
3. Your ZOOM Presentation Guidelines and Useful Presentation Phrasebook documents:
Class 14: Creativity & Innovation Presentation Workshop
Summary: I explained how to present your observation paper for your upcoming presentation on Monday or Wednesday. You also got into groups or pairs to discuss the interesting findings and the challenges of writing your paper. The guidelines of for your presentation are further below. You are all still working on editing your paper. We ran out of time for me to explain again about accepting my feedback and deleting (rejecting) the comments to send a clean paper, so here are two YouTube videos on how to use track-changes on Mircosoft Word:
Guidelines for your Presentation that are not included in the document.
1. Your talk should be about 8-10 minutes and then 3-5 minutes for questions, comments, and answers.
2. It is good to practice your presentation several times on ZOOM so you can focus on your content while speaking to the camera.
3. There are usually 16 to 20 slides.
4. Your reference page is single-spaced with APA formatting with at least 5 references.
5. Please include in-text citations such as parenthetical citations (Miller, 2021, par. 3). You can also do narrative in-text citations like Miller (2021) suggested that…
6. Here are two free websites where you can download free and beautiful images and pictures:
New Paper and Presentation Examples:
Creativity Sample Paper C: Ideas for Solving Luggage & Restaurant Problems
Creativity Sample Presentation C: Ideas for Solving Luggage & Restaurant Problems
Paper Homework: Could you please accept all track changes based on my feedback and send your final paper, which can be a script or a guide for your presentation by Friday, 11/18/2023 at 3 PM.
Presentation Homework due via email on 11/17/2024 at 4:00 PM:
1. Do your best on preparing for your presentation slideshow with images and cite in APA references and in-text citations. The Word document of the presentation guidelines is useful to follow while adding content and your script in notes in the PowerPoint based on synthesizing your notes. Please be on time to send your submission so that you can get feedback on your presentation in Class 15 or Class 16.
2. Don’t forget to do 2,000 correct answers of Free Rice!
3. Your ZOOM Presentation Guidelines and Useful Presentation Phrasebook documents:
Class 12: Revising Your Observation Paper
Summary: We reviewed how to gather the information and write your entire first draft. You can write in a first-person narrative form as you would have a conversation as a support script for your final presentations. Then, time was given to reflect and start writing for your upcoming homework in individually with time to write. I consulted with each student about what readings and viewing might be helpful for your observations, guidance on your paper, and any questions you had.
Sample papers and presentations:
ESP2a Observation Paper A Bicycle Parking
ESP2a Observation Presentation A Bicycle Parking
ESP2b Observation Paper B Laziness
ESP2a Observation Presentation B Laziness
Guidance steps for completing your first draft:
G = Put your paper through Grammarly: Free Online Writing Assistant
A = APA Style -Owl Purdue
V = Veritus Certify! -Leander Hughes
E = Explanations attached below to check and download
Attachments:
Instructions-for-ESP2a_Creativity-Observation-PaperDownload
ESP2a_Creativity_Oberservation_Assessment-ChecklistDownload
Homework: Your 1st draft due on Sunday, 11/10/2024 by 4 PM email (but earlier is better for you, right?).
1. Using your ideas from your notes on your readings and presentation, please write 1st draft of your essay with an by using the GAVE system (noted above). It is good to keep in mind:
A). The formatting guidelines provided in the class of the APA 7th Quick Guides attached above.
B). the organization of an essay with topic sentences that support each paragraph based on what you learned in class today.
2. Please use the Instructions for APA Observation Paper and type your paper in that document to make the writing easy for you.
3. Use any extra references. I tried to give you a lot of feedback and editing to help you compile a fantastic paper.
4. Please put your name on the attachment.
Class 13: Revising Your Observation Paper
Summary: Each student who wrote their paper got feedback on how to improve your paper for the upcoming second draft, and you also learned about writing the paper by viewing feedback on other students’ work.
Guidance steps for completing your second draft:
G = Put your paper through Grammarly: Free Online Writing Assistant
A = APA Style -Owl Purdue
V = Veritus Certify! -Leander Hughes
E = Explanations attached below to check and download
Attachments:
Instructions-for-ESP2a_Creativity-Observation-PaperDownload
ESP2a_Creativity_Oberservation_Assessment-ChecklistDownload
Homework: Your 2nd draft due on Tuesday at 1 pm before class (but earlier is better for you, right?).
1. Using your ideas from your notes on your readings and presentation, please write 2nd draft of your essay with an by using the GAVE system (noted above). It is good to keep in mind:
A). The formatting guidelines provided in the class of the APA 7th Quick Guides attached above.
B). the organization of an essay with topic sentences that support each paragraph based on what you learned in class today.
2. Please use the Instructions for APA Observation Paper and type your paper in that document to make the writing easy for you.
3. Use any extra references. I tried to give you a lot of feedback and editing to help you compile a fantastic paper.
4. Please put your name on the attachment.
5. An option to do Free Rice. In fact, if you do not get your paper back from me by Tuesday, could you please play freerice instead.
Class 11: Writing Your Observation Paper
Summary: We had fun learning more about the GAVE process, which will help you write papers in other classes. We started typing our essays in class. You are working so very hard and dedicated to your observations. They are quite inspiring! Please book a Zoom meeting with me if you need any extra help. We are all in this learning experience together.
G = Put your paper through Grammarly: Free Online Writing Assistant
A = APA Style -Owl Purdue
V = Veritus Certify! -Leander Hughes
E = Explanations attached below to check and download
Attachments:
Language Tool Free Spell Checker
Homework: Introduction to your 1st draft due on Tuesday, 11/05/2024 hopefully by 4 PM email.
1. Using your ideas from your notes on your readings and presentation, please write your introduction and conclusion 1st draft of your essay with an introduction and literature review as best you can. It is good to keep in mind:
A). The formatting guidelines provided in the class of the APA 7th Quick Guides attached above.
B). the organization of an essay with topic sentences that support each paragraph based on what you learned in class today.
2. Please use the Instructions for APA Observation Paper and type your paper in that document to make the writing easy for you.
3. Use any extra references. I tried to give you a lot of feedback and editing to help you compile a fantastic paper.
4. Please put your name on the attachment.
Class 10: Research Questions & Note-Taking
Summary: We are going to explore your chosen observation that leads to creativity and innovation for any topic, but hopefully it helps you in your daily life immediately. We are not hear to solve the world’s problems, but you can if you wish:).
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.” Maya Angelou
a) Please select an issue that you would like to observe that is interesting to you.
b) Reflect on your own experiences about what you have learned about creativity and observing skills by reviewing your notes, and the samples of former students work.
c) Please answer what would you like to observe in two or three detailed sentences for each question:
1. Who?
2. What?
3. Where?
4. When?
5. Why?
6. How?
Here is one sample of an observation proposal.
Homework due on 11/03/2024 at 4 PM.
Please finish the last homework and start on this one, which takes about 1 hour to make a plan, a day or two to observe (but certainly not all the time, but some periods of time), and about an hour to take notes explained below. Go slow little by little and manage your time. You can do it and I can support you.
Please take notes on what you observe based on your proposal. Some of you are doing interviews, viewing physical spaces, comparing videos, or also adding notes of new readings. Regardless, observe the place, people, or viewing that might help you find a solution or idea for innovation to solve your issue creatively. Take good notes in the keywords only about what you have observed. Then, take pictures of your notes and place them in the Word document provided below. You should write about 4 pages of notes; otherwise, it will be hard to write your paper.
Class 03: Things That Block Creativity
Summary: Two students were absent today due to illness. I hope you get better soon. —> Your homework is to watch and take notes on David Kelly’s TED Talk. If you would like a print of the video script, it is in a box on my office door on the 2nd floor of the Kyoikukikotou near the ERC.
First, we watched Po-Shen Loh’s video on how he creatively solves challenges to learning through observation and discovery by meeting people where they are and innovating at scale. Then we had a super interesting talk about the creativity courses we have experienced in general, what makes this class different, and Po-Shen Loh’s talk. The takeaway seemed to be that we should meet people where they are to solve problems in education, particularly in various countries. Additionally, it highlighted the value of ChatGPT and AI as tools, but also emphasized that they can be incorrect, so we need to think outside the box and recognize our own value as humans in solving problems. Thus, the quotation was smartly noted by the student who came to class:
“The new world of AI is going to be the wild wild west….The people who are going to be the most successful are going to be the ones that are very good at creating value.” -Po-Shen Loh
Homework due on Tuesday by 1 p.m., the day before Class 04. Please watch the video, read the tape script in English to help you, and then take 2 to 3 pages of notes in keywords only on this TED Talk Video by David Kelly:
Kelley, D. (2012, March). How to build your creative confidence [Video]. TED Conference. http://www.ted.com/talks/david_kelley_how_to_build_your_creative_confidence?language=en
These notes will help you in your class discussions in class 04.
Homework all quarter: Freerice.com (20%) –> Goal 4,000 points
This homework is both fun and ongoing, as it involves self-study of your choice in English subjects within the Free Rice Programme. We can fight climate change, feed hungry children and families for free, while learning English too! Please get your code to create an account in the class.