What are the aims of this course?

In this course, we are going to study vocabulary by focusing mostly on two themes Education and
Health. We will be analysing these themes from many different perspectives, among others, from
sociological, psychological, philosophical, pedagogical and economic angles. One aim of the course is
to provide you with vocabulary that would help you discuss the issues related to education and
health with eloquence. For this reason, there is a deliberate overlap between Vocabulary Course and
Speaking Course; the idea being that the words and phrases you learn in this course you can later
utilise and practice in Speaking Course. Another purpose of Vocabulary Course is to prepare you for
the Use of English Exam that you will take in the summer semester. The material you cover in this
course will make up 20% of the test (two exercises, ten points each).

Finally, possibly most important goal of Vocabulary Course is to give you guidance on how to expand
your vocabulary on your own. This course is conducted in the first term only, and in the succeeding
terms, you are expected to enrich your vocabulary through self-study. It is, therefore, a good idea to
get to know people that attend Vocabulary Course with you and set up study groups. In these groups,
you can motivate and help one another to learn new words and phrases in the coming years.

The philosophy behind this course is best summed up by the famous Chinese proverb: ‘Teachers
open the door; you enter by yourself.’ In that spirit, you will be asked to cover part of the scheduled
material on your own. The self-studied components, along with some new material, will be
subsequently practiced and tested in class. The goal is to learn about 40 new words/phrases a week
(although this number may vary slightly from meeting to meeting). It is assumed that your level of
English is already high. If you find the assigned material challenging, the course may require more
workload from you. What this means in practice is that you will have to catch up and learn more than
the suggested 30-50 words/phrases every week.

While we learn new vocabulary, the emphasis will be placed on quality, and not merely quantity. Our
aim is to learn both what the new word means and how to apply it in different contexts. Therefore,
we are going to use a variety of resources, such as texts, videos, dictionaries, apps and the like, and
discuss new vocabulary in context. Each session centres around a relevant question that we will try
to answer in the course of our class, applying the vocabulary we have learnt. This class format aims
to make the course at once engaging, enjoyable, thought-provoking and efficient.

Methods

We are going to use flipped model. This means you are going to first study the assigned material and
learn all vocabulary that is new to you before our meeting. Then we will apply the new vocabulary
and knowledge by doing various tasks and group work in class. It is therefore important that you
always prepare for each meeting.

Materials

The materials for Vocabulary Course are available on the Moodle UŁ.

To access the platform you go to: https://moodle.uni.lodz.pl. You log in to the platform the same
way, you log in to USOS. Then you find the course titled “Praktyczna nauka języka angielskiego -
Słownictwo - 0100-AL125A (Konwersatorium Z-23/24)”. The password to sign up to the course is
JK2023.

Once you enter our Moodle Course, you will see that it is divided into 13 thematic sessions. Note that
each session may consist of FOUR parts: 1. BEFORE THE CLASS, 2. MATERIALS TO BRING TO CLASS, 3.
IN CLASS, 4. SUPLEMANTARY MATERIALS. Part 1, called BEFORE THE CLASS, describes the tasks that
you have to complete before coming to each session. It is very important that you cover the material,
otherwise you won’t be able to follow the class. Part 2, MATERIALS TO BRING, includes the files
whose digital or hard copies you will need in class. These are the exercises that we are going to
complete during our meeting. Part 3, IN CLASS, briefly describes what we have done in our meeting.
It will give you an idea what we have covered if you miss the class. Part 4, SUPLEMANTARY
MATERIALS is aimed at students who find the classes not challenging enough or are eager to raise the
bar for themselves.

Evaluation

Attendance: To pass the course, you need the required attendance. You can miss two sessions
without any excuse. If you miss more than two sessions, you need to deliver a sick note from your
doctor. These are the general rules regarding attendance issued by the English Institute authorities.

Tests: You are going to write three tests that will be marked.

Retakes: If you fail a test, you need to retake it as soon as possible. The retakes are oral exams that
you can take during my office hours. Please note that you have pass the three tests by 13 January
2024 at the latest.

Office hours

My office hours are on Thursday (15:15-16:00) and Friday (17-17:45). My office room is: 4.21. Please,
send me an email the day before to let me know that you are coming to see me. My email address is:
[email protected]

THE COURSE STRUCTURE

Session 1: What is this course about? Introduction to Vocabulary Course.

1. Moodle Instruction
2. Course Description
3. Course Calendar
4. The Flipped Classroom Model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdKzSq_t8k8
5. Dictionaries
6. Two Truths and a Lie

Session 2: How can you get and stay motivated to study? (psychology)

1. How to Feel Inspired When You’ve Lost Motivation by Vanessa Hill, Brain Craft (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y8zNvLBP9U (7:31)
2. How can you use science to stay motivated? by Vanessa Hill, Brain Craft (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P48XfWSEQ0 (4:35)
Session 3: John Dewey’s philosophy of education (pedagogy, philosophy)

 John Dewey’s 4 Principles of Education (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3fm6wNzK70
 John Dewey’s Contribution to Tertiary Education: ‘John Dewey and Progressive Education:
Introduction, History, Philosophy (research article)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26372390

Session 4: What is education for? (Revision of the material: Motivation & John Dewey)- ONLINE

Session 5: Test 1 (Motivation & John Dewey)

Session 6: How are educational institutions organised and what are their functions in society?
(sociology, history)

 Education in Society: Crash Course Sociology #40 (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S294zRodS_4

Session 7: Why do governments spend billions to finance education? (economics)

 Economics of Education: Crash Course Economics #23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lPbkHVxenU

Session 8: Test 2 (Educational Institutions & Financing Education)

Session 9: How can we take care of our mental health? (psychology)

 Emotion, Stress, and Health: Crash Course Psychology #26 (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KbSRXP0wik

Session 10: Is our healthcare system effective: access, cost, quality? (economics)

 The Economics of Healthcare: Crash Course Econ #29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbBKoyjFLUY

Session 11: Test 3 (Mental Health & Economics of Healthcare)

Session 12: How can technology transform healthcare? (technology)

 Is this the future of health? | The Economist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZg5QhL3Ckc

Session 13: How do pandemics change our lives? (genetics, economics)

1. Covid-19: why your life will never be the same again | The Economist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFaGbtDJFwA&t=336s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qAzXb7mA2g

Session 14: Course evaluation & Final Marks

Bibliography:

Fransham, James. “Covid-19: why your life will never be the same again | The Economist.” YouTube,
uploaded by The Economist, 8 Jul. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFaGbtDJFwA&t=336s

Green Hank & John Green. “Education in Society: Crash Course Sociology #40.” YouTube, uploaded by
Crash Course, 15 Jan. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S294zRodS_4

Hill, Adriene & Jacob Clifford. “Economics of Education: Crash Course Economics #23.” YouTube,
uploaded by Crash Course, 11 Feb. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lPbkHVxenU

Hill, Adriene & Jacob Clifford. “The Economics of Healthcare: Crash Course Econ #29.” YouTube,
uploaded by Crash Course, 7 Apr. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbBKoyjFLUY

Hill, Vanessa. “How can you use science to stay motivated.” Brain Craft. YouTube, uploaded 24 Aug.
2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P48XfWSEQ0

Hill, Vanessa. “How to Feel Inspired When You’ve Lost Motivation”. Brain Craft. YouTube, uploaded 8
Mar. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y8zNvLBP9U

Hopkins Erin A. “John Dewey and Progressive Education.” The Journal of Educational Thought 50(1),
2017, 59-68

Koblin, Jonas & Cameron Tan. “John Dewey’s 4 Principles of Education.” YouTube, uploaded by
Sprouts Schools, 30 Jan. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3fm6wNzK70

Topol, Eric. “Is this the future of health? | The Economist” YouTube, uploaded by The Economist, 12
Mar. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZg5QhL3Ckc

Yale, Kathleen. “Emotion, Stress, and Health: Crash Course Psychology #26” YouTube, uploaded by
Crash Course, 12 Aug. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KbSRXP0wik

Supplementary Materials

Clear, James. “How to Be Motivated Every Day: Lessons Learned from Twyla Tharp.” In Atomic
Habits. New York: Penguin Random House, 2018, https://jamesclear.com/twyla-tharp

Clear, James. “The Goldilocks Rule: How to Stay Motivated in Life and Business.” In Atomic Habits.
New York: Penguin Random House, 2018, https://jamesclear.com/goldilocks-rule

Green Hank & John Green. “Health & Medicine: Crash Course Sociology #42.” YouTube, uploaded by
Crash Course, 29 Jan. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NGlENS1qgo

Green Hank & John Green. “Population Health: Crash Course Sociology #43.” YouTube, uploaded by
Crash Course, 5 Feb. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9SWRByzDSo

Sabeti, Paradis. “What Is Outbreak Science? Crash Course Outbreak Science #1.” YouTube, uploaded
by Crash Course, 7 Sep. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qAzXb7mA2g
Stein, Jeff. “Biden student debt plan fuels broader debate over forgiving borrowers.” The Washington
Post, uploaded by The Washington Post 31 Aug. 2022,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/08/31/student-debt-biden-forgiveness/

Thomas, Gary. “School’s Out.” In Education: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd edn, Very Short
Introductions. Oxford: Oxford Academic, 2021.

Dictionaries:

Cambridge English Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/

Oxford English Dictionary (OED): https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

Macmillan Online Dictionary: https://www.macmillandictionary.com

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Collins English Dictionary: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

Thesaurus.com: https://www.thesaurus.com/

Urban Dictionary: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Slang

Diki. Słownik angielskiego: https://www.diki.pl/

Additional Materials:

Fisher Peter. Vocabulary Builder. Course 4. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Fisher Peter. Vocabulary Builder. Course 5. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Fisher Peter. Vocabulary Builder. Course 6. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Fisher Peter. Vocabulary Builder. Course 7. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Vince, Michael & Peter Sunderland. Advanced Language Practice. Oxford: Macmillan, 2003.