Better Prepare For U.S. Education
A key part of making the most out of education abroad is being able to socialize and network with those around you. Often, this requires greater fluency and cultural knowledge than what the standard ESL classroom can provide.
Boston Roundtable's ABC Web Curriculum is a six-week web course designed to foster the social awareness and cultural competence necessary to develop holistic linguistic and social confidence in American society. Through a mixture of video-conferenced lessons, web-searching tasks, video interviews and student-to-student dialogues, participants in our ABC program will gain the knowledge and language exposure that will give them them the tools to thrive in the American classroom, dorm room, and beyond!
Boston Roundtable's ABC Web Curriculum is a six-week web course designed to foster the social awareness and cultural competence necessary to develop holistic linguistic and social confidence in American society. Through a mixture of video-conferenced lessons, web-searching tasks, video interviews and student-to-student dialogues, participants in our ABC program will gain the knowledge and language exposure that will give them them the tools to thrive in the American classroom, dorm room, and beyond!
Program DetailsThe ABC curriculum is divided into three overall units each consisting of two one-week sub-units. The flow of the course moves from broad analysis of recent American trends in socioeconomics and politics to a concentrated understanding of the contemporary American campus and how to effectively study and network.
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Curriculum Plan
Unit One: American Citizens and Leaders
Week One - Mosaic: ABC begins with a headfirst dive into understanding the diversity of America. This lesson will explore the numerous contemporary and historical factors which contribute to the rich tapestry of American urban culture. From the Industrial Revolution to the urban migration and growth of the nation’s infrastructure, factors shaping America’s urban growth will be presented. Various prominent social movements and their (sometimes unpleasant) origins will be introduced, such as the Civil Rights Movement, as well as contemporary movements such as Black Lives Matter. Additionally and equally important, immigration patterns and the impacts of growing ethnic diversity in the United States will be addressed.
Week One - Mosaic: ABC begins with a headfirst dive into understanding the diversity of America. This lesson will explore the numerous contemporary and historical factors which contribute to the rich tapestry of American urban culture. From the Industrial Revolution to the urban migration and growth of the nation’s infrastructure, factors shaping America’s urban growth will be presented. Various prominent social movements and their (sometimes unpleasant) origins will be introduced, such as the Civil Rights Movement, as well as contemporary movements such as Black Lives Matter. Additionally and equally important, immigration patterns and the impacts of growing ethnic diversity in the United States will be addressed.
Week Two - Political Participation and Government Structure: The American political process can be seen as many things from ideologically pure yet flawed to fundamentally-biased and ineffective; whatever one’s opinion, it can be complex and confusing to the uninitiated. This unit will present a broad overview of the American political process, its institutions and its influencers. In a value-neutral fashion, it will illuminate contemporary hot-button political issues in America and examine trends in public opinion on these topics. The unit also ends with a discussion of the 2020 US election's development so far, as well as how it differs from previous elections in US history.
Unit Two: American Culture and Entertainmen
Week Three - American Music: Music is one of the most important cultural touchstones for American students, which has historically been intertwined with politics, identity, and community. This unit functions as a robust music appreciation and understanding course, which offers a survey of music history with particular focus on American-born genres such as jazz, blues, and hip hop. Later on, the class will turn to the current musical landscape and study how it is affected by business developments such as the shift from physical media to streaming platforms. Students will learn contemporary terminology to describe American music, as well as gain a basic understanding of the business aspect of music content creation.
Week Four - American Sports: American sports and American sports fandom are cultural institutions and economic powerhouses of monolithic proportions. They also manifest themselves as unique and highly colloquial expressions of American culture. From the big business of the NCAA and professional sports league to the gritty realities of being a sports fan in a local market, all will be explained. From the importance of trade deadlines and draft lotteries to what exactly is meant by a “diaper dandy”, this subunit will offer the information necessary to take the first steps on the road to being an informed sports fan or at least being able to talk to those who are.
Unit Three: Campus Climate and Academic Standards
Week Five - Web Literacy and Fake News: American academic institutions attach great importance to a student’s ability to find reputable sources, as well as contribute insightful and original work to an existing body of academic research. This unit seeks to give international students an introduction to the expectations of American academia, finding strong resources and how to build on existing content. The unit begins by using the recent "fake news" phenomenon as a push-off point to discuss finding reputable sources online and moving beyond the “ask Mother Du” mentality. More concretely, this week will teach students the skills to discern reputable news sources, as well as cover the conventions of citation and paraphrasing in both MLA and APA format (the two most-common writing formats in American higher education).
Week Six - Navigating the Campus: Depending on who you ask, American college campuses are either the birthplace of diverse thought, or a hyper-politically correct crucible. This unit intends to give students an understanding of the current social climate on most liberal arts campuses, how it is informed by global politics, and what it may look like moving forward. Students will learn greater details about the American political spectrum and their associated beliefs, gain a more comprehensive understanding of studying with diverse populations (i.e. religious groups, LGBT students, international students), and learn practical English skills for conducting themselves in these environments.
Our Technology
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Zoom is the leading video conferencing tool and a staple for offices and classrooms practicing social distancing. Zoom participants can easily comment on lessons, view teaching material along with the instructor, participate in whiteboard activities, and be spotlighted in their answers.
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Canvas is an engaging and versatile classroom tool that serves as the "homeroom" for many online courses. Students can easily access course materials, submit assignments, and participate in discussion topics. Canvas is similar to web platforms used at American universities such as Moodle and SWAD.
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WeChat is the premier social media tool used all across China, as well as many other parts of the world. Our web courses use WeChat as a supplemental tool where students have easy access to educators for fast questions such as homework or vocabulary assistance. Groups become inactive at the end of the course.
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Lesson Plans and Pricing
TBA