Online courses directory (174)

International tourism is a vital part of the economy of many countries and with its continued growth the tourist industry will provide many employment opportunities for individuals with the appropriate skills and qualifications. This course allows you combine the study of many aspects of international tourism and tourism-focused English language skills. The course describes the formation of the tourist industry as well as outlining its sectors and employment opportunities. It then explains the needs of both business and pleasure travelers and the ways that tourism businesses/destinations can market themselves effectively. The final section explains how the tourist industry packages and sells tourism products through retail and online channels. English is the main language of international communication and is essential for people working in the tourist industry. This course introduces the English vocabulary necessary for working at a hotel reception or front desk. It explains how to communicate with potential customers during enquiries as well as how to reserve rooms for hotel guests. It then describes the steps involved in check-in and check-out and how to resolve customer complaints with helpful and non-offensive phrases. This course details the English necessary for working in restaurants in tourist areas or hotels. It explains how to take customer orders and provides key English expressions for every stage of restaurant service. This course details the English necessary for working in tourist information offices including how to provide directions, understand guidebooks and write press releases. The English needed for conducting guided tours is also defined. This free online course will be of great interest to all learners who would like to develop a career path in the tourist industry and who would like a qualification that combines study of international tourism with the practical application of tourism-focused English language skills.<br />

The course examines various aspects of culture in both premodern and modern East Asia, ranging from literature, art, performance, and cuisine to contemporary pop culture (film, manga, anime, etc.).

Elementary French I is a carefully sequenced and highly interactive presentation of French language and culture in a media-rich course environment including new video shot in France and Québec with young professional actors. It is designed to be used as a full course of study. To successfully use this course, you should be a motivated student with a sincere desire to learn about French language and francophone cultures, and be comfortable with computer technologies. The time commitment will typically average 6-8 hours per week. For information on studying French online vs. in person, see Who should study French Online? [1] in the course introduction. You will be prompted to create an account to access the course introduction, but you may click the “Look Inside” button to view the course without creating an account. [1] https://oli.cmu.edu/jcourse/webui/guest/activity.do?context=66b0f47680020ca600d89b07ced3c385

Elementary French II is a carefully sequenced and highly interactive presentation of French language and culture in a media-rich course environment including new video shot in France and Québec with young professional actors. It is designed to be used as a full course of study. To successfully use this course, you should be a motivated student with a sincere desire to learn about French language and francophone cultures, and be comfortable with computer technologies. The time commitment will typically average 6-8 hours per week. For information on studying French online vs. in person, see Who should study French Online? [1] in the course introduction. You will be prompted to create an account to access the course introduction, but you may click the “Look Inside” button to view the course without creating an account. [1] https://oli.cmu.edu/jcourse/webui/guest/activity.do?context=66b1239a80020ca600b009b100c1fc79

Spanish I can be adapted for a hybrid delivery system or solely distance delivery. The course is media-rich and interactive, driven by video that was shot on-site in Guadalajara, Mexico. Versions are available for low-cost use by instructor-led classes of enrolled students. To successfully use this course, you should be a motivated student with a sincere desire to learn the Spanish language and about cultures in the Spanish-speaking world, and be comfortable with computer technologies. The time commitment will typically average 8 hours per week.

You will gain a foundation for college-level writing valuable for nearly any field. Students will learn how to read carefully, write effective arguments, understand the writing process, engage with others' ideas, cite accurately, and craft powerful prose. We will create a workshop environment.

This subject surveys main currents of European cultural and intellectual history in the modern period. Such a foundation course is central to the humanities in Europe. The curriculum introduces a set of ideas and arguments that have played a formative role in European cultural history, and acquaints them with some exemplars of critical thought. Among the topics to be considered: the critique of religion, the promise of independence, the advance of capitalism, the temptations of Marxism, the origins of totalitarianism, and the dialects of enlightenment. In addition to texts, we will also discuss pieces of art, incl. paintings and film.

The purpose of this course is to develop your writing skills so that you can feel confident writing the essays, term papers, reports, and exams you will have to produce during your career here at MIT. We will read and analyze samples of expository writing, do some work on vocabulary development, and concentrate on developing your ability to write clear, accurate, sophisticated prose. We will also deal with the grammar and mechanical problems you may have trouble with.

This is a 3 credit course for students with no background in Spanish to become competent in communicating through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This open course will create and provide resources reusable under creative commons standards. Registration for the course is available immediately. Although the course cannot provide college credit from an accredited university, capable students will learn the material of a first-year college class, and will receive a letter grade.

21F.301/351 offers an introduction to the French language and culture with an emphasis on the acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical concepts through active communication. The course is conducted entirely in French, and students interact in French with their classmates from the very beginning. They also receive exposure to the language via a variety of authentic sources such as the Internet, audio, video and printed materials which help them develop cultural awareness as well as linguistic proficiency. There is a coordinated language lab program.

This course is taught in rotation by the following instructors: Laura Ceia-Minjares, Cathy Culot, Gilberte Furstenberg, and Johann Sadock.

21F.302/352 is the second part of an introductory course to the French language and culture with an emphasis on the acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical concepts through active communication. The course is conducted entirely in French and students interact in French with their classmates from the very beginning. They also receive exposure to the language via a variety of authentic sources such as the Internet, audio, video and printed materials which help them develop cultural awareness as well as linguistic proficiency. There is a coordinated language lab program.

This course is taught in rotation by the following instructors: Laura Ceia-Minjares, Cathy Culot, Gilberte Furstenberg, and Johann Sadock.

This course provides an introduction to general semantics—the study of how we transform our life experiences into language and thought. Students will learn how their language habits and behaviors, as well as how they think about and share experiences, are what make them uniquely human. In other words, students will discover the critical, but sometimes subtle distinctions between what happens in their lives and how they talk about what happens. The course will include readings from a wide array of disciplines, such as communication studies, neuroscience, and cultural anthropology. It will also include visual and auditory demonstrations through music and social media, and collaborative interactions with fellow learners. These types of learning experiences allow students to not only learn about more effective language behaviors, but also practice those new behaviors in order to communicate more effectively and appropriately in interpersonal and organizational contexts.

The topic for Fall 2006 is short film and radio plays. This course investigates current trends and topics in German literary, theater, film, television, radio, and other media arts productions. Students analyze media texts in the context of their production, reception, and distribution as well as the public debates initiated by these works. The topic for Fall 2006 is German Short Film, a popular format that represents most recent trends in film production, and German Radio Art, a striving genre that includes experimental radio plays, sound art, and audio installations. Special attention will be given to the representation of German minorities, contrasted by their own artistic expressions reflecting changes in identity and a new political voice. Students have the opportunity to discuss course topics with a writer, filmmaker, and/or media artist from Germany. The course is taught in German.

This course gives an introduction to German language and culture. The focus is on acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical concepts through active communication. Audio, video, and printed materials provide direct exposure to authentic German language and culture. A self-paced language lab program is fully coordinated with the textbook/workbook. The first semester covers the development of effective basic communication skills.

In this course students are exposed to history and culture of German-speaking countries through audio, video, and Web materials. It focuses on the expansion of basic communication skills and further development of linguistic competency, and includes the review and completion of basic grammar, building of vocabulary, and practice in writing short essays. Students will also read short literary texts.

This course expands skills in speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Students develop analytic and interpretative skills through the reading of a full-length drama as well as short prose and poetry (Biermann, Brecht, Dürrenmatt, Tawada and others) and through media selections on contemporary issues in German-speaking cultures. Coursework includes discussions and compositions based on these texts, and review of grammar and development of vocabulary-building strategies. It is recommended for students with two years of high school German.

This course focuses on development of interpretive skills, using literary texts (B. Brecht, S. Zweig) and contemporary media texts (film, TV broadcasts, Web materials). The emphasis is on discussion and exploration of cultural topics in their current social, political, and historical context via hypermedia documentaries. It also covers further refinement of oral and written expression and expansion of communicative competence in practical everyday situations.

This course focuses on main currents in contemporary German literary and visual culture. Taking Nietzsche's thought as a point of departure, students will survey the dialectics of tradition and modernity in both Germany and other European countries, particularly the UK, France, Denmark, and Poland. Primary works are drawn from literature, cinema, art, and performance, including works by Peter Sloterdijk, Thomas Vinterberg, and Michel Houellebecq.

Prepares students for working and living in German-speaking countries. Focus on current political, social, and cultural issues, using newspapers, journals, TV, radio broadcasts, and Web sources from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Emphasis on speaking, writing, and reading skills for professional contexts. Activities include: oral presentations, group discussions, guest lectures, and interviews with German speakers. No listeners.

This subject examines the paradoxes of contemporary globalization. Through lectures, discussions and student presentations, we will study the cultural, linguistic, social and political impact of globalization across broad international borders and on specific language communities. We will consider answers to key questions such as: What are the contending definitions of globalization? What are the principal agents of change? How have those agents of change been transformed in our contemporary world? What's new, what's hybrid, and what's traditional? What does it mean to be a world citizen? How can world citizens preserve cultural specificity?