What is "Survey of English Speaking Countries"?

I have just received my "Business" English teaching program. 

First class tomorrow is Survey of English Speaking Countries - what the #@** does this mean?? And it is an ongoing class.....

I also have English Speaking and Public Speaking which will be OK.  No text books - everything to be developed as I go....especially seeing I have just arrived and don't even know where my classroom is, this will be fun!

So much for the business books I brought along with me!

It covers the history, current society, government and culture of a set of nations.  I hope you like talking about Magna Carta!  You should have an awful textbook for it.

If you want to get a more detailed idea of exactly what you can do with this kind of course (I love teaching it) then PM me with an email address and I'll send you a copy of my latest course handbook. 

Thanks for that - I know nothing about the Magna Carta - I'm an Aussie!!  I will have to get busy learning this week.

At least I can start with Australia this week as I check out what the language skills are. The Dpt. Head says the English level will be high with these students as it is a compulsory subject.

Should have been prepared to find that my proposed Business English classes could be anything at all. There are 2 other Anglo's here but I haven't found them yet, hopefully they can also assist as I get it together.

Survey is a required curse for English majors usually taught their sophomore year. The TEM 8 which they will take in their senior year will have a few questions (5 or less) on it, so tell them to take good notes and save the notes for studying when they are preparing for the TEM 8 in two years.

On that note, building reading habits and providing students with enough knowledge to be able to "access" the news about Britain and its former possessions online is another outcome which one can aim for.  

You'll be pissing into a howling gale given the habits which the heavily circumscribed public discourse in China has bred in students (how many of them even read the news in Chinese?) but that's the inherent nature of the task at hand, so...  

Survey is a required curse for English majors usually taught their sophomore year. The TEM 8 which they will take in their senior year will have a few questions (5 or less) on it, so tell them to take good notes and save the notes for studying when they are preparing for the TEM 8 in two years.

HAHAHA! My spell check failed me. I meant to write "course" and it came out "curse". Or maybe Freud was my spell-checker. In any event, the "Survey...." is both a course and a curse to both FTs who have to teach it for the first time, as well as English majors who have to take it.

Actually, it's a fun course to teach, once you get through the first year where you have to do a lot of prep on "English Speaking Countries" with which you are less than familiar (especially the geographic and historic aspects of those countries).

Well my first 2 'survey' classes are over.

The students had a text book - and 2 appeared at my door this morning - just different to what the students had..... VERY different.

We got through OK but I can see that I have a lot of development work to do. All are 2nd year students with varying levels of English - and interest!

I think it will be OK - I have a very light load this term as 'they' didn't know I was coming until late.....but I won't hesitate to ask any of you for help!

Wondering how your experience with this course is going?  I am to teach it next term and wanted to see how others have handled it.  Actually just signed up for this site after googling the course name and seeing this thread.

Well it's been an interesting course to teach - thanks especially to members who gave me so much help.

In the end I concentrated on Australia (that's me) and the USA. I am also doing some stuff on England to finish off the year but assessments will be on Aus and US only.  I asked the students what they wanted and got a huge list of things they wanted to learn about so devised a course from that...

To do it again I would find a decent text - the one the students have and the one  - different one - that I have are pretty terrible. It's been relatively easy though after I made up some PP's and made each lesson from there: country facts,  basic history, politics, g'ment and economy, religion (they like that) festivals, education and of course Food and music.

My uni doesn't care what we teach as long as we teach!!! Actually it's turned out to be a nice place...and there will be jobs  come February....