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2013/9/20
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Coordinator: Nilson [email protected]
Sub-coordinator: Nobue [email protected]
Thank you for the Spring semester hard work!
Final Test comments Check of the distributed material Course overview
Goals Course schedule Textbook and materials Meeting the goals Course grade, assessment Student Performance Sheet Turning notes into passage
This can be distributed to students as is, if you do not want to make changes.
ALC2 is a compulsory course for all the 1st year (>1900) students of sci & eng.
One session of 90 min. per week, 14 sessions in the Fall semester
Class size varies from 40 to 50 students.
Goals: G1 = listening comprehension G2 = note taking G3 = Q&A G4 = turning notes into passage G5 = vocabulary
Tentative schedule Textbook and materials Meeting the goals
2013/9/20
2
Course grade Assessment
Mid-term test (30%) Listening comprehension Note taking Q&A Turning notes into passage Vocabulary
Class participation (40%) Quizzes, homework, note taking, writing
assignments, etc. Standardized final test (30%)
Student Performance SheetGoals
(Check □ when achieved)
Criteria Mid-term Test[passing score]
Final Test (standardized) [passing score]
Class Participation
[passing score]Total
□Listening comprehension
Listen to a lecture and answer content and structure questions. Obtain 60% in one of the three assessments. /10 [6] /10 [6] /10 [6] /30
□Taking notesTake structured notes
Take structured notes while listening to a lecture. Obtain 60% in one of the two assessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /5 [3] /15
□
Q&A Ask and answer simple questions about the lecture
Write questions and answers related to the contents of a lecture. Obtain 60% in one of the three assessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /5 [3] /15
□Turning notes into passage
Write multiple-paragraph-long passages from notes. Obtain 60% in one of the three assessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /15 [9] /25
□Vocabulary Attain a 2000-word vocabulary
Answer vocabulary questions from the textbook and Vocab. Lists 1 and 2. Obtain 60% in one of the three assessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /5 [3] /15
Totals –> /30 /30 /40
score /100
Assessment responsibilities Course schedule Lecture Summary and Application, LSA Class participation: 40% of final grade! Tentative Itinerary
First 2 sessions are introductory Each chapter covered in 2 weeks 3 LSA sessions
Only chapters 10, 12, 13, and 15 will be covered.
Lectures (audio and video) available to teachers and students on CourseN@vi.
Only the chapters covered are available, but you can unhide the others.
You can also set the period when the audio/video data are available to your students.
2013 Academic Lecture Comprehension 2 (ALC2)
Course Syllabus
Course Description In this course, students will develop their academic listening and note-taking skills through the study and discussion of English lectures of varying lengths. Activities will include watching and listening to lectures in class, taking structured notes, discussion, asking and answering questions, and writing summaries. In addition, related reading will be assigned before each lecture. Course Goals and Criteria G1a [Content comprehension] Comprehend five- to ten-minute lectures in English.
Listen to a lecture and answer questions about its main points and details. G1b [Structure comprehension] Understand the structure of different lecture types (comparison/contrast
and causal analysis). Listen to a lecture and answer questions about its structure.
G2 [Note taking] Take notes of sufficient detail to answer basic comprehension questions about the lecture.
Listen to a lecture and take notes of its main points and details. G3 [Q&A] Ask and answer simple questions about the lecture.
Ask and answer questions about the lecture. G4 [Turning notes into passage] Write multiple-paragraph-long lecture summaries based on lecture
notes. Write a lecture summary that is several paragraphs long and meets the guidelines.
G5 [Vocabulary] Attain a 2000-word vocabulary. Answer vocabulary questions from the textbook and Vocabulary Lists 1 and 2.
Course Schedule Each chapter will be covered in two weeks. The course schedule is as follows:
Week 1: Orientation / Review of ALC1 Week 2: How to write a paragraph Week 3: Chapter 10: Comparison/Contrast – “Asian and African elephants” Part 1 Week 4: Chapter 10: Comparison/Contrast – “Asian and African elephants” Part 2 Week 5: Chapter 12: Comparison/Contrast – “The Titanic and the Andrea Doria” Part 1 Week 6: Chapter 12: Comparison/Contrast – “The Titanic and the Andrea Doria” Part 2 Week 7: Lecture Summary and Application Week 8: Mid-term test Week 9: Chapter 13: Causal Analysis – “Dinosaurs” Part 1 Week 10: Chapter 13: Causal Analysis – “Dinosaurs” Part 2 Week 11: Chapter 15: Causal Analysis – “Endangered species” Part 1 Week 12: Chapter 15: Causal Analysis – “Endangered species” Part 2 Week 13: Lecture Summary and Application Week 14: Lecture Summary and Application Week 15: Review of academic progress (Standardized Final Test)
Textbook and Materials
1. Academic Lecture Comprehension by Dunkel, P.A. and Lim, P.L. 2. Supplementary resources (supplementary reading texts, vocabulary lists, note-taking practice
materials, practice lectures) are available from the CELESE Academic Lecture Comprehension 2 web site. (http://www.celese.sci.waseda.ac.jp/)
3. Supplementary materials provided by the teacher 4. Students can listen (if/when the teacher allows) to the audio/video data on CourseN@vi.
Meeting the Goals Throughout the course, the following assessment tools will be used to evaluate whether students are meeting the criterion of each course goal.
Class participation (including Listening quiz after each textbook lecture, note-taking, and summary writing)
Mid-term test
Standardized final test
The chart entitled “Student Performance Record Sheet” relates each course goal with the various assessments to be conducted during the semester. In order to achieve a course goal, students must obtain 60% of the points for that course goal in at least one of the assessments related to that goal. In order to pass the course, students must achieve at least 60% of the course goals: that is, three out of five. Each criterion is assessed several times. In order to achieve a high grade in the course, students will need to give consistent evidence of their achievement. Course Grade The final grade in the course is determined by calculating a cumulative score of each student’s completion of the various assessments and then referring to the chart at right. As noted above, if a student does not achieve at least 60% of the course goals (i.e., three out of five), then, regardless of their score, they will receive a final grade of “F”. Furthermore, in accordance with university policy, students who do not attend at least two-thirds of the lessons (i.e., eight out of eleven in 2013 Fall Semester) will receive an “F” as their final grade. Assessment Tools Following is a description of the various assessment tools to be used in Academic Lecture Comprehension 2. The schedule for the in-class tests will be announced by the teacher. 1. In-Class Mid-Term Test (30%)
[Listening comprehension: 10 pts] Students will listen to a textbook lecture and answer questions about its content and structure.
[Note taking: 5 pts] Students will take notes of a textbook lecture covered in class.
[Q&A: 5 pts] Students will be given declarative sentences and correctly turn them in writing into pairs of question and answer using yes/no and wh-questions. Examples will be given by the teacher.
[Turning notes into passage: 5 pts] Students will write a one-paragraph-long passage that meets the following guidelines, based on lecture notes given by the teacher.
o indentation at the beginning of each paragraph o a topic sentence at the beginning and a concluding sentence a the end o contextually appropriate use of at least two transition expressions (logical connectors)
[Vocabulary: 5 pts] Students will answer vocabulary questions from Vocabulary Lists and the textbook chapters. Vocabulary Lists are available from the CELESE website.
2. Class Participation (40%) Class participation will be assessed in terms of active participation in class, quizzes, homework,
lecture notes, writing assignments, and application of knowledge to a new lecture. Details will be explained by the teacher.
3. Standardized Final Test (30%)
The standardized final test is scheduled for the exam week. Details will be announced later.
Score Range Final Grade
90 ≤ score ≤ 100 A+ 80 ≤ score < 90 A 70 ≤ score < 80 B
score < 70 C
Homework and Participation Students are expected to complete a minimum of 90 minutes of homework for each class.
The homework may include reading assignment, vocabulary study, question preparation, summary writing, and other tasks assigned by the teacher.
The homework should also include reviewing the previous class, revising notes, and preparing for quizzes and tests.
Other information Students’ classes are determined based on their TOEIC placement test score.
Students can listen to the audio/video data on CourseN@vi to review and practice.
Information regarding TOEIC scores and grades are available through Waseda Net Portal account.
All the information about Academic Lecture Comprehension 1 is on the CELESE website.
Students who wish to question their final grades should make inquiries directly to their course teacher who will consider each case based on the student’s performance record. Inquiries of this nature can be made until the end of the 7th full day (1 week) after the final grades are made public by the Education Office. Once these 7 days have expired, no further grade inquiries will be considered.
Student Name: ID:
CriteriaMid-term Test
(in class)[passing score]
Final Test(standardized)[passing score]
ClassParticipation
textbook, application,in-class assessment[passing score]
Total
□ Listening comprehension
Listen to a lecture and answercontent and structure questions.Obtain at least 60% in one of thethree assessments. /10 [6] /10 [6] /10 [6] /30
□Taking notesTake structured notes while listening toa lecture.
Take structured notes while listeningto a lecture so that the main contentscan be recalled later. Obtain at least60% in one of the three assessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /5 [3] /15
□Q&AAsk and answer simple questions aboutthe lecture.
Write questions and answers relatedto the contents of a lecture. Obtain atleast 60% in one of the threeassessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /5 [3] /15
□ Turning notes into passage
Write multiple-paragraph-longpassages based on notes that meetthe guidelines. Obtain at least 60%in one of the three assessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /15 [9] /25
□VocabularyAttain a 2000-word vocabulary.
Answer vocabulary questions fromthe textbook and Vocabulary Lists 1and 2. Obtain at least 60% in one ofthe three assessments. /5 [3] /5 [3] /5 [3] /15
Totals –>/30 /30 /40 score /100
Student met attendance requirement? YES
YES
Student's final grade = F C (score < 70) B (70 ≤ score < 80) A (80 ≤ score < 90) A+ (90 ≤ score ≤ 100)
Student achieved pass criteria in 3 of the 5 goals?
2013 Academic Lecture Comprehension 2: Student Performance Record Sheet
Goals(Check □ when achieved)
1
2013 Academic Lecture Comprehension 2 (ALC2)
Instructions for Teachers
Teachers’ Assessment Responsibilities
To prepare and administer one mid-term test (covering chapters 11 and 12 of the textbook) at an appropriate
time during the semester. (The 2013 ALC coordinator suggests below a schedule for ALC2, but teachers
can give the in-class mid-term test when they feel would be most beneficial to their students.)
To mark and keep accurate records of all student assessments.
To return marked in-class mid-term test, quizzes, and homework to students with score and/or feedback as
appropriate.
To mark their own classes’ final exam papers.
To calculate and submit the final grade for each student in their classes. The submission deadline will be
announced by the Education Office.
To submit to the Teachers’ Office (Second Floor, Building 51) a copy of the “Student Performance Record
Sheet” for each student in their classes (in paper or in an electronic file) or all the Student Performance
Sheet data on a spread sheet. (Add a brief description of how the final grades are determined, if any changes
are made.)
Course Schedule
Week 1: Orientation (explain clearly the goals, and especially how students will be evaluated)
Week 2: How to write a paragraph
Explain the guidelines. (See the course syllabus and ALC2_2013_BasicsParagraphWriting.pdf)
o Students will write passages (containing more than one paragraph) that meet the following
guidelines, based on lecture notes given by the teacher.
o indentation at the beginning of each paragraph
o a topic sentence at the beginning and a concluding sentence a the end
o contextually appropriate use of at least two transition expressions (logical connectors)
Week 3: Chapter 10: Comparison/Contrast – “Asian and African elephants” Part 1
Week 4: Chapter 10: Comparison/Contrast – “Asian and African elephants” Part 2
o Vocabulary worksheet will be made available online
o Supplementary reading text is available online
Week 5: Chapter 12: Comparison/Contrast – “The Titanic and the Andrea Doria” Part 1
Week 6: Chapter 12: Comparison/Contrast – “The Titanic and the Andrea Doria” Part 2
o Vocabulary worksheet will be made available online
o Supplementary reading text is available online
Week 7: Lecture Summary and Application: teachers choose their own lecture materials; MIT lectures
can be used at higher level classes)
Week 8: Mid-term test
Week 9: Chapter 13: Causal Analysis – “Dinosaurs” Part 1
2
Week 10: Chapter 13: Causal Analysis – “Dinosaurs” Part 2
o Vocabulary worksheet will be made available online
o Supplementary reading text is available online
Week 11: Chapter 15: Causal Analysis – “Endangered species” Part 1
Week 12: Chapter 15: Causal Analysis – “Endangered species” Part 2
o Vocabulary worksheet will be made available online
o Supplementary reading text is available online
Week 13: Lecture Summary and Application
Week 14: Lecture Summary and Application
Week 15: Review of academic progress (Standardized Final Test)
[Chapters covered]
Only four chapters (10, 12, 13, & 15) will be covered in 2013 ALC2. [Lecture Summary and Application, LSA]
“Lecture Summary and Application” (LSA) (Weeks 7, 13 & 14) is an opportunity for students to apply their skills to a new, authentic lecture. They watch or listen to a new lecture, take notes, and write a summary.
o Using one or two science lectures from MIT Open Courseware (linear algebra, calculus,
differential equations, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) is strongly encouraged, because,
firstly, they are authentic lectures for science-major first-year students, secondly, students can
use their own prior knowledge and, thirdly, lower-level students can use not only things
written on the blackboard but also the lecture transcripts.
o A certain portion of a specific lecture (and a worksheet that helps comprehension) can be
assigned every week for LSA so that students have something to listen to or watch every day
during the whole semester. In this case, there will be no need for class sessions (Weeks 7, 13
& 14) for LSA and you can spend almost three classes teaching each textbook chapter.
o Another possibility for LSA is for teachers to give their own lectures in class using a
blackboard or slides.
o Still another possibility is for teachers to assign a specific lecture on the Internet as homework
and to reproduce (a part of) it in class using a blackboard or slides.
o And the final possibility is to use the lectures available on the CELESE ALC2 page.
o Teachers can use Weeks 7, 13 & 14 to assess class participation (G1 through G5) as well (
assessments on G1 through G5 are made on materials chosen by teachers). Class Participation (See Student Performance Record Sheet) The purpose of “Class Participation” is to keep students motivated to learn throughout the semester and to
prevent students from losing interest in their ALC classes once they pass some of the goals. Decide yourself how to use the points allocated to class participation (15 points for listening comprehension,
5 points for Q&A, 15 points for turning notes into passage, and 5 points for vocabulary) before class starts and explain it to students in the Week 1 orientation session.
The following are only suggestions. 10 points for listening comprehension
listening comprehension quiz after each textbook chapter (10 points = 2 + 2 + 3 + 3)
3
5 points for note taking
notes on textbook lectures (5 points = 1 + 1 + 1 + 2) 5 points for the lecture notes as part of “Lecture Summary and Application”
5 points for Q&A a quiz or homework before mid-term test or final test
15 points for turning notes into passage 10 points for one or two multiple-paragraph-long summaries using the textbook chapters covered For lower level classes, have students submit the first draft, give general feedback to it, and then
collect and mark the revised version. Using a checklist is effective in reducing your checking time. See sample checklist below. 5 points for the lecture summary as part of “Lecture Summary Application”
5 points for vocabulary vocabulary quizzes or homework activities (from textbook vocabulary or ALC2 Vocabulary Lists 1
& 2) or dictation quizzes (using textbook vocabulary or ALC2 Vocabulary Lists 1 & 2) Preparing and Administering Mid-Term Test
[Listening comprehension and note taking] (This section is a review test.)
Students will listen to a textbook lecture (Chapter 10, or 12, or 13, or 15) three times, take notes on a sheet, and answer questions.
10 points = 5 points for questions + 5 points for notes Using “Consolidation” recording is recommended in lower-level classes. Note that the “Consolidation”
recording is easier to understand than the “Initial Listening” recording. The questions and answer options are not printed. Teacher reads out each set of question and three answer options twice. 10 questions, 1 question 0.5 point, total 5 points
About the eight content questions
The content questions can be from the textbook “Recognizing Information and Checking Accuracy” or new questions prepared by teachers. Preparing new content questions is strongly encouraged.
About the two structure questions
Structure questions are to ask: the type of the lecture (or the type of a specific part of the lecture) how the lecture is organized (Is there an introduction, body, or conclusion? How many body parts are
there?) the order of information presented in the lecture the transition expressions used in the lecture and their functions any other questions relating to the lecture structure
About marking students’ lecture notes (suggestion)
Out of 5 points, 2 points for quantity, 2 points for quality, and 1 point for note structure Quality (accuracy of information): some of the key words or phrases are written either partially or
completely. Ignore spelling mistakes. Note structure: some indication of the notes (partially) reflecting the lecture structure
4
[Q&A]
Students will be given five declarative sentences (from the textbook) and correctly turn them in writing into five pairs of question and answer.
Students are required to write one subject wh-question, two non-subject wh-questions, one yes/no question, and one alternative question.
The answer to each question must be followed by extra information consisting of an indirect question. See the example below.
Before the test, give students an opportunity to practice in class or as homework. For each of the following five statements, write a question that asks the underlined part and an answer to
the question. If there is no underlined part, write a yes/no question and its answer. The answer must be in a complete sentence and contain additional information. Look at the examples below.
EXAMPLES statement: Pliny saw a frightening sight.
Q: What did Pliny see? A: He saw a frightening sight. But I don’t remember what it was.
statement: Pliny saw a frightening sight. Q: Did Pliny see a frightening sight? A: Yes, he did. He saw a volcano erupt.
statement 1: The speaker will explain the meaning of tidal wave. statement 2: A tidal wave causes a lot of destruction. statement 3: A seaquake causes a tidal wave. statement 4: Learning a language means how to choose appropriate words for the situation you are in. statement 5: The speaker classifies Standard English into two categories. statement 1 Q
A statement 2 Q
A statement 3 Q
A statement 4 Q
A statement 5 Q
A Marking guidelines for pairs of question and answer Points Description of questions and answer 0.5 Question and answer must be grammatically correct.
Pronouns are used properly in answer. Additional information is written. Grammar and spelling mistakes in additional information can be ignored.
0.3 Question and answer must be grammatically correct. Pronouns are used properly in answer. No additional information
5
[Turning notes into passage]
Give students notes of a lecture that is already covered in class and have them turn the notes into a multiple paragraph long passage that meets the following guidelines.
indentation at the beginning of the paragraph a topic sentence at the beginning and a concluding sentence at the end appropriate use of at least two transition expressions (logical connectors)
Have students underline the topic sentence, the concluding sentence, and two (or more) transition expressions they used.
Guidelines for marking 5 points = 2 points for meeting the guidelines and following instructions + 3 point for quality
Sample one-paragraph-long summary of Chapter Four “How the Internet works”
Before the test, students must learn the guidelines (in Week 2) and be given opportunity to practice (writing a lecture summary as homework or during the class (e.g., in week 7) and revising it based on feedback).
Sample passage of Chapter Four “How the Internet works”
This lecture explains how information travels through the Internet. Every Internet user is connected to a local Internet Service Provider (ISP). Local ISPs, in turn, connect to larger ISPs. As a result, they form a hierarchy of gigantic networks. When information travels through this hierarchy of networks, it is first broken down into packets. Each packet is given the sender’s address, the receiver’s address, and information on how to put them back together, and is then sent off. Every time it reaches a router, the router reads the receiver’s address and chooses the best route. Finally, when all the packets reach the receiver, they are put back into the correct order. The process is like sending a book page by page by postcard. This explains how the Internet works. [Vocabulary]
Students will answer twenty vocabulary questions based on Vocabulary List 1 and the textbook vocabulary sections “Preview of Vocabulary and Sentences” of Chapters 10 and 12. (Vocabulary Lists 1 and 2 are available from the CELESE website.) About the ten vocabulary questions
Each question 0.5 point; total 5 points Each question must be multiple-choice with four answer options or of a fill-in-the-blank type. A collection of vocabulary questions (based on Vocabulary Lists 1 & 2) is available. Teachers are strongly encouraged to prepare their own vocabulary questions based on Vocabulary List
1 and the textbook vocabulary sections of Chapters 10 and 12 Brief Description of Standardized Final Test The structure of the final test is similar to that of the mid-term test. See Student Performance Record Sheet. Details will be announced later. brief description of each section
[Listening comprehension and note taking]: a new lecture will be used. [Q&A]: The same format as in the mid-term test [Turning notes into passage]: same format as in the mid-term test [Vocabulary]: based on Vocabulary List 2 and the textbook vocabulary sections of Chapters 13 and 15
6
2013 Academic Lecture Comprehension 2 (ALC2) Tentative Lecture Itinerary
The first 2 weeks are special: “orientation” and “how to write a paragraph.”
Later, each of the 4 chapters (Chapters 10, 12, 13, and 15) are covered in 2 weeks. See below a tentative itinerary
for covering Chapter 10:
One week before beginning a chapter, make students study the words in List1 that appear in Chapter 10 of the
textbook. List 1, available on the CELESE website ALC2 page (http://www.celese.sci.waseda.ac.jp/system/
files/celese/courses/year1/).
Also, one week before beginning a chapter, assign the supplementary reading available on the CELESE
website ALC2 page.
Before beginning to talk about Chapter 10, you can administer a simple vocab quiz on List 1.
Talk about the low-frequency words (proper nouns, technical terms, etc.) that appear in Chapter 10.
Go over the supplementary reading material or just give more information about the topic.
Use the textbook for the lecture about Asian and African Elephants.
Talk about “rhetorical and listening cues.”
Play the video/audio data for “initial listening.”
Give instructions about how to take notes on a lecture about chronology, and let students take notes,
possibly while using “mental rehearsal and review of the talk” or “consolidation.” “Note taking materials”
available on CELESE website ALC2 page.
Let students improve their notes through discussion in pairs or small groups.
Q&A practice (see p. 4).
Change student pairs and let them explain the contents of the lecture to the new partner from their notes.
Play again for “consolidation” and notes verification.
Summary writing. Review the paragraph writing instructions.
Review and practice: material available on the CELESE website ALC2 page.
The other chapters may follow the same pattern.
For the “lecture and summary” lesson, give a review of the contents covered so far, and use a different lecture
having one of the types already covered to allow students to apply, on a new lecture, the knowledge acquired.
Examples are available on CELESE website ALC2 page (see also pp. 2 and 3).
Basics of Paragraph Writing (ALC2)
In ALC2, you are expected to write a multiple paragraph passage as the summary of a lecture you have listened to.
For this purpose, you need to know what a paragraph is.
paragraph:
A paragraph is a group of related sentences whose purpose is to express one basic, central idea (main idea). All
the sentences in a paragraph should work together to build up the main idea.
A paragraph starts with an indentation. The first word of the first line begins a little to the right of the beginning
of the second line. (In multiple-paragraph writings, the start of a new paragraph can be indicated by leaving a
blank line before a new paragraph instead of an indentation.)
structure of a paragraph:
topic sentence at the beginning
supporting sentences in the middle
transition sentences between paragraphs
concluding sentence at the end
topic sentence:
A topic sentence introduces the topic of the paragraph (What is this paragraph about?) and its main idea.
supporting sentences
Supporting sentences support the main idea of the paragraph by giving specific details, examples, causes,
effects, etc.
concluding sentence
A concluding sentence restates the main idea of the paragraph (i.e., the summary of what was told in the
paragraph).
Although it is not always required to have a concluding sentence, especially when the paragraph is short, it is
advisable to include one in long paragraphs.
transition expressions (logical connectors)
How sentences are related to each other is usually indicated by transition expressions (logical connectors)
such as for example (to give examples), as a result (to give results), first … second … third (to show order), on
the one hand … on the other (to show contrast) and so on.
They are important for writing a good summary. (cf. “Rhetorical Listening Cues” in the ALC textbook)
transition sentences between paragraphs
In a multiple paragraph passage, the beginning of the first paragraph may differ from the beginning of the other
paragraphs, because the main topic of the passage has to be defined in the first paragraph and may just add other
related (sub-)topics.
The logical link between the paragraphs is expressed with the logical connectors in transition sentences.
Therefore, a true concluding sentence appears in the end of the last paragraph, and transition sentences may
appear in the end of the previous paragraphs, or in the beginning of the second, third, etc. paragraphs.
Sample multiple paragraph passage
Here is a sample passage. Notice the following parts.
indentation at the beginning of a paragraph
the first sentence of a paragraph = topic sentence of the paragraph
supporting sentences in each paragraph
the last sentence = concluding sentence
transition expressions
transition sentence
Sample Passage (based on Supplementary Reading for Chapter 10)
The elephant is a huge mammal characterized by a long muscular snout and two long, curved tusks. Highly
intelligent and strong, elephants are the largest land animals and are among the longest-lived, with life spans of 60
years or more. Over the past 40 million years, more than 600 species of elephants have roamed the earth. Today
only two species are alive—the African elephant and the Asian elephant.
African and Asian elephants differ in size, color, and other physical characteristics. The African elephant can
be distinguished by its larger size and broader ears that drape over its shoulders. African elephants are light gray in
color, although they can appear dark gray, red, or brown from the mud they bathe in. They have a low, flat
forehead and a slightly swayed back. Their fan-shaped ears average 1.5 m in length and 1.2 m in width. In contrast,
Asian elephants are shorter and stockier than their African relatives, with ears that do not reach their shoulders.
Asian elephants have dark gray skin, a bulbous forehead, and a rounded back. Ear size averages 0.75 m long and
0.6 m wide.
There are many other differences, but many similarities between the two species, too. For example, despite
their great weight, elephants walk almost noiselessly with exceptional grace. Also, elephants normally walk at a
speed of about 6 km/h and can charge at up to 40 km/h. Even after knowing the similarities and differences
between the two species of elephants, it is not always easy to identify an African or an Asian elephant.
