This is a one-year compulsory course for the freshmen of the English majors. It aims to enhance students' listening comprehension and improve their speaking ability and presentation skills. The course will be processed in two tracks. Thematically, it centers on "how to tell great stories." Pragmatically, it is to orient students with academic English. To achieve these, students will undertake a variety of aural-oral trainings and engage with some technology tools and online resources. Through integrating listening and speaking activities, it is expected that students will be able to articulate clearly and correctly, express their opinions fluently, and discuss/communicate sensibly on world issues, academic topics or thematic materials.