Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
---|---|---|---|
2500245 English Studies | OB | 2 | 1 |
2501902 English and Catalan | OB | 2 | 1 |
2501907 English and Classics | OB | 2 | 1 |
2501910 English and Spanish | OB | 2 | 1 |
2501913 English and French | OB | 2 | 1 |
C1 level (advanced) del Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment.
Students are discouraged from enrolling in this subject if they have not passed the first year Usos Bàsics course.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SUBJECT
The main aim of this course is to provide an introduction to the principles of general phonetic description and taxonomy from an articulatory point of view. A description of the sounds of English will be provided and students will practice hearing and producing the linguistically relevant differences in English. Students will acquire working knowledge of phonological and phonetic transcription. The principles of phonological analysis will be presented. Students are introduced to the principles of articulatory description by means of class presentations by the teacher, together with the comments in class of readings done by the students at home. All this is complemented by extensive exercising throughout the semester. Students will practice transcription and reading during the whole course, both in class, in tutorials and at home.
Specific objectives.
Students will be able
1) to describe and to explain the production of speech sounds;
2) to classify and describe English sounds articulatorily;
3) to do phonological and phonetic transcription, and read words and phrases in transcription;
4) to carry out contrastive analysis and phonological analysis, and
5) to detect and assess areas of English pronunciation that of particular difficulty for native speakers of Catalan and Spanish, and to attempt to perceive and produce English sounds accurately.
SYLLABUS
UNIT 1. Introduction to phonetics, phonology, transcription and the main standard varieties of English.
UNIT 2. Production of speech sounds, articulatory description and classification.
UNIT 3. The English consonant system: phonemes and main allophonic realizations. Contrastive analysis of English and Spanish/Catalan consonants.
UNIT 4. The English vowel system: phonemes and main allophonic realizations. Contrastive analysis of English and Spanish/Catalan vowels.
UNIT 5. Modification processes and connected speech
UNIT 6.Contrastive analysis of phonological systems of different languages or different varieties of one language.
Directed activities
General phonetics
Description of the articulation of English consonants and vowels and their classification
Classroom correction of homework. Pronunciation practice
Improvement of production and perception of English sounds
Supervised
Individual assignments, preparation of assignmetns and pronunciation practice
Dealing with theroetical contents
Identification of difficult aspects of English pronunciation
Phonetic transcription
Autonomous
Mastering the main notions of phonetics and phonology and apply them to the English language.
Describing the consonantal and vocalic phonemes of English and their realisations
Autonomous practice (including self-correction)
Identifying and working the difficult aspects of English pronunciation
Assessment
Classroom correction of exercises
Understanding and explaining the basic theoretical notions of phonetics and phonology and their application to English phonetics and phonology, as well as a contrastive analysis between English and Spanish and Catalan.
Practice of phonological and phonetic transcription.
Acurate production of English sounds
Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|
Type: Directed | |||
Lectures and practical classes | 50 | 2 | 1, 11, 4, 5, 2, 7, 9 |
Type: Supervised | |||
Assignments | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 7 |
Type: Autonomous | |||
Study, test preparation and homework | 55 | 2.2 | 1, 10, 5, 7 |
ASSESSMENT
Note:
1) The assignments and the tests are COMPULSORY.
2) A final mark of “No avaluable” can only be obtained if the student has completed a maximum of 35% of the course.
3) To pass the course, the following conditions need to be fulfilled:
- The final oral exam needs to be passed.
- The combination of the marks of the two written exams needs to average out to a 5 or higher. If one of the two written exams is failed, this will need to have a minimum mark of 4.
4) The level of English will be taken into account when correcting exams and in the assessment of the final grade.
5) VERY IMPORTANT: Partial or total plagiarism will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarised exercise. Repeated instances of plagiarism will result in a FAIL (0) of the whole subject. PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources -whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text- with the intention of passing it off as the student's own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student's own text. Plagiarising is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors' intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.
6) In the case of a justifiable absence on the day of an exam, assignment or any other important task (for example, because of illness), the student must present the pertinent documentation in order to justify the absence. In that case, an alternative evaluation date may be offered, or a possible redistribution of the marks may be considered, if approved by the course coordinator.
7) In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
8) In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Reassessment
- All the assessment items should have been carried out.
- The minimum overall course mark should be 3.5/10.
- The maximum mark that can be obtained at reassessment is 5 (pass).
Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 written exams | 60% | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 11, 3, 10, 4, 5, 8, 6, 2, 7 |
An Assignment | 5% | 5.5 | 0.22 | 1, 5, 8, 6, 2, 7, 9 |
Homework, class exercices and participation | 5% | 16 | 0.64 | 1, 11, 3, 10, 4, 5, 2, 7, 9 |
Oral exam | 30% | 0.5 | 0.02 | 1, 5, 2, 7, 9 |
Main readings:
Recommended bibliography
English phonetics and transcription
English pronunciation