Professional English I
Code: 102762 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2502441 Computer Engineering | OT | 4 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Mercè Mur Effing
- Email:
- Merce.Mur@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- english (eng)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
It is essential to have a minimum level of Intermediate B1 to register for this subject. All classes are taught in English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
At the end of the semester, each student should be able to express and communicate ideas, both orally and in writing, about technical themes, as well as about themes of general interest.
Emphasis is placed on understanding and synthesizing information, on argumentation and on the expression of ideas and opinions. Each student is expected to work on his/her own improvement of English grammar and vocabulary at a level of Upper-Intermediate. For this purpose, they will be using an error correction book throughout the whole semester.
Competences
- Communication.
Learning Outcomes
- Use English as the language of communication and professional relations .
Content
- Summary of general and of technical information
- Grammatical structures and linguistic expressions at a level of Upper-Intermediate [B2]
- Terminology
- Technical descriptions of objects and of processes
- Synthesis of information from texts and videos
- Acquisition of specific vocabulary
- Correction of language errors
- Expression of judgment, argumentation and evaluation of contents.
Methodology
Methodology
Directed activities 30%: The teacher presents the basic concepts and techniques related to this subject. There will be two sessions per week, each one of a duration of two hours. Great emphasis will be placed on communicative activities, as well as on group work. Active participation in class will be highly appreciated by the teacher. Class attendance is compulsory to pass this subject.
Autonomous activities 30%: These activities are mainly exercises that have to be carried out individually and their completion will be controlled regularly by the teacher.
Supervised group activities 10%: some activities have been designed for students to work with their classmates in a cooperative way. Group work is, thus, one of the objectives of this course.
Evaluation activities 30%: These are the different tests which the students will have to take in order to show that they have acquired the desired level. The evaluation activities will test the guided, the autonomous, and the supervised activities.
Other skills:
Apart from focusing on English as a language of communication and for professional purposes, in this subject we also work and evaluate the following points:
Thinking habits: Students will be encouraged to develop critical thinking and broaden their communicative abilities by taking part in debates and sharing their opinions on different topics.
Personal work habits
Group work
Communication
Ethics and professionalism
Personal attitude
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Communicative and group activities guided by the teacher in order to develop all the related competences. | 40 | 1.6 | 1 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Students will have to develop certain activities supervised by the teacher, which will aid in the development of critical thinking and the capacity to synthesise. | 10 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Exercises done individually or in small groups, outside of the classroom. | 75 | 3 | 1 |
Assessment
Students' performance in this subject will be assessed by continuous assessment and class attendance is obligatory. There will be two exams, one mid-semester and one end-of-semester exam; four error correction exercises, based on the book: Guided Error Correction B2; a written paper, plus regular homework. Class participation and taking part in debates will also be highly valued.
The final mark for the subject will be calculated according to the information in the section called ‘assessment activities.’
The exam dates, the dates of delivery of any activities, the retake dates of any exam, as well as the exam revision dates will be established in class and will be published on the ‘campus virtual,’ but may be subject to changes in programming if necessary.
The minimum mark to pass this subject is a 5. The retake will only be possible if students obtained a minimum mark of a 3.5 or above, in any of the two exams. The maximum mark given to a retake exam will be a 5.
If a student misses 10% of classes and does not deliver any of the compulsory papers throughout the course, his/her mark will be ‘not assessable’ (NA). Only on exceptional occasions (justifying the reasons of absence or lack of fulfilment of deadlines) will a student be able to retake any activity after the specified assessment dates.
Students with an average mark of 9 or above will be the only ones eligible for a special distinction (outstanding performance). Since the number of distinctions cannot be above 5% of the number of registrations per subject, they will only be given to students who obtained the highest marks.
Students who have enrolled in the subject for the second time, will have to do all the activities required in the course.
Important information:
- Both the teaching method as well as the assessment criteria may vary depending on any possible restrictions (lockdown) applied by the health authorities.
- Without affecting any other disciplinary measures and according the current academic regulations, if students commit any of the following irregularities, they will be given a zero for the activity concerned, which may affect the resulting mark in the general assessment. If students copy or allow other students to copy their work or any assessable activity this will immediately imply the failing of that activity, with a zero. Thus, it will not be possible to pass the subject, if one of the requirements is to pass the activity, and no retake of the subject will be possible during the same academic year.
These irregularities include, among others:
- The total or partial copy of any assessment activity
- Allowing others to copy
- Presenting a group work activity not entirely done by the members of the group (this is applicable to all the participants, not only to those who have not done their work)
- Presenting material as genuine, when done by a third party. This includes translations, adaptations and any work that has not been carried out entirely by the student;
- Having access to communication devices (such as mobile phones, smart watches, pens with cameras, etc.) during theoretical and/or practical assessment activities (exams);
- Speaking to classmates during theoretical and/or practical assessment activities (exams);
- Copying or trying to do so during any theoretical and/or practical assessment activities (exams);
- Using (or trying to use) written documentation related to the subject during any assessment activity, without explicit permission to do so.
If a student has incurred any of the above-mentioned irregularities, the numeric mark of his/her academic record will be the lowest value between 3.0 and half of the average weight of his/her marks (thus, passing the subject by compensation will not be possible). In future editions of this subject, students who have committed irregularities in an assessment activity will not be allowed to validate any of the assessment activities he/she’s taken part in.
To sum up: copying, allowing to do so, plagiarising (or trying to do so) in any of the assessment activities is equivalent to a FAIL, which is not compensable. The subject will, therefore, not be validated in future courses.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 exam at the end of the semester | 25% | 8 | 0.32 | 1 |
| 4 error correction exercises based on the Guided Error Correction Book, Level B2 | 30% | 8 | 0.32 | 1 |
| Homework | 35% | 4 | 0.16 | 1 |
| Participation in debates and forums | 10% | 5 | 0.2 | 1 |
Bibliography
Throughout the course, students will use the following book: Kennedy-Scanlon, Michael, Pladevall, Elisabet, Cebrián, Juli (2012) - Guided Error Correction: Exercises for Spanish-speaking students of English. Level B2. Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions UAB.
If needed:
Murphy, Raymond (2008) Essential Grammar in Use. Cambridge: CUP
Swan, Michael (2002), Practical English Usage. Oxford: OUP