Use of English I
Code: 100234 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500245 English Studies | OB | 2 | 1 |
| 2501902 English and Catalan Studies | OB | 2 | 1 |
| 2501907 English and Classics Studies | OB | 2 | 1 |
| 2501910 English and Spanish Studies | OB | 2 | 1 |
| 2501913 English and French Studies | OB | 2 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Laura Jane Styles
- Email:
- laura.styles@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
Teachers
- Arnau Roig Mora
- Andrea Huerta Bon
- Elena Markina
Prerequisites
Students enrolling in this subject are expected to have passed the subject 103409 - Usos Bàsics de la Llengua Anglesa.
The entry level for the subject is the C1.2 level (Advanced) in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment.
At the C1.2 level, the student can (i) understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning; (ii) express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions; (iii) use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes; (iv) produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The subject “Use of English 1” is the first component of “Use of the Language”, the other three components being “Use of English 2”, “Use of the Language: Advanced Writing Skills” and “Use of the Language: Advanced Oral Communication”.
Objectives:
- To strengthen and build the students’ instrumental and academic use of the English language to a C2.1 level in order to later be able to succeed in attaining the core knowledge which constitutes the curriculum of the “Use of the Language” module.
- To fully understand real English texts, specialised and non-specialised.
- To argue naturally about a non-specialised topic without making basic grammatical mistakes, with accurate pronunciation, and with a relatively wide range of vocabulary.
- To understand audiovisual materials of a variety of specialised and non-specialised topics, and of a variety of English accents.
- To write a wide range of formal text types observing the structural and stylistic conventions of the genre and using a variety of relatively sophisticated vocabulary and structures.
Competences
- English Studies
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
- Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Utilising new technologies in order to capture and organise information in English and other languages, and applying it to the personal continued training and to the problem-solving in the professional or research activity.
- English and Catalan Studies
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
- Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- English and Classics Studies
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
- Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- English and Spanish Studies
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
- Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- English and French Studies
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Executing in oral and written form a flexible and effective use of the English language with academic, professional and social purposes.
- Produce clear and well structured and detailed texts in English about complex topics, displaying a correct use of the organisation, connection and cohesion of the text.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
Learning Outcomes
- Carry out oral presentations in English about a variety of topics of public interest.
- Carrying out oral presentations in English about a variety of topics of public interest.
- Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
- Demonstrate they comprehend and distinguish a wide variety of non-colloquial auditory material in standard British and American English.
- Demonstrate they know English specialised and non-specialised texts of high difficulty level.
- Demonstrating they know English specialised and non-specialised texts of high difficulty level, and interpreting them in a critical manner.
- Draw up brief argumentative essays in English about non-specialised topics of average difficulty.
- Drawing up brief argumentative essays in English about non-specialised topics of average difficulty.
- Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
- Issue appropriate critical assessments based on the comprehension of relevant information about social, scientific or ethical issues related to linguistics.
- Issuing appropriate critical assessments based on the comprehension of relevant information about social, scientific or ethical issues related to linguistics.
- Locating and organising relevant information in English that is available on the Internet, in databases, etc.
- Show comprehension of a wide variety of non-colloquial auditory material in standard British and American English.
- Summarising in written form the main content of an oral discourse about specialised and non-specialised topics of high level difficulty.
- Summarize in written form the main content of an english oral discourse about non-specialised topics of average level difficulty.
- Use the English language with the appropriate expression (correctness, fluency, pronunciation, communicative strategies) in formal (presentations, debates, formal interactions) and informal contexts (conversation) with a C2 level.
- Using the English language with the appropriate expression (correctness, fluency, pronunciation, communicative strategies) in formal (presentations, debates, formal interactions) and informal contexts (conversation) with a C2 level.
- Using the English language with the appropriate expression (correctness, fluency, pronunciation, communicative strategies) in formal (presentations, debates, formal interactions) and informal contexts (conversation), with a C2 level.
Content
Grammar and vocabulary:
- Advanced grammatical structures in English.
- Error correction exercises.
- Vocabulary exercises based on texts and audio-visual materials.
- Exercises on English collocations and idioms.
Written production:
- Argumentative essays, articles, formal letters, reports andreviews.
- Text planning and organisation exercises.
- Re-writing of texts and self-correction exercises.
- Exercises on the use of cohesion and argumentation elements.
Reading comprehension:
- Comprehension exercises and summaries based on real texts concerning a variety of different topics.
Listening comprehension:
- Note-taking and summary-writing of the core points of a recorded discourse or oral presentation.
Methodology
The teaching methodology used is based on:
- Teacher-led activities (30%, 1.8 cr)
- Supervised activities (15%, 0.9 cr)
- Self-study and student-led activities (50%, 3 cr)
- Assessment tasks (5%, 0.3 cr)
Teacher-led activities (Theoretical and practical classes)
- Lectures using ICTs.
- Class debates and discussions.
- Practical activities in groups or pairs.
- In-class receptive and productive skills practice.
Self-study and student-led activities
- Language practice with the course books and other reference books.
- Writing argumentative essays, opinion articles, letters, reports and reviews.
- Completing a course portfolio.
- Practice with ICTs and Moodle.
Assessment tasks
- In-class précis (i.e. written summaries based on audio-video input), a midterm and a final achievement exam (written)
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| In-class oral practice | 15 | 0.6 | 6, 5, 10, 9, 3, 7, 18 |
| Theory and practice classes | 30 | 1.2 | 6, 5, 10, 3, 18 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorial sessions | 22 | 0.88 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading and Studying -Exercises and essays - Using ICT tools | 76.5 | 3.06 | 10, 12 |
Assessment
- Continuous assessment (30%)
- Midterm (20%)
- Final written exam (50%)
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO PASS THE COURSE:
- To pass the course, students need to pass 60% of the content of the final exam and the average of the course must be 60% or more.
2. In order to pass the final exam, students need to pass 60% of the content of the exam.
3. In order to obtain an average of the final exam, students need to obtain a minimum of 55% in each of the 3 parts of the final exam. Otherwise, they will have to reassess one part in which they have obtained less than 55%.
4. Only if/when students pass the final written exam with a 60% will continuous assessment marks and other evaluation activities be taken into account.
Reassessment
(i) To qualify for re-assessment, students need to have completed all the continuous assessment tasks, the midterm and the final exam, except for duly justified absences.
(ii) Students will only qualify for re-assessment if the mark in their final written exam average reaches 35%. If they reach less than a 35%, students won’t be eligible for reassessment.
If a student sits reassessment exams, they will get a maximum of 5 on SIGMA as a final grade.
No avaluable
Only available for those who have submitted less than a 30% of the course tasks/exams.
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IMPORTANT: 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.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuous assessment | 30% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 4, 13, 6, 5, 2, 1, 10, 9, 3, 12, 8, 15, 14, 18, 17 |
| Midterm | 20% | 1 | 0.04 | 4, 13, 6, 5, 2, 1, 10, 9, 3, 12, 8, 7, 15, 14, 18, 17, 16 |
| Written final exam | 50% | 4 | 0.16 | 4, 13, 6, 5, 2, 1, 10, 11, 9, 3, 12, 8, 7, 15, 14, 18, 17 |
Bibliography
Basic Bilbiography
- Malcolm Mann & Steve Taylore-Knowles. Destination C1 & C2. Grammar and Vocabulary. Macmillan. 2007.
Recommended reference books:
- Michael McCarthy & Felicity O’Dell. English Vocabulary in Use: Advanced (with answers and CD) Third Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- Work on your Vocabulary. Hundreds of Words to Learn and Remember. Advanced. Collins, 2013.
- Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary or Oxford Dictionary English
- Michael Swan. (2005). Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Recommended links:
- General practice
www. ejerciciodeingles.com
https://agendaweb.org/
- Reading practice
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/cpe/students/tests/
- Writing practice
https://writeandimprove.com/
https://www.grammarly.com/
- Reference materials
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ (includes pronunciation files, British English)
http://www.ozdic.com/ (collocations)
https://www.english-corpora.org/bnc/ (corpus)
https://www.sketchengine.eu/skell/ (learner corpus)
Software
No specific software will be used.