Foreign language I (English)
Code: 103574 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2502758 Humanities | FB | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Maria Merce Coll Alfonso
- Email:
- merce.coll@uab.cat
Teachers
- Olena Vasylets
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Students should have a B1 level (intermediate) of English according to the European Common Framework. This level is reached at the end of secondary compulsory education, and will be the starting point in this class.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This course focuses on the oral comprehension of the English language. Through several Ted Talks, the students will work on different grammar and vocabulary points (i.e. comparative and superlative, the simple present, etc.). Writing skills, reading comprehension and pronunciation will be worked in class too.
Competences
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
Learning Outcomes
- Ability to maintain an appropriate conversation.
- Carrying out oral presentations using an appropriate academic vocabulary and style.
- Communicating in oral and written form in the studied language, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
- Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
- Interpreting the meaning of unknown words thanks to its context.
- Making predictions and inferences about the content of a text.
- Producing a written text that is grammatically and lexically correct.
- Producing an oral text that is grammatically and lexically correct.
Content
Unit 1: Why do we sleep?
Grammar: The perfect aspect.
Vocabulary: Collocations to talk about sleeping habits.
Unit 2: Image, Identity and Clothing.
Grammar: Structures to talk about amounts and comparisons.
Vocabulary: Vocabulary to talk about image, identity and clothing.
Unit 3: Dealing with groupthink.
Grammar: Cleft sentences.
Vocabulary: Dealing with groupthink.
Unit 4: Challenges.
Grammar: Structures to talk about approximations.
Vocabulary: Obstacles and opportunities.
Unit 5: Inspiration.
Grammar: Unreal past.
Vocabulary: Softening negative statements.
Unit 6: Solutions.
Grammar: Structures to express purpose.
Vocabulary: Solutions collocations.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| In-class activities | 50 | 2 | |
| Supervised activities | 25 | 1 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Independent activities | 50 | 2 |
In class activities:
In class, students will analyze and practice different kinds of oral and written texts, and will work on learning strategies to imrpove oral and reading comprehension/expression.
Supervised activities:
The teacher will supervise some oral and reading activities. Time will also be devoted to the discussion of various linguistic aspects (grammar, lexicon and pronunciation), and also to improve the students’ writing skills.
Independent tasks:
Students will work on assignments and exercises on their own.
Students will have to hand in a portfolio (self-corrected), which will contain all their self-study work.
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.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examen final | 35% | 8 | 0.32 | 7, 4 |
| Exercises and homework | 15% | 4 | 0.16 | 7, 3, 4, 5, 1, 6, 2 |
| Midterm exam | 35% | 8 | 0.32 | 7, 4, 5, 6 |
| Oral presentation | 15% | 5 | 0.2 | 8, 3, 4, 1, 2 |
The final grade will be calculated as follows:
- Exercises and homework: 15%
- Oral presentation: 15%. The teacher can choose a topic area (literature, movies, etc). Students can do the oral presentation in pairs.
- Midterm exam: 35%. Based on the three first units of the book.
- Final exam: 35%. Based on the three last units of the book.
The subject follows continuous assessment, and it will include all the work during throughout the semester.
Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 35% of the assessment items.
In order to pass the course, it is necessary to have a mean of 5.
Procedure for Reviewing Grades Awarded
On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
Reassessment
- Only those students who have obtained a final mark between 3,5 and 4,9 and who have passed one of the two exams are entitled to opt for reassessment.
- The reassessment will be a final exam including the material of the whole semester.
- The maximum grade that can be obtained through reassessment is a 5.
Evaluation Activities Excluded from Reassessment
The following activities are not eligible for reassessment: in-class assignments and oral presentations.
VERY IMPORTANT
- In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awardedto an assessment activity, the student willbe given azero 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.
- 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.
- This subject does not incorporate single assessment.
Bibliography
Textbook:
Lansford, Lewis, Dummett, Paul, and Helen Stephenson. (2017). Keynote Advanced for "Usos Bàsics" (UAB SPECIAL EDITION). Hampshire:National Geographic Learning.
Other books:
- Swan, Michael. Practical English usage. Oxford, OUP.
Dictionaries:
-Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
-Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary
-Collins Dictionary Spanish-English / English-Spanish
-Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (with CD-ROM)
-Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners of English (with CD-ROM)
-Oxford Dictionary of Spanish-English / English-Spanish
Other:
- To improve written skills:
- Fawcett, Susan. & Sandberg, Alvin. Evergreen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers: a Brief Handbook.Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- White, Ronald & Arndt, Valerie. Process Writing.London: Lognman
- To improve oral expression:
- Baker, Ann. Ship or Sheep? An intermediate pronunciation course.
- Hancock, Marc. English pronunciation in use.
- To improve reading comprehension:
-Penguin Readers selection (levels 4 to 5)
-Mikulecky, Beatrice. S. & Jeffries, Linda. More Reading Power. London: Longman.
Software
This subject does not requiere use or knowledge of any specific software.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |