English C1.2
Code
711121048
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Línguas, Culturas e Literaturas Modernas, Secção de Estudos Ingleses e Norte-Americanos
Credits
4
Teacher in charge
David Philip Rowlands, Vanessa Marie Boutefeu
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
English
Objectives
The student should:
a) attain level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (Proficient user)
b) increase intercultural awareness and further develop knowledge of the culture/language relationship
c) be able to write clear, coherent and well structured texts in an appropriate style with few grammatical or lexical errors, showing a good commmand of a broad range of language
d) be able to understand extended, complex, contemporary written texts such as academic articles and opinion articles on social and cultural matters
e) be able to express him/herself fluently and spontaneously, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, and contribute without major difficulty to any discussion with few restrictions
f) be able to understand extended spoken discourse, both live and recorded, with few difficulties
g) know how to analyze and control the grammatical system of English
h) be responsible for their own learning, knowing how to develop the competences that lead to autonomy.
Prerequisites
Pass in Inglês C1.1.2
Subject matter
The course revolves around topics of a social, cultural and historical nature, but with flexibility built in to cater to different student needs/interests. The main topics covered are: identity (personal and cultural), history (World War 1, Britain past and present); freedom (human rights, personal freedom, etc); the media (especially online and TV news for decoding local and cultural references). These topics lead into analysis and development of the following specific skills:
Writing summaries; narrative/descriptive texts; discursive texts
Speaking pronunciation; conversational strategies; discussion skills
Intercultural competence - identification, decoding & discussion of cultural references
Lexis lexical analysis; noun formation; gender; multi-word verbs; collocation; word families
Grammar verb phrase review; articles; punctuation; prepositions; cohesive devices & discourse markers
Editing/revising - identifying and correcting linguistic errors
Bibliography
Aboulela, L. (2001). The Museum, in ´Coloured Lights´. Edinburgh: Polygon/Edinburgh University Press
Carter, R. & McCarthy, M. (2006). Cambridge Grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Gillet, A., Hammond, A. & Martala, M. (2009). Successful Academic Writing. Harlow: Pearson Longman
Munro, A. (2000). The Love of a Good Woman. London: Vintage Books
Vince, M. & French, A. (2011). IELTS Language Practice: English Grammar and Vocabulary. Oxford: Macmillan
A collection of selected readings - articles, literary, cultural and media texts and linguistic tasks [Colectânea de leituras seleccionadas artigos, textos literários, culturais e mediáticos e actividades linguísticas (a disponibilizar pelo docente)]
Teaching method
Communicative and dialogic method with a task-based, intercultural approach, all of which seek to stimulate interaction and promote increasingly autonomous learning, revolving around a series of topics. Discussion is a key element often preceded by reading or listening input and/or analysis and followed up by written work/further research by students. Skills-based tasks require both linguistic and extra-linguistic competences. Inductive approach for extending grammatical and lexical knowledge. Frequent use of the internet and audio-visual means.
Evaluation method
Assessment is continuous and formative consisting of:
4 written texts of different types (1 written in class) 55%
2 spoken tasks (discursive/informative): 1 group/1 individual 20%
1 test: grammar, vocabulary, reading/listening tasks 15%
General coursework mark: active participation (including attendance) and evidence of autonomous learning development 10%
Minimum attendance: 66% of classes