General English

Teacher(s)

François Dominique (coordinator); Starrs Colleen;

Language

English

Main themes

This course covers a wide range of topics of general interest linked to their field of studies.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The aim of this course is to broaden students' knowledge of semantic and lexical fields and to encourage spoken production. Students should be able to express themselves without too much conspicuous searching for words, on familiar and less familiar topics related to their interests and professional life. Students should be able to understand a normal conversation (live or broadcast)  dealing with everyday topics or issues related to their personal, social, university or professional life. Students should be able to understand articles and reports on contemporary issues in which the author adopts  particular attitudes or viewpoints. They should be able to quickly scan a long and difficult text and understand the main points. Level B2 of the 'Common European Framework for Languages.'

Content

This course aims to develop listening comprehension skills and reading skills (B2 level) as well as oral production including presentation techniques (B1 level) .
Reading comprehension
At home - extensive reading using reading strategies
In class and at home - detailed analysis, commentary and comprehension exercises
Listening comprehension
In class and at home - extensive and intensive listening                                                                                                                            Students listen to passages (extracts from documentaries, interviews, etc.) at their own pace and complete activities
Oral production
Mock presentation in class (term one)
Group presentation at the end of term two
Conversation activities on the themes covered in class (texts and videos)
Vocabulary and grammar
Basic vocabulary and structures are practised, consolidated and expanded using speaking activities ( role-plays, group discussions, etc.) and written exercises in class and at home as well as self-tuition material  (Usage Notes).
The themes of the texts and videos in this course are related to journalism, communication, marketing, new technologies, etc.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

The course is built on a hybrid approach, combining face-to-face sessions and a series of online activities on Moodle. Students have to complete the Moodle activites by themselves either before or after class (depending on the instructions given).
For the academic year 2020-2021, the teaching methods have been adatped in accordance with the sanitary measues in place. Students have to do activies online and in the course notes (self-study) as a result of the decrease in the number of face-to-face classes.
Code Yellow (start of the academic year 2020)

• Face-to-face classes in sub-groups every other week
• Videos, texts, listening and reading comprehension activities, lexical and grammatical exercises available on Moodle
• A revision session with the whole class at the end of the term via Teams
• A mock presentation in sub-groups during the first term
• A group presentation at the end of the second term
• Revision of lexical and grammatical elements through self-study (Usage Notes based on the most common mistakes made by French-speaking students)

Code Orange
Distance learning via Teams every other week
Videos, texts, listening and reading comprehension activities, lexical and grammatical exercises available on Moodle
A revision session with the whole class at the end of the term via Teams
A mock presentation in sub-groups during the first term via Teams
A group presentation at the end of the second term via Teams
Revision of lexical and grammatical elements through self-study  (Usage Notes based on the most common mistakes made by French-speaking students)

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

The assessment includes various compulsory elements:

•     Written test on the self-tuition material (Usage notes) at the end of the first term (W14 - 5 %)
•     Written exam (partial exemption) in January (30%)
•     Written exam in June (all students are tested on the material of the second term;  students who do not obtain 12/20 or more in the January exam (partial exemption) are also tested on the material from the first term (30%)
•     Mock presentation (formative assessment but compulsory)
•     Group presentation at the end of the second term (Week 12 and Week 13) (20%)
•     Self-tuition material on Moodle - compulsory comprehension activities as well as lexical and grammatical exercises (15%)

Both the oral component (group presentation) and written component are compulsory. Students who are absent for one part of the exam (oral component or written component) will be considered as absent for the June session.
In September, students have to do both the written exam (material from the first term and the seond term) and the oral exam (individual presentation).  Students who are absent for one part of the exam (oral component or written component) will be considered as absent for the September session.

 

Other information

Students can choose a group and enrol for the course on Moodle.
The groups are the same in the second term.

Online resources

http://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/

Bibliography

Syllabus du cours LANGL 1333 (General English) // LANGL 1333 Coursenotes (General English)
Espace du cours LANGL 1333 sur Moodle // LANGL 1333 course on Moodle

Teaching materials

• Syllabus du cours LANGL 1333 (General English)

Faculty or entity

ILV