Dutch: Advanced Language Skills and Fluency II

Teacher(s)

Hiligsmann Philippe;

Language

Dutch

Prerequisites

Level B2 of the Common Europea Framework of Reference for Languages

Main themes

A wide range of written texts and multimedia documents are used as a prompt for receptive and productive activities in both speech and writing. The focus is on vocabulary extension, grammatical accuracy and coherent argumentation. Special attention is devoted to intercultural communication. Lexical, grammatical and discursive differences between the target language and French are highlighted and practised through translation exercises.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	To acquire advanced productive and receptive skills in both speech and writing (B2+ level - Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). At the end of the course, the student will be able to: - follow extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly; - understand standard spoken language, live or broadcast; - easily follow complex interactions between third parties in group discussion and debate, even on abstract, complex unfamiliar topics; - understand spoken language displaying light regional varieties; - easily summarize lectures, conferences and talks (even on specialized topics) presented by native speakers; - understand a wide range of journalistic, literary or domain-specific texts; - appreciate stylistic differences between texts (written or spoken); - discover the structure of discourse; - recognize stylistic devices typical of the target language and provide equivalents in his/her mother tongue; - identify the targeted readership of a text; - have a good command of a broad lexical repertoire allowing gaps to be readily overcome with circumlocutions and avoidance strategies; - have a good command of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms; - make no significant vocabulary errors; - consistently maintain a high degree of grammatical accuracy; errors are rare; - be able to vary intonation and place sentence stress correctly in order to express finer shades of meaning; - use consistent and accurate layout, paragraphing, spelling and punctuation; - produce clear, smoothly flowing, well-structured speech, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

Content

Vocabulary extension with particular focus on its appropriate use in context (collocations, register).
Discursive and rhetorical techniques, typical of the target language.
Lexical and structural properties of written vs spoken discourse in the target language.

Teaching methods

The lecturing part of the course will focus on a systematic broadening of the lexical proficiency, the development of stylistic  and grammatical adequacy, use of different forms of discourse and the quality of translation.
The exercise part of the course will especially focus on productive oral and written proficiency (correct pronunciation, adequate use of the code, variety in register, vocabulary and fluency in communication).

Evaluation methods

Continuous assessment: four written productions over the whole year will be assessed (two per semester). 
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) must be used responsibly and in accordance with academic and scientific integrity practices.
The final grade for the January and June exams will be the average of the following grades: Continuous assessment (average of the grades of the two written papers of the semester) (/20), written exam (/60: 30 points for the exercises related to the theory seen in the course / 30 points for the essay [formal correction criterion: - 5 points for each mistake listed in the book 100 fautes]), oral exam/mastery of the oral language (/40)
The final score of the August examination will be the average of the following scores: written examination (/60: 30 points for the exercises related to the theory seen in the course / 30 points for the writing [formal correctness criterion: - 5 points for each mistake listed in the book 100 fautes]), oral examination/mastery of the oral language (/60)

Bibliography

• S. Theissen, Ph. Hiligsmann & L. Rasier, Dictionnaire contrastif français-néerlandais, Louvain-la-Neuve: PUL, 2013.
• Ph. Hiligsmann, P. Degrave, K. Van Goethem & L. Rasier, 100 fautes. De Boeck, 3e édition, 2023.
• Documenten beschikbaar op Moodle

Teaching materials

• S. Theissen, Ph. Hiligsmann & R. Lousberg, Nouveau dictionnaire contrastif des prépositions (français-néerlandais avec excercices), Brussel: De Boeck, 2003 (verkrijgbaar in de handel)
• Ph. Hiligsmann & S. Theissen, Néerlandais intermédiare avancé. Expressions et proverbes, Brussel, De Boeck, 2008 (verkrijgbaar in de handel)
• S. Theissen, Ph. Hiligsmann & L. Rasier, Dictionnaire contrastif français-néerlandais, Louvain-la-Neuve: PUL, 2013.
• Ph. Hiligsmann, P. Degrave, K. Van Goethem & L. Rasier, 100 fautes. De Boeck, 3e édition, 2023.
• Documenten beschikbaar op Moodle

Faculty or entity

ELAL