Interfaculty teaching unit - General and academic Dutch - upper-intermediate level

Teacher(s)

Dachy Valérie (coordinator); Demeulenaere Isabelle (coordinator);

Language

Dutch

Prerequisites

This teaching unit is of upper-intermediate level and students should have reached an UPPER B1 level (reading, listening and speaking) of the "Common European Framework of reference for Languages" (CEFR).

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Reading comprehension: B2 level of the CEFR to extract information, ideas and opinions from highly specialised sources linked to their field of study, to understand highly specialised articles outside of their field of study provided they can occasionally use a dictionary to check their understanding, to understand in detail academic course notes related to their field of study.
2	Listening comprehension: B2 level of the CEFR to understand most of a conference, discourse, report or any other academic and cultural presentation which ise complex in form and content provided they are somehow familiar with the topic and/or the topic is related to their field of study, to understand most of the newspapers and television programmes in standard language, to understand in detail what is said in a conversation in standard language, even in a noisy environment.
3	Speaking skills: B2 level of the CEFR to develop clearly and methodically a presentation of academic level, emphasizing the important points and relevant details, to leave spontaneously his/her prepared text in order to react to interesting points raised by the audience, and to show a certain ease and communication skill in doing so, to take part in a lengthy conversation on most topics of general interests and related to their field of study, by actively taking part in it, even in a noisy environment.
4	Writing skills: B1 level of the CEFR to write a simple and coherent text on a familiar topic or a topic of personal interest, presenting his/her opinions and providing explanations and arguments, to summarise information and arguments found in various sources and write an academic paper related to his/her field of study.
5	Code: expansion and diversification of general vocabulary (+/- 4000 words) and reinforcement of academic vocabulary. As far as speaking skills are concerned, the course focuses more on communicative skills than on correction. Culture : for all the skills aforementioned, introduction to Flemish and Dutch culture through active participation (cultural trips, films, theatre, exhibitions, ...).

Content

This teaching unit involves the development of oral communication practice.  The activities proposed in class aim at training spontaneous and academic communication.

Teaching methods

The activities proposed in class aim at developing spontaneous and academic communication: role plays, debates on general and academic topics, discussions based on articles, videos, '
Students are required to deliver a talk of academic level on a topic related to their field of study (or any other topic the group agrees with).  During this presentation, they are asked to create interaction with the public.

Evaluation methods

1. Continuous assessment (class participation, daily work, oral presentations).
2. Final oral exam.

-Continuous assessment:
Various individual and group tasks to be defined in agreement with students, throughout the quadrennium (/14)
-Oral exam:
Group oral presentation of current events and topics covered in class (press articles, reports, interviews, etc.). Discussion, debate, role-playing, presentation, ... To be defined). At the end of the quadrennium or in session (as desired). (/6) Grading is individual. Evaluation criteria will be sent to students during the term.
Attendance is compulsory. If the teacher deems it useful, she may propose to the jury that a student who has not regularly followed the learning activities (RGEE - art. 72) and handed in the required assignments be refused registration for the course examination.
Please note:
If the student does not take part in the oral examination, either by failing to present a justification or by presenting a non-receivable justification, an “absence” mark for the entire assessment will be given for the current session.
If the student does not take part in the oral exam, and presents an acceptable justification (i.e. an official document for medical reasons, serious accident, ....), a mark of “M” for the entire assessment will be awarded for the current session.
The candidate will be required to retake the exam in the third session.
During the August-September term, the student is required to complete an assignment and present an oral examination, the criteria for which will be defined by the teacher.
Continuous assessment marks will only be taken into account for 30% of the final mark if this is in the student's favour. Otherwise, they will be disregarded.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) must be used responsibly and in accordance with the practices of academic and scientific integrity. As scientific integrity requires that sources be cited, the use of AI must always be reported. The use of artificial intelligence for tasks where it is explicitly forbidden will be considered cheating.
(This English text has been translated into French by DeepL.)

Other information

Students who wish to enrol for this teaching unit must:  

• have NO other Dutch class in their programme of that academic year,
• receive the permission of the course coordinator at the ILV (i.e. make sure there is room left in the existing group(s)),
• subsequently receive the permission of the restricted jury in their faculty in orde to integrate this teaching unit into their year programme. (no possibility to enrol as a 'free' student).

This teaching unit, which could logically follow the LNEER1300 teaching unit, also aims at helping students to prepare their Erasmus stay in a Dutch speaking environment.
Classes in groups of 15 to 20 students.
The teacher is available during his/her office hours and can be contacted by telephone or e-mail.

Online resources

http://sites.uclouvain.be/moodle/

Bibliography

• °Plate-forme Moodle.
• °La presse, diverses applications et sites internet.

Teaching materials

• Diverses applications et sites internet.
• °Plate-forme Moodle.
• °La presse.

Faculty or entity

> ILV