English in language studies contexts

Language

English

Prerequisites

Students have reached a B2 proficiency level in English (productive and receptive skills).   

Main themes

Topics connected with the students’ fields of specialisation (including culture (taken in a wide sense), current issues relating to the countries whose language they are studying, various types of literary and artistic productions, varied language- and linguistics-related issues/topics, based on their own experience and academic profile 
The focus is on vocabulary extension (large lexical and phraseological repertoire), accuracy (pronunciation, grammatical and lexical control, spelling), fluency, intonation, lexical and syntactic complexity and coherent argumentation.  

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
This learning unit aims to help students to acquire an upper intermediate (B2+) level of communicative competence in the following skills: listening comprehension, speaking (with and without interaction), reading comprehension and writing
1	Communicate spontaneously with a high degree of fluency and good grammatical and lexical control on a wide range of general topics and on topics related to their fields of specialisation, without appearing to have to restrict and/or simplify what they want to say; give a detailed presentation on a wide range of topics related to their fields of specialisation, developing and justifying ideas with secondary points and relevant examples;
2	Write clear, fluent, and well-structured texts on a wide range of topics related to their fields of specialisation, summarising and evaluating information and arguments from a variety of sources; report on information and express opinions in writing;
3	Adapt their spoken and written productions to the context and their interlocutors, respecting the rules of the genres they are using;
4	Follow and demonstrate detailed understanding of varied and complex (in terms of content and form) audio-visual productions, lectures/talks and debates in standard varieties (also with a slight regional accent) about current affairs and topics related to their fields of specialisation;
5	Read with a high degree of autonomy, adapting reading style and speed to different texts and aims, making appropriate use of reference tools;
6	Understand longer, more complex documents related to current affairs and to their fields of specialisation (even when the meaning is implicit).
This learning unit contributes to the development and command of the following skills and learning outcomes of the ELAL programmes: 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 3.5, 3.6, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 6.6

Content

The skills and knowledge targeted in the learning outcomes will be worked on in an integrated way through a series of varied exercises and activities based on authentic written texts and audio-visual productions connected with the students’ fields of specialisation (e.g. culture, literature, linguistics). 

Teaching methods

Interactive lectures, exercise sessions and pronunciation classes in smaller groups     
Students are required to do preparation work before coming to the lectures and the exercise sessions so they can take an active part in the various in-class activities. 
Self-study : 

• Gairns, R. & Redman, S. (2020) Oxford Word Skills. Upper-intermediate - Advanced Vocabulary (second edition). Oxford University Press. 
• Flowchase 
• Activities and revision documents on Moodle 

The lectures and exercise sessions are given face to face (or online via Teams or using dual mode teaching if face to face teaching is not possible in case of a health crisis for example). 

Evaluation methods

Exam at the end of the academic year.  
The exam is made up of 5 parts: 

• oral production (with and without interaction; conversation and pronunciation): 20% of the final mark for the course 
• written production: 20% of the final mark 
• listening comprehension: 15% of the final mark 
• reading comprehension: 15% of the final mark 
• focus on forms/accuracy: 30% of the final mark (vocabulary, error detection and correction, grammar exercises) 

The final mark for the course is the weighted mean of the 5 parts. As we are aiming to train language specialists, particular attention is paid to language accuracy in each part of the evaluation. For the same reason, the use of generative artificial intelligence is not allowed for any parts of the evaluation.  
Successful completion of the five main parts of the exam (oral production, written production, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, focus on forms/accuracy) is essential to demonstrate the skills and knowledge defined in the leaning outcomes for the teaching unit. Students who get a grade lower than 8/20 for one of these five parts will therefore fail this course overall (7/20 or less if the mean is lower).  
Continuous assessment  

• active participation in the conversation and pronunciation classes and in videos/podcasts or oral presentations   
• portfolio of written assignments throughout the year 
• exemption vocabulary exam during the January session (exemption: 10/20): one third of the final mark for the 'focus on forms' part of the written exam. 

Students who have to resit the June exam (during the August/September session) only need to redo the exam parts for which they did not get 10/20 or the parts for which they were absent. 
Words of caution: 

• For the June exam session, the different parts of the exam will be organized on different dates (both before and during the session)  
• An absence for any part of the exam, be it justified or not, will result in an overall absence grade (A) for the whole exam. The parts of the exam not taken in June (or in May) can only be done during the August/September session. 
• Students who not hand in the written assignments of the portfolio on time or who do not participate in the videos/podcasts or oral presentations will be penalised: one mark per missing assignment and half a mark per late assignment will be deducted from the final grade for the written production part of the course and/or three marks will be deducted from the final grade for the oral production part (no video/podcast or presentation). 

Online resources

Moodle

Bibliography

Gairns, R. & Redman, S. (2020) Oxford Word Skills. Upper-intermediate - Advanced Vocabulary (second edition). Oxford University Press. 

Faculty or entity

> ELAL