Technical English

Code:

CINF020

Acronym:

INGTEC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Language Sciences

Instance: 2012/2013 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Anglo-American Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor of Arts in Information Science

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
CINF	53	Plano Oficial a partir de 2008/2009	1	-	5	50	135

Teaching language

English

Objectives

In the field of Information Science, few would doubt the importance of the English language as a medium for the global communication of information. There is a recognised need for students of this degree course to develop a knowledge of how English can be used as a tool for the retrieval, interpretation and dissemination of information at this level of academic study.

Technical English for Information Science is a course designed to help students develop confidence in using English in their areas of study, as well as motivating them and developing a sense of achievement in the use of this medium for the accomplishment of certain academic goals. It is hoped that it will also enrich students’ study in other subjects within their degree course.

The course will mainly focus on developing receptive fluency and the study skills involved in reading a variety of texts within the area of Information Science. However, students will also have some opportunity to develop their productive skills in speaking and writing about the texts looked at in class.

Program

1 Vocabulary
To develop students’ lexical awareness by:
• drawing attention to word formation and lexical relationships
• developing understanding of the terminology of Information Science particularly in the area of Computing and the Internet as well as indexing and cataloguing.
• identifying and analysing the use of key technical words in context

2. Reading
This will be the main focus of the course and we hope to provide opportunities for students to develop receptive fluency by:
• developing strategies such as predicting content/creating anticipation questions
• analysing the organisation of texts in terms of layout, thematic patterns, main and subsidiary ideas
• practising various reading modes such as skimming for gist/scanning for the location and extraction of specific information/thorough reading for detailed understanding
• using a variety of reading materials within the students’ study areas, both on paper and in digital format.

3.Listening
We hope to give students some opportunity to practise and improve this skill by:
• looking at strategies for recognising semantic markers
• developing strategies such as predicting content/creating anticipation questions
• using a variety of listening materials within the students’ study areas
• Allowing students to listen to online audiotexts at their own pace.

4.Writing

Students will receive some guidance about how to write simple texts relating to the topic area and produce summaries of what they have read or listened to.

5.Speaking

To develop students’ oral communicative competence by practising exponents for:
• requesting and providing information
• presenting ideas/opinions, in class and in the smaller tutorial group.
• describing and evaluating texts/systems/procedures/processes
• providing explanations within a range of contexts related to Information Science.

Attention will also be given to the pronunciation of technical vocabulary as well as word and sentence stress.

Mandatory literature

Rundell Michael (chief editor); Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, Macmillan, 2002. ISBN: 0 333 99254 7

Teaching methods and learning activities

APPROACH TO TEACHING AND LEARNING

Lessons will be practical in nature. Active learning and participation will be encouraged at all times. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their own learning with self-assessment being a main feature of the students’ independent study programme. Students will complete a needs analysis questionnaire at the beginning of the course as well as grammar and study skills checklists. These will be a source of constant reference as students progress through the course.

Classroom activities will include: group and paired discussions of texts; communicative information gap/problem solving tasks; role-plays; mini-presentations; small-scale research and retrieval using the internet in a computer laboratory; analysing online language corpora.

Lessons will be practical in nature. Active learning and participation will be encouraged at all times. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their own learning with self-assessment being a main feature of the students’ independent study programme. Students will complete a needs analysis questionnaire at the beginning of the course as well as grammar and study skills checklists. These will be a source of constant reference as students progress through the course.

Classroom activities will include: group and paired discussions of texts; communicative information gap/problem solving tasks; mini-presentations; small-scale research and retrieval using the internet in a computer laboratory; analysing online language corpora.

There are obvious cross-curricular links between Technical English for Information Science and other subject areas within this degree programme. The language and skills acquired and developed are all transferable as is the use of many learning tools such as: the Internet, virtual libraries, online dictionaries, encyclopaedias and thesauri. Students will, nevertheless, be given guidance on how to navigate and use these in English.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	135,00
	Total:	-	0,00

Eligibility for exams

75% attendance obligatory. All tests and coursework compulsory.

Calculation formula of final grade

Evaluation will consist of a number of tests (reading/vocabulary etc) done in class (dates to be supplied at the beginning of the course), as well as a mini oral presentation on a text of their choice related in some way with Information Science (see below).

Tests and coursework done in class will account for 60% of the evaluation, while the final exam will consist of one written paper worth 40 % of the total mark. The final mark is the combination of the two components.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Depending on numbers, during the tutorial period, in pairs or small groups, students may be asked to introduce a theme for discussion, based on a written text. The will be expected to summarise the text orally and also to find ways to encourage the participation of other members of their group.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

According to FLUP regulations

Classification improvement

According to FLUP regulations

Observations

Classes will be given in English.