English B2.1

Code:

LLC057

Acronym:

IB2.1

Instance: 2010/2011 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Anglo-American Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
CL	16	Study Plan-Lang.Sciences:Linguistics	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan-Lang.Sciences:Port.Second Language	1	-	6	52	162
LA	45	Study Plan - Applied Languages: Business Relations	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan-Applied Languages: Translation	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan only for 2007/2008	2	-	6	52	162
LLC	107	Joint Lauguage Plan -Englis/German	1	-	6	52	162
		Joint Language Plan - English/Spanish	1	-	6	52	162
		Joint Language Plan-Portuguese/English	1	-	6	52	162
		Join Language Plan only for 2007/2008	2	-	6	52	-
		Single Language Plan only for 2007/2008	2	-	6	52	-
		Single Language Plan-English	1	-	6	52	162
		English Studies Plan (Teaching) With German	1	-	6	52	162
		English Studies Plan (Teaching) with Spanish	1	-	6	52	162
		English Studies Plan (Teaching) With French	1	-	6	52	162
		Joint Language Plan -English/French	1	-	6	52	162
LRI	57	Study Plan	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan - Minor in History	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan - Minor in German Studies	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan - Minor in English Studies	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan - Minor in Spanish Studies	1	-	6	52	162
		Study Plan - Minor in French Studies	1	-	6	52	162

Teaching language

English

Objectives

By the end of the semester students should be able to:
Show understanding of basic question forms and apply them in conversation;
Express opinion orally and in writing on a cultural topic in a group or class discussion;
Listen to and understand an interview or recorded text and respond accordingly;
Show general understanding of a newspaper article;
Understand written instructions;
Format paragraphs;
Write an informal letter;
Write a narrative/descriptive essay;

In addition, we aim to:

Consolidate students’ knowledge of selected key components of English grammar;
Broaden students’ range of vocabulary on the themes of university life, image & fashion, studying abroad, relationships, money & finance;
Develop students' study skills and ability to use reference materials, with a view to making them more independent learners;

Program

The B2.1 course aims to cover the first three units of New Inside Out, a B2 (Upper Intermediate) level coursebook. We will specifically be using this book for the skills part of the course (i.e. reading, listening, writing and speaking). The themes we will be covering include: Becoming A University Student; Image & Fashion - Making Impressions; Family & Relationships; Studying abroad; Money & Finance

•Speaking

The first lesson of each week will include the opportunity for students to take part in some in-class discussion about the themes being covered. In addition, in the second lesson of each week the class will be divided into smaller 'tutorial' groups which will meet on a rotating basis. These sessions will provide the opportunity for more involved discussion and will form part of students' oral evaluation. One or more of these discussion sessions (depending on class sizes) will involve students preparing a short presentation on a pre-selected topic.

•Listening

Emphasis will be placed on:
listening for gist – identifying the main ideas in a talk
demonstrating an understanding of what students have heard (and/or watched) by answering oral and written questions;
distinguishing between spoken and written registers of English.

This skill will be developed using a variety of audio texts and videos of varying length and difficulty.

•Reading

Emphasis will be placed on:
reading for general meaning (skimming);
reading for specific meaning;
working out the meaning of unfamiliar lexical items through context and other means

Reading texts will mainly be drawn from the coursebook but will be supplemented with other materials as the teacher sees fit

•Writing

Emphasis will be placed on:

Understanding what constitutes a paragraph;
Planning and writing an informal letter detailing some aspect of university life;
Expressing opinions on themes arising from texts and class discussions;
Describing a person or place which has made an impression;
Planning and writing a short narrative;
Using discourse markers;


•Grammar:

The course will focus on the following areas of language:

Revision of the tense system, with particular attention given to present perfect, narrative tenses and ways of expressing the future; Forming questions and negatives;
This grammar will be taken from the first half of Oxford Practice Grammar


In addition, students will be expected to recognise and correct simple errors of grammar and spelling, especially those arising from Portuguese interference.


Bibliografia principal

KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan. (2009) New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate MACMILLAN
EASTWOOD, John. (2006) Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate OXFORD


Bibliografia complementar

A good English/English dictionary, such as one of the following:
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
MacMillan Dicitionary for Advanced Learners

Mandatory literature

KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
KAY, Sue., and JONES, Vaughan;; New Inside Out - Upper Intermediate, Macmillan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-2300-0919-6
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0
Eastwood, John; Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate , Oxford, 2006. ISBN: 978 0 19 430911 0

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lessons will be both practical and theoretical, with emphasis on student involvement. Students will be expected to take some degree of responsibility for their own learning. Classes will be taught in English.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	56,00
	Trabalho escrito	40,00		2011-02-12
	Exame	2,00		2011-02-12
	Exame	40,00		2011-02-12
	Exame	4,00		2011-02-12
	Total:	-	0,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Description	Type	Time (hours)	End date
	Estudo autónomo	20	2011-02-12
	Total:	20,00

Eligibility for exams

Students are required to attend 75 % of classes and a record is kept of attendance, with exceptions according to FLUP regulations. Working students are not required to attend lessons, though it is very much recommended that they do so.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final mark will be calculated based on the following components of assessment to be done during the semester:
Listening Test: 10
Composition Test 30
Use of English (Grammar & Vocabulary) Test 40
At least two assessed in-class oral discussions 20
Final paired oral 20
TOTAL 120

All of these tests are to be done in class (except the final orals which will take place during January).
Important note! Working students can either take the tests during the semester or, alternatively, they can do ALL the tests on Saturday 8th January (written tests in the morning and oral/listening tests in the afternoon).

Examinations or Special Assignments

N/A

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

There is no final exam during the 'Época Normal'.
However, in the 'Época de Recurso' all students will be able to do a 'recurso' exam where they can retake ONE of the written components (EITHER the composition OR the Use of English paper). The mark obtained in the retake will substitute the mark from the original test, unless it is lower, in which case the original mark will stand. The oral and listening components cannot be retaken.

Classification improvement

According to FLUP regulations

Observations

Working students will be able to do the composition, Use of English and Listening exams on the morning of the second Saturday of January. They will be expected to sign up for an oral exam on one of the (week)days allocated for orals along with all the other students. If working students are unable to participate in the in-class discussions, then the oral exam will be worth 40/120 (rather than 20/120).