Course detail

Practical English 5

FEKT-HPA5Acad. year: 2015/2016

The course is aimed at the development of academic language competences on the proficiency level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The process of English language teaching and learning includes technical text analysis; listening and reproduction; practising language functions supporting professional communication (emphasising, presenting an argument); presentation skills; oral reactions relating to being interviewed, participation in the discussion etc.; writing activities (e-mail messages and others); acquiring academic and relevant technical vocabulary presented and practised in professional contexts. The increasing of the grammatical and stylistic competence is an inseparable part of the course. The attention is focussed on revising grammatical categories widely used in scientific/technical writing and on matter-of-factness and objectivity in the scientific prose style.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

4

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Spoken production
The final exam verifies that a course graduate:
- Can give clearly developed presentations on subjects related to his/her professional field, can develop particular points and conclude appropriately.
- Can present his/her qualifications and experience.
- Can react on questions raised by members of the audience.
- Can actively participate in discussions.

Listening
The final exam verifies that a course graduate:
- Can understand lectures, talks and reports in his/her field of academic interest even when they are linguistically complex; can follow conversations between speakers.
- Uses listening strategies for gist and specific information.

Writing
The final exam verifies that a course graduate:
- Can write a text in an appropriate style.

Reading
The final exam verifies that a course graduate:
- Can understand long semi-technical texts oriented to electrical engineering and information technology and can summarise them orally.
- Can extract information, ideas and opinions from specialized texts from his/her own field.
- Can understand long instructions, for example for the use of a new piece of equipment, provided he has enough time to reread them.
- Can read any correspondence with occasional use of a dictionary.

Grammatical and stylistic competence
The final exam verifies that a course graduate:
- Is able to distinguish various writing styles.
- Is aware of difficult words and expressions in scientific/technical writing.
- Is aware of grammatical and stylistic categories widely used for obtaining formality and matter-of-factness in the scientific prose style.

Prerequisites

Before the electronic registration of the subject HPA5, a student has to pass successfully the exam of the subject Practical English 4 (subject code HPA4). This exam corresponds to the level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. A student at this level:
- Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning.
- Can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
- Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
- Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The methodology of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is applied to the subject Practical English 5 (HPA5). This methodology is closely linked with communicative and learning-centred approaches, and it entails the adoption of four essential principles: authenticity, relevancy and appropriacy in language and materials, and tolerance of errors to the extent of communication adequacy. Next to improving the communication skills and specialist language knowledge, this methodology also includes development of autonomous learning and students' self-assessment.
The organizational forms of tuition include class, pair work, group work, or individual work with accessible on-line materials for this subject at home.
Activities used in ESP include discussion, problem-solving, case studies, oral presentations or role-play. Communicative tasks/exercises/techniques include information transfer, information gap, reformulation, questionnaire, cloze.
ESP methodology is supported by educational aid: on-line materials for the subject, original recordings, computer-based teaching and learning.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

Semester test and exam.
A semester test has a written form and it includes three parts:
- a multiple choice test (academic/technical vocabulary, grammatical items, lexical items, semantic competence). Bear in mind that an incorrect choice will result in 0.333 point being subtracted from your score in this exercise,
- creating appropriate forms of given words that fit suitably in the blank spaces of the text,
- filling in missing words into a semi-technical text.
The semester is assessed by max. 40 marks. To be able to register for an exam, a student has to obtain 60% at least, i.e. 24 marks. The semester test can be repeated only once. Time for a semester test: 40 minutes.

An exam has a written form. It is assessed by max. 60 marks. It consists of two parts:
- reading comprehension assessed by max. 30 marks and
- listening comprehension assessed by max. 30 marks.
A student has to obtain 50% at least out of each exam part in order to pass successfully the exam. Time for reading comprehension: 30 minutes.

Course curriculum

1. An introduction to the course. An entry test.
2. Oral presentations: key words and phrases for introduction, main parts and conclusion. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
3. Objectivity and formality of written academic discourse. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
4. Objectivity and formality of written academic discourse. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
5. Academic vocabulary: key nouns; key verbs; key adjectives; key adverbs. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
6. Students' individual presentations. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
7. Language functions: emphasising and presenting an argument. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
8. Compounds. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
9. Writing an abstract; writing a summary. Listening. Use of English - C1. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
10. Employment: Writing a letter of job application. Writing academic curriculum vitae. Listening. Use of English - C1. Students' individual presentations. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
11. Being interviewed. Students' individual presentations. Listening. Reading comprehension of technical texts.
12. E-mail English. Reading comprehension of semi-technical texts. Students' individual presentations. Listening.
13. Semester test.

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

Goals
Development of academic skills and knowledge oriented to the language of electrical engineering and computer technologies on the level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Objectives:
- Understanding specific technical information in spoken and written forms.
- The ability to communicate in situations related to the specific orientation of the study.
- Ability to distinguish various writing styles: formal and informal styles, scientific style, popular scientific style.
- The knowledge of specific terminology.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

The content and forms of instruction in the evaluated course are specified by a regulation issued by the lecturer responsible for the course and updated for every academic year.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Study Materials for Practical English 5 (HPA5) (EN)

Recommended reading

Urbanová, L. (2008) Stylistika anglického jazyka, Brno: Barrister & Principal. (CS)
McCarthy, M. (2009) Academic Vocabulary in Use, Cambridge: CUP (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme AJEI-H Bachelor's

    branch H-AEI , 3. year of study, winter semester, compulsory

  • Programme EEKR-CZV lifelong learning

    branch ET-CZV , 1. year of study, winter semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Language exercise

39 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer