ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 99 Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 24 Interactive Classroom: 24 Total: 150
Use languages Spanish, Galician, English
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: English and German Philology
Areas: English Philology
Center Faculty of Humanities
Call: First Semester
Teaching: Sin Docencia (En Extinción)
Enrolment: No Matriculable (Sólo Planes en Extinción)
Class goals and skills acquired:
With the academic work carried out in this course, students should reach level B1.2/B2.1 as established by the Common European Framework Reference (2001). More specifically, students who successfully complete the coursework should be able to carry out these tasks:
Listening Comprehension:
* Can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc., including short narratives.
* Can understand main ideas presented in radio and television programs that deal with common everyday personal and/or job related topics, provided speech is clearly articulated in a generally familiar accent.
Reading Comprehension:
* Can read straightforward factual texts on subjects related to his/her field and interest with a satisfactory level of comprehension.
* Can understand description of facts, feelings and hopes in personal letters.
Oral exchanges:
* Can exploit a wide range of simple language to deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling.
* Can communicate with some confidence on familiar routine and non-routine matters related to his/her interests and professional field.
Oral Expression:
* Can connect phrases in a simple manner in order to describe experiences, facts, dreams, hopes and ambitions.
* Can explain and briefly justify opinions and projects.
* Can narrate a story, and the plot of a book or movie.
* Can describe personal reactions to situations.
Written expression:
* Can write straightforward connected texts on a range of familiar subjects within his/her field of interest, by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence.
* Can write personal letters and notes asking for or conveying experiences and impressions.
Throughout this course grammar and vocabulary aspects related to the use of the English language on a (high) intermediate level will be studied. The work done will enable students to reach the level and course goals mentioned above, and more particularly, will allow students to reach an acceptable level for the communicative activities in their everyday personal and professional life. More specifically, vocabulary and commonly used expressions in the areas of travel, academic life, leisure time and professional activities, technologies in everyday life, home and family, etc. will be studied.
The grammar to be covered includes aspects related to the appropriate use of verb tenses (paying special attention to the differences between English and the students' mother tongue), modal verbs, conditionals, negation, reported speech, articles and determiners, among others.
In addition, special emphasis will be placed on the study of the structures used in English to carry out basic communicative functions related to the use of language in the contexts of everyday life, such as: expressing opinions, (agreeing and disagreeing), worrying, how to ask for and give advice, expressing a need, giving and understanding a warning, explaining and asking for help to solve a personal problem, asking and giving permission, understanding the opinions and the ideas of others, narrating events in everyday life, etc.
Bibliography and learning materials
Course books and other materials used during the year:
A course book and corresponding grammar book (level B1.2/ B2.1. (CEFR) will be used. Within the first week of classes students will be provided with appropriate titles, as well as a reading list.
Recommended dictionaries
Gran diccionario Oxford Español-Inglés/Inglés-Español. Oxford University Press.
Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (Paperback). Harper Collins Publishers.
Online resources for consultation, practice and self-learning.
Dictionaries
(English-Galician)
http://sli.uvigo.es/CLIG/index.html
English
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://www.ldoceonline.com/ (inglés)
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://visual.merriam-webster.com/
English-Spanish
http://www.wordreference.com/
Synonyms, antonyms and related ideas
http://thesaurus.reference.com/
Grammar books:
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/index.cfm
http://www.englishpage.com/grammar/
Miscellanea (activities, tests, reading, podcasts...)
English Test Net
http://www.english-test.net/
About.com:
http://esl.about.com/
Easy English:
http://www.easyenglish.com/
A4esl.org:
http://a4esl.org/
UsingEnglish.com:
http://www.usingenglish.com/
English Page
http://www.englishpage.com/
BBC Learning English
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
British Council - Learning English
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/
University of Victoria - Language Center
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/index.htm
Apart from the specific objectives related to the level of language being sought, the practical activities done in this class will allow students to practice and develop a series of transversal skills:
---When using the materials and resources throughout the course, the students will consolidate their ability to manage certain self-teaching tools that a freely available on the Internet, and thus will demonstrate and better their capacity for autonomous learning.
---Students will also develop their ability to present their reasons and arguments in a clear manner, at the same time that they acquire flexibility to admit different perspectives; thus, they will be able to better their ability to participate in debates in a constructive manner.
---The day-to-day interaction in small groups will help students to better their interpersonal skills which are necessary for decision-taking and in order to organize their work as a team.
For students studying this subject as part of the Cultural Science and Cultural Communication Degree program, the skills that they will be developing in class are:
BASIC & GENERAL SKILLS:
CG1 - Students should prove that they possess, in the area of the Humanities and Culture, the relative basic knowledge as acquired during their secondary education and that they are able to expand upon this base and develop it by means of contact with skilled texts and recent findings.
CG2 – Students should know how to apply their knowledge to their profession or vocation of a professional form, as well as possess the skills that are commonly shown in the preparation and defense of arguments and in their problem-solving capacity for the areas of Humanities and of Culture.
CG3 – Students should have the capacity to gather and interpret significant data (relative to the contents of the Degree in Cultural Science and Cultural Communication) so as to make judgments which involve reflection on important topics of social, scientific or ethical character.
CG4 – Students should be able to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to a specialized as well as non-specialized audience.
CG5 - Students should have developed the learning skills necessary so as to undertake future studies with a high degree of autonomy.
TRANSVERSAL SKILLS:
CT1 – Students should have developed their capacity to correct and coherently use a foreign language in diverse communicative situations.
CT2 - Students should have knowledge to conduct suitable edition of texts, with the corresponding formal presentation as per the required parameters for computer processing in today’s world.
CT3 – Students should possess skill in the use of the new technologies.
SPECIFIC SKILLS:
CE1 –Students should have acquired the basic knowledge that allows them to understand the distinct components that form part of linguistic activity and the main methods and resources for the scientific study of this field.
CE2 – Students should have developed a reflexive and critical perspective about how science influences today’s world.
CE3 – Students should reasonably understand the interest of intercultural dialogue and the need to respect cultural differences.
For detailed information see:
http://www.usc.es/export/sites/default/gl/servizos/sxopra/memorias_grao…
As part of the theoretical explanation the professor will give short presentations on grammar, vocabulary and English usage. The students will then do individual and group practice activities in the classroom. The professor in charge of the theoretical explanations will propose complementary activities to be done outside the classroom on those linguistic aspects which require more intense practice, as well as short research activities on linguistic or other aspects that are related to the topics presented in class, or the participation in group activities such as debates. All of the activities mentioned above should help the students to put their English into practice. In order to carry out the activities done outside the classroom, the USC Virtual platform will be used. It will also be used as an additional means of evaluation and tutorials for students.
The practice sessions will be taught by a native English speaker, according to the specifications of the time table. The work carried out in these sessions seeks to promote the active participation of the students in the classroom, and, more especially, those focused on the development of the students' oral and written competence. Some of these sessions will be taught by the same professors in charge of the theoretical sessions and seek to complement and develop a more practical orientation of the contents studied prior, to better their listening comprehension and pronunciation. The students will also have a weekly session with a native English speaker who will introduce activities that the students should use in the classroom to practice their written and oral language skills (presentations, conversations, etc.)
The personalized tutorials will be carried out by the same professor in charge of the theoretical explanations. These tutorial sessions are an excellent occasion for the professor and students to maintain direct contact. This, in turn, will permit the evaluation of the student's progress during the course, including his/her level of interiorization of the content and the skills focused on in the classroom, and provide an opportunity to ask for/give personalized advice that will allow each student to better reach the course goals. The professor will also use the tutorials to confirm that the students have carried out the assigned complementary tasks that have been planned for study outside the classroom. Finally, during the first weeks of class, the reading of certain articles and books may be proposed so that they can be done together with another complementary activity for reading comprehension, research, etc. These readings will also be addressed during the tutorial sessions mentioned above.
Assessment will be based on the continuous evaluation of the student throughout the year and in accordance with the following examination periods.
First Opportunity Exam (January):
(A) For the students who are enrolled in the on-line learning program:
--- Continuous evaluation of supervised activities: 45%
--- Final written exam: 45%
--- Oral exam: 10%
Written exams will be held in the dates officially set by the Faculty and will constitute, alongside the activities done during the year, a single unit that will be awarded 90% of the overall grades. The remaining 10% will depend on the Oral exam, to be held on the date scheduled. Students will pass if they do so simultaneously in the written and oral sections; should they pass only one of them, they will be entitled to keep this mark in the new period of exams in July; therefore they will retake only the section previously graded as Fail.
(B) Evaluation for those students who have special permission not to attend classes:
--- Continuous evaluation of supervised activities: 45%
--- Final written exam: 45%
--- Oral exam: 10%
Second Opportunity Exam (June / July)
(A) For those students who have passed a section of the 1st chance Exam they may retain it for this exam, in which case the evaluation system is the same as above.
(B) For those students who have special permission not to attend class, their grade will be based on the continuous evaluation of activities carried out in the Virtual Classroom; hence, the percentages will be the same as those expressed above.
Students who need to redo this course:
Students who need to redo this course will have to redo the entire course.
This course consists of 15 weeks of class in which there will be 45 hours of class; students will also be responsible for 105 hours of work outside the classroom for a total of 150 hours.
Class Attendance:
Class attendance is mandatory; moreover, students should be capable of doing the work involved in this course on their own. Thus, those not attending class must turn in the work assigned during the course. In order to promote this a small percentage of the Final Mark will reflect students' attendance to class. Moreover, a certain emphasis will be placed on oral work done throughout the course and this oral work is best done in the classroom itself. In any case, as a University student you are responsible for preparing the work assigned in class whether you attend class or not.
Class work & Home study:
Active participation in class will help the students to improve their performance in both written and oral English. After the completion of a Unit of study in the Textbook, students are expected to continue their preparation with the Workbook and/or the activities available in the Virtual classroom. During the year several compositions will be assigned to allow the practice of English composition. In order for this practice to be evaluated, the compositions must be typewritten and double-spaced, and turned in on time.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: In the USC Rules for Academic Performance (DOG 21 from 21 July, 2011, Art. 16) presenting fraudulent academic work for any type of final evaluation is penalized with a “Fail” in the corresponding exam period. Turning in this type of work may also result in a disciplinary process for the offender (1). Hence, any detection of plagiarism in any of the academic work turned in for grading in this subject will be penalized with a “Fail” in this subject, even when the student has passing marks in other areas of evaluation. As “plagiarism” we understand when an academic paper includes any partial or complete copy, in literal form or not, of content, or ideas published in other academic papers or in any other type of published format (paper or Internet), and where the student does not cite the source from which the said content or idea was taken. Students who fail because of plagiarism will not be allowed to take part in the second chance exam period.
All of the activities which are turned in should include the bibliographical sources that were consulted, as per any established academic method of bibliographical (and digital) quotation.
(1) https://www.usc.es/export/sites/default/gl/normativa/descargas/resavare…
Course Description:
Subject: English language 1.
Numerical code: G5091105/ G5101106, and G5101106B (semi-presencial).
Credits ECTS: 6.
Type: Basic
Year of study and semester: First year, Fall semester
CONTINGENCY PLAN
The aforementioned teaching methodology and assessment will be applied in SCENARIO 1 (“ADAPTED NORMALITY”) described in the following document: “Bases para o desenvolvemento dunha docencia presencial segura no curso académico 2020-2021” which was passed by the University Governing Commission on June 19th, 2020. If there is a change in scenario, both the teaching methodology and the assessment will be modified as follows:
SCENARIO 2: “DISTANCING”
Teaching methodology:
-Theory classes (1 hour per week): These will be held online through MS teams or Campus Virtual where videos, audio recordings and other material will be uploaded.
-Interactive sessions (2 hours per week): These will be held in person as in scenario 1.
-Students can also make use of the on-line content available for the textbook and workbook.
-Tutorial time: Tutorials will be held mainly by virtual means through MS Teams or e-mail.
-Assessment system: The aforementioned percentages will not change (45% continuous assessment and 55% final written exam). The oral presentations may take place online or alternatively in person in smaller groups. The final exam will be online through Campus Virtual. If plagiarism/cheating is detected, in either the activities or the exam, the sanctions laid out in “Normativa de avaliación do rendementoacadémico dos estudantes e de revisión de cualificacións” will be applied.
SCENARIO 3: "COMPLETE LOCKDOWN"
Teaching methodology:-
-Theory classes (1 hour per week): These will be held online through MS teams or Campus Virtual where videos, audio recordings and other material will be uploaded.
-Interactive sessions (2 hours per week): These will be held online through MS teams or Campus Virtual.
-Students can also make use of the on-line content available for the textbook and workbook.
-Tutorial time: Tutorials will be held by virtual means through MS Teams or e-mail.
Assessment system: The aforementioned percentages will not change (45% continuous assessment and 55% final written exam). The oral presentations will take place on-line on MS Teams and the final exam will be online through Campus Virtual and on Teams for the oral exam.
If plagiarism/cheating is detected, in either the activities or the exam, the santions laid out in “Normativa de avaliación do rendemento académico dos estudantes e de revisión de cualificacións” will be applied.
Jodee Anderson Mcguire
Coordinador/a- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- Phone
- 982824713
- jo.anderson [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: Temporary PhD professor
Keah Amy Dixon
- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- Category
- Professor: Reader
| Monday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:30-12:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | English | Classroom 13 |
| Wednesday | |||
| 11:00-12:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | English | Classroom 15 |
| 01.25.2021 12:00-15:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 15 |
| 06.28.2021 10:00-12:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 15 |