The main aim of this course is to develop students' practical skills in (primarily) spoken English in interactive communicative situations such as they might be faced with in the course of their future professional lives.
o Reading Comprehension
Students should be able to understand factual texts and specialised reports relating to their field of study.
Level B2 of the " Common European Framework of Reference for Languages "
o Listening Comprehension
Individually, students should be able to:
- understand lectures and lengthy speeches and follow complex argumentation.
- understand television programmes concerned with the news and/or their own field of study.
- use the key points in a document within a conversation
Interactively, they should be able to:
- keep up with a colloquial conversation between several speakers within the principal socio-professional contexts
Level B2 of the " Common European Framework of Reference for Languages "
oSpeaking
Individually, students should be able to:
give a clear and methodical presentation of a complex subject in front of a large audience, making only occasional use of written notes.
Interactively, they should be able to:
communicate in a sufficiently spontaneous and relaxed fashion to make normal interaction with a native speaker possible
be able to play an active, flexible and effective role in conversations within social and professional settings.
express, articulate and defend their own opinions and link their contributions to those of the other speakers in conversations within social and professional settings.
Higher level B2 of the " Common European Framework of Reference for Languages "
o Writing
Students should be able to :
- write an email which can be easily understood by the recipient and which meets its objective
- write a curriculum vitae and covering letter
- write a short presentation on a subject relating to their field of study
- express and develop their opinion on a subject relating to their field of study
Higher level B1 of the " Common European Framework of Reference for Languages "
oCode
Students should have sufficient mastery of the functions of language, grammatical structures (simple and complex), vocabulary (general and specific), pronunciation and intonation to ensure relaxed and spontaneous communication.
oCulture
Students should be aware of the (inter)cultural differences expressed by native and non-native speakers of English.
Main themes
Students will take part in a range of activities enabling them to develop their communicative skills and mastery of the language (primarily spoken) in situations such as the following:
o social relations
o organising a trip abroad
o presenting a project/talk in public
o taking part in, or leading a working group or meeting
o negotiating, exchanging ideas, developing an argument
o telephone conversations
o recruitment interviews (including writing a CV and covering letter)
o using e-mail
Before each activity, the teacher will provide students with a range of tools (communication techniques, language functions, general and specialised vocabulary, grammatical revision) and other resources (such as written documents, audiovisual aids and internet sites) which will help them to be operational in each of the interactive communicative situations, (providing of course that the students have taken the time to prepare themselves properly). "Feedback" and remedial activities are planned at the end of these exercises. Students will receive detailed instructions about each activity in advance.
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
Prerequisite: Students must have taken the intermediate-level course second part -ANGL 1331 or equivalent
Evaluation: The continuous assessment component of the evaluation takes into account students' involvement in and preparation for the various activities, in particular an oral presentation given during the course.
The interactive and individual oral examinations will put students in communicative situation similar to those practised during the course.
Course materials: Course handout: Interactive English for Communication
Web site including a chat room (in construction)
Video cassettes available at the self-learning centre