English: reading comprehension
[ANGL1370]
[30h] 3 credits
This course is taught in the 2d semester.
Teacher(s): Henri November
Language: English
Level: First
Aims
Concerning pronunciation, students will be able to
- spell out the English and Greek alphabets,
- use the English phonetic system,
- pronounce and stress words correctly.
Concerning oral expression, students should be able to read aloud and clearly, reports, verbal accounts and other scientific or technical texts.
Main themes
- As regards grammar, the major themes will be the verbal system and the various verbal forms, modal verbs, nominal phrases and conversion (e.g. 'up': N,V, Adv, Adj, Prep).
- Students will be able to understand the vocabulary necessary to read the texts in the different disciplines of EPL 11, as well as the vocabulary of certain important categories such as link words and deceptive cognates.
- Students will be able to make efficient use of dictionaries and other reference tools including those available online.
Content and teaching methods
The teaching methods used will encourage the active and interactive participation of the students.
The first step is the preparation of activities which will be dealt with more fully in the following lesson: students receive precise instructions on how to work either individually or in groups, on a series of problems which will enable them to discover, for instance, certain lexical or grammatical aspects of texts.
Afterwards, during the lesson, the students are expected to comment on the different problems they encountered, and the conclusions they came to, or else to apply what they have prepared, for instance, in role plays. These activities lead to various forms of interactivity and cooperation.
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
It is essential that students possess at least basic skills and knowledge of English.
Assessment:
Continuous assessment covers all the activities organised during the course. English being the language used during lessons, the students will also be judged on their ability to use the language to carry out the activities in class and on their overall participation. Continuous assessment accounts for 1/3 of the total mark.
The examination, on the other hand, will only test whether the objectives concerning reading comprehension, including vocabulary and grammar, have been attained.
The level of the examination and the exemption test at the beginning of the year correspond to Level B2 (reading comprehension) of the Common European language reference framework' of the Council of Europe standards.
Teaching aids:
- course notes, on sale at the ILV, with CAA (self-tuition centre) access card
- exercises handed out in class
- the CAA and multi-media room at the ILV
- reference books available at the applied sciences library (BSE):
. English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate), Stuart Redman, Cambridge University Press
. English Grammar (an Intermediate Reference and Practice Book), Digby Beaumont & Colin Granger
- teacher reception hours