English: reading comprehension [ LANGL1370 ]

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It is essential that students possess at least basic skills and knowledge of English.

The main themes dealt with in the texts are closely related to the other subjects of SINF11: (e.g. Artificial Intelligence). Other themes are English and new technologies.

• The students will be able to apply a range of reading techniques in order to approach the texts in a systematic and efficient manner.
• 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.
   

After completion of the course, the students will have acquired the necessary skills to read scientific texts written in English in the field of computer sciences as well as other texts of the same type and  level of difficulty (B2).

Continuous assessment covers all the activities organised during the course and well as active participation in class. 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. Continuous assessment also includes three tests on the self-tuition vocabulary book « Check your English vocabulary for Computers and Information Technology » (2007) by Jon Marks, A&C Black, London. The content of this book is to be mastered for the examination as well.

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. The written exam takes place in May, before the exam session. 

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.

LANGL 1370 is a reading comprehension course in which computer science students will be able to familiarize themselves with scientific or specialized texts related to their field of study. Students will learn how to understand the structure, the gist and the different arguments put forward in the texts. For that purpose, the course aims to develop specialized vocabulary and competences.

• Course notes
• Vocabulary book « Check your English vocabulary for Computers and Information Technology » (2007) by Jon Marks, A&C Black, London.