Teacher(s)

Byrne Timothy; Van Oyen Geert;

Language

French

Content

It has become increasingly important for graduates nowadays to achieve a good command of foreign languages. Not only will you be faced with scientific literature in English during your professional careers, but your job prospects in the world of religious studies will undoubtedly increase if you master the English language appropriately. This seminar, the Reading and Scientific Communication Workshop for Theology Students, aims at assisting and training students to make an academic presentation. The oral exam, in the form of a scientific presentation, will be based on your reading and summary of and research into a scientific article provided by Geert van Oyen.

Teaching methods

The course consists of the following elements:
1. Classroom activities
The aim of this course is to provide the students with the English communication skills that religious studies professionals will need in their careers (debating skills, summary writing skills, etc.) However, the ultimate goal is to train you to do a formal, academic presentation in English. There will also be a (compulsory) English-language guided tour of the L Museum. More details will be provided prior to the visit.
2. Oral exam presentation
At the end of the academic year, you will have to do a scientific presentation for your content teacher, Geert Van Oyen, and your English language coach, Timothy Byrne.
Students can select the topic of their talk on the basis of a list of scientific articles presented by Geert Van Oyen. You should present your talk in groups of three or four, and stick to the communication and language guidelines provided by Timothy Byrne during the sessions devoted to presentation technique. The presentation should last approximately 20 minutes. You are supposed to use visual supports such as PPT or Prezi and any other documents, such as a hand-out, which may illustrate your talk in a useful and original way. You will have to include a graph description. You may use note-cards with a few key words but reading from a script or reciting from memory is strictly forbidden. There will be a question-and-answer session at the end of your presentation lasting 5 minutes. The presentation is more than just a summary of the article you have selected. It should rather use the article as a starting point and develop its topic(s) and focus more broadly.

Evaluation methods

Assessment is divided into several components.

1. Continuous assessment, oral and written assignments and tests: 25 %

This involves classroom attendance, preparation, active participation and two tests:

• A debate in groups of three or four students is going to have to be played out. The topic has to be related to the issue of Religion in Film. Your language coach will tell you what the requirements are.

- A written test will be organized testing the vocabulary and the language functions of a certain number of units.

• A written summary of the article you have selected to present is going to have to be written (250 words). The instructions given by the language coach will have to be followed.

• An oral test on the pronunciation of specific words related to your field of study will be organized. The list and the audio files have been provided on the Moodle platform to allow you to practise.

1. Preparatory mini-presentation: 25%

Before the final exam, students will have to do a presentation dry-run. It should be a miniature version of your oral exam presentation.

1. Oral exam presentation: 50%

The weighting will be one-third of the mark going to the scientific aspect (Geert Van Oyen) and two-thirds of the mark going to the language and the communication aspects (Timothy Byrne).

 

Other information

Attendance in class is obligatory and will be taken. We follow the regulations of the ‘Ecole de Théologie’.

Faculty or entity

TEBI