English Communication Skills for Architecture and Engineering

langl1973  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

English Communication Skills for Architecture and Engineering
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
2 credits
20.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Pham Adrien (coordinator);
Language
English
Prerequisites
LANGL1972 or any other equivalent course (C1 for reading comprehension and B2 for listening comprehension in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.
Main themes
In order to reach the objectives of the course, teaching activities will focus on the following topics:
  • Communication in general, academic, or professional situations
  • Chairing and participating in meetings
  • Negotiating
  • Describing and discussing projects, processes, cycles, graphs, data, technical problems, design questions, technical improvements, materials properties, security and hazard, etc.
  • Scientific presentations: free choice of topic
  • Writing a CV and cover letter and doing job interviews
  • Giving/receiving phone calls
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 Contribution of the course to the program objectives
Regarding the learning outcomes of the program of Bachelor in Engineering : Architecture, this course contributes to the development and the acquisition of the following learning outcomes:
  • AA 4a
  • AA 4b
Specific learning outcomes of the course
By the end of this learning module students will be able to orally express themselves in English, with relative ease, in the academic or professional settings pertaining to the fields of engineering and architecture.
Successful students will have acquired oral skills corresponding to the level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages by the end of term.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
  • Interaction in general and professional situations.
  • Participation in and management of meetings.
  • Negotiation skills.
  • Objective description of projects, processes, cycles, graphs, facts and figures, etc.
  • Scientific presentations: subject is chosen by the student
  • Writing: e-mail, CV, letter of motivation
  • Job interview practice
  • Vocabulary and grammar mastery (general and specific vocabulary, grammar related to French-speaking students’ difficulties).
  • Language functions: expression one’s opinion, agreement, disagreement, interrupting, diplomatic language, etc.
  • Pronunciation: general and specific vocabulary
Teaching methods
  • Interactive communication through classroom activities: simulations, debates, ...
  • Exposure to a variety of real-life situations (scientific presentation, reports, CV and cover letter, job interviews) requiring specific language functions.
  • Consolidation and improvement of grammar use, vocabulary accuracy as well as pronunciation.
  • Regular feedback to students.
  • Pairwork and small groups (conversation tables)
Evaluation methods
  • a) Participation (warm-up discussions, debates,…)               20%
          b) Presentation                                                                        20%
    c) CV                                                                                        5%
    d) Cover letter                                                                           5%
    e) Meeting (group exam):                                                        25%
    f) Job interview (individual exam):                                           25%
Online resources
Langl 1973 course on Moodle.
Bibliography
Langl 1973 course notes.
Faculty or entity
ILV


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Bachelor in Engineering : Architecture