English for Communication - Entry to Professional life

Teacher(s)

Coûteaux Ursule (compensates Van Reet Marie); Gouverneur Céline (coordinator); Van Reet Marie (coordinator);

Language

English

Main themes

Students will be asked to take part in various activities allowing them to develop their communicative skills (mainly oral skills) in the following situations:

• Job interview  (including a CV and a letter of application)
• Organising and covering an event (including invitations, programmes, surveys, questionnaires, video and audio documents ..)
• Presenting a project, surveys etc ..
• Writing articles on specific subjects related to their field of studies
• Preparing, presenting and coveringa press conference (as well as writing the questions)
• Participating in a meeting, workshop, news bulletin '
• Using electronic mail
   

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The main objective of the course is the development of skills that will enable the students in the communication business (public relations, journalism,') to function in the daily situations of their future professional activities.  By the end of the course, the student should have reached the B2 level of the « Common European Framework » (Council of Europe) for the following skills : reading comprehension listening comprehension oral expression written expression

Content

EJL

After Bachelor courses which were primarily based on building solid receptive and productive skills as well as general vocab, this course is based on project learning.
Through integrated skills teaching (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written production, oral production, vocabulary, grammar, phonetics and pronunciation), the students' job is to design an online magazine in English. The level of this magazine should be upper-intermediate.
This magazine is the overarching project for the year and everything the students produce is a part of it. To do this, in groups of 4, they

• Decide and work as a team on a magazine that they would like to create in English;
• Learn how to write news or feature articles, opinion pieces and columns for a magazine;
• Create and integrate a podcast in a magazine;
• Create video content;
• Cover a press conference;
• Learn how to pitch a project in front of a jury.

In addition to the magazine project, a few tests on very specific language points that are particularly relevant to journalists also take place during the year.

CORP/STIC

After Bachelor courses, which were primarily based on building solid receptive and productive skills as well as general vocab, this course is based on project learning.
Through integrated skills teaching (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written production, oral production, vocabulary, grammar, phonetics and pronunciation), students will develop the following skills:

• Writing a CV and a covering letter
• Taking part in a job interview
• Carrying out online surveys
• Analysing data and presenting results
• Writing a press release
• Holding a press conference
• Promoting or organising events abroad
• Creating a website or Facebook pages
• Telephoning and writing emails to business partners
• Giving a presentation and manage a Q&A session

Students will also be tested on the language specific to projects 1, 2 and 3.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

EJL

Depending on the current health situation, our class will take place on site or online. In all cases, our classes will be organized according to the "flipped classroom" model.
- Code Yellow: Depending on the size of the group, the course will take place on site, or in a half group format every other week. Some sessions may be held on Teams
- Code orange or Red: online, on Teams
There are exercises to do, articles to read or videos to watch for each lesson. 
In-class (or online) lessons include group activities, research, document analysis, project-based learning, and skill development. A significant amount of time is therefore spent on thinking skills such as collaboration, design and problem solving. In other words, the course also aims at developing life skills to prepare students for their future career.

CORP/STIC

Depending on the health situation, our class will take place face-to-face on site, online or both.  
- Green heath code: Face-to-face teaching applies. All classes will be taught on site. Some activities might take place on Teams when this proves more relevant.
- Yellow health code: Face-to-face teaching applies. Depending on the size of the groups and the allocated rooms, the lessons might take place partly on site and partly online, on Teams. Distance learning will be complemented with extra exercises on Teams or Moodle.
- Orange or red health code: online teaching on Teams with exercises on Teams or Moodle.
Students are expected to do exercises, read papers or watch videos before each lesson.  
In-class (or online) lessons include group activities, research, project-based learning, and skill development. A significant amount of time is therefore devoted to thinking skills such as collaboration, design and problem solving. In other words, the course also aims to develop life skills to prepare students for their future career.

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

EJL

Students have to hand in all parts of all the projects in order to pass the course in June.

• The 5 mini-projects that are part of the bigger project: 60%
• Language tests:10%
• Final product and jury at the end of the year: 20%
• Attendance and participation: 10%

Students are also evaluated on their level of involvement in the project throughout the year (meeting deadlines, being a proactive team member, etc).
Meeting deadlines is vital in journalism. As the deadlines for each project are announced well in advance, no late submissions are allowed.
Students who fail the class in June will have to redo all the different projects + present their work during an oral exam with their teacher.

CORP/STIC

Students are expected to reach B2 level at the end of this course.
There is no exam in June. The final mark relies on continuous assessment, namely:

• The 4 projects : 75%
• Tests: 15%
• Attendance and participation: 10%

A January grade will be assigned for the projects carried out in Q1. It accounts for 30% of the final mark.
Students who fail in June have to redo the projects and tests they have failed in an oral exam in August.

Other information

• Groups of maximum 20 students (EJL, CORP, STIC)

Online resources

EJL

https://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=7799
CORP/STIC
Cours Moodle: https://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=3833
Equipe Teams
Groupe Facebook

Bibliography

1. Syllabus LANGL2601 - EJL - Entry to Professional Life
2. Groupe Facebook
3. Plateforme Moodle

Teaching materials

• Notes de cours/Course notes LANGL 2601 EJL ou/or LANGL 2601 CORP/STIC

Faculty or entity

ILV