Entry to Professional life in English for Criminologists

Teacher(s)

Heiderscheidt Nathalie (coordinator); Nyssen Jean-Paul;

Language

English

Prerequisites

The LANGL2423 course or any other equivalent course (Speaking skills corresponding to the level B1 of « 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

The course is based on real-life professional-type situations in the field of criminology.
Teaching activity will focus on :

• taking part in a job interview (after writing a C.V. and a letter of application)
• giving a talk on an institution
• preparing and participating in a professional interview of a person needing the help of a criminologist
• preparing and attending a professional meeting

Learning outcomes

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

to write a letter of application and a CV to take part in a job interview to prepare a Powerpoint document on the institution in which he / she was a trainee to make an oral presentation of his / her institution to briefly describe the introductory situation of the professional interverview as well as its protocol to ask or answer questions at the professional interview to briefly describe the introductory situation of the professional meeting to run and participate in a professional meeting to develop the communication techniques appropriate to professional life.

At the end of the term, the student should have acquired oral skills roughly corresponding to the level B2 of « the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages » for the following skills : oral production written production

Content

The course aims at enabling the student to function in the relevant social and professional contexts (law enforcement, the judicial world, the execution of criminal sentences, the field of prevention policies and psycho-social interventions).
Individual oral production:

• being able to take part in a job interview and to apply for a vacancy in the institution in which the student is a trainee
• being able to make a presentation of the institution in which the student is a trainee and to answer the questions of the audience

Interactive oral production :

• being able to interview a person needing the help of a criminologist in the relevant social and professional contexts
• being able to give one's opinion at a professional meeting by explaining the arguments, the advantages and disadvantages of the different aspects in a logical, understandable and interactive way.

Written production:

• being able to write down a curriculum vitae and a letter of application
• being able to prepare a PowerPoint document on the institution in which he / she was a trainee
• being able to briefly describe the introductory situation of a professional interverview as well as its protocol
• being able to briefly describe the introductory situation of the professional meeting

Teaching methods

The LANGL 2623 course includes 30 hours of on-site classroom activities as well as personal work to prepare the projects.
The course is based on interactive communication. The activities proposed aim at consolidating and developing the communication techniques specific to a professional context while at the same time mastering the code required (general and specific vocabulary, grammar). These activities will involve role-plays involving the spoken and written language.
The activities proposed are of two kinds :
1. Presentation by the teacher of the linguistic functions and techniques most directly related to professional life (job interviews, presentations, interviewing someone, meetings, ...) and activation of these skills in various role plays.
2. Presentation of assignments prepared by the students in connection with their placement:

• job interview (+ letter of application and CV)
• presentation of the placement institution thanks to a PowerPoint document
• interview of someone who needs the help of a criminologist
• preparation of and participation in a professional meeting about a specific case

Before each class activity, the teacher places a range of tools (communication techniques, useful expressions, general and specialised vocabulary, grammatical reminders) and resources (written documents, audiovisual aids, web sites …) at the students’ disposal to enable the students to interact in communication situations in so far as they have been prepared beforehand. Feedback activities are also planned. Students are given detailed instructions before each activity.
! The teaching modalities may be subject to change in accordance with the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic. The students will of course be notified of these possible changes in due course.

Evaluation methods

Attendance at this language course is required. In accordance with article 72 of the General Regulations for Studies and Examinations, two unjustified absences may result in an invalidation of the marks taken into account in the final grade. The teacher may propose to the jury that a student who has two unjustified absences for the course be refused registration for the January, June or September session. 
Submission of written work: Any student who has not submitted written work to the teacher within the set deadline will be given a zero for the written part of the project.
1. January session :
Continuous evaluation (written and oral parts)
- Participation in the 4 projects (80%)

• job application 
• presentation of the institution 
• professional interview 
• professional meeting 

-  Active participation in class and level of spontaneous oral skills (20%)
2. September session : 
The student who got less than 10/20 in January will only resit the project(s) he/she failed. The mark for active participation in class is not taken into account in September unless it is to the student's advantage. (100% or 80%). A student who fails to attend class will be assigned a substantial amount of extra work to be determined by the professor.
! The evaluation modalities may be subject to change in accordance with the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic. The students will of course be notified of these possible changes in due course.

Online resources

https://moodle.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=593

Teaching materials

• Le syllabus LANGL 2623 « Entry to Professional Life Seminar for Criminologists»
• Le cours en ligne sur Moodle « Entry to Professional Life Seminar for Criminologists»

Faculty or entity

ILV