Aims

The main aim is to revive students' prior knowledge, to develop their interactive communication skills in Dutch in order to enable them to become operational in everyday situations (formal or less formal).

Main themes

Reading comprehension:
- The students should be able to understand with a great degree of autonomy articles and reports concerned with
contemporary problems (concrete or abstract), written in everyday language or in study-related language, in
which the writers adopt particular attitudes or viewpoints.
- The students should be able to understand the description of events
Lower B2 level of the " Common European Framework for Languages "

Listening Comprehension:
Individual:
- The students should be able to understand most of a conference or a longish speech providing that the topic is
familiar and that the presentation is clearly structured. o The students should be able to understand the main
point of many radio or TV programmes on current affairs provided the topic is reasonably familiar and the delivery
is relatively slow and clear.
Interactive:
- The students should be able to grasp the main part of what is said in an everyday conversation in common
language, without the interlocutor adapting his speech.
Lower B2 level of the " Common European Framework for Languages "

Speaking Skills
Individual:
- The students should be able to account for and sustain his views by giving explanations and arguments.
- The students should be able to develop a point of view on a topical subject and explain the advantages and
shortcomings of various possibilities
Interactive:
- The students should be able to interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction
with native speakers quite possible, provided the topic is familiar.
Lower B2 level of the " Common European Framework for Languages "

Writing Skills
The student should be able to write a simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest..
B1 level of the " Common European Framework for Languages ".

Code:
Vocabulary : reinforcement of general vocabulary (+/-2000 words)
Grammar : reinforcement of specific Dutch grammatical structures The use of the code is seen primarily in a communicative perspective without neglecting correctness.

Culture:
Throughout the development of the different language skills, the aim is to make students more aware of the Flemish and Dutch culture by active participation in it : cultural activities, film, reading the press…

Content and teaching methods

- 30-hours course taught 1 hour a week throughout the academic year or 2 hours a week during one quadrimester.
- Intended for students of all faculties - 3 ECTS

Prerequisites :
Good receptive knowledge of basic grammar and vocabulary
Level B1- for receptive and productive skills

Aims :
Reviving students' prior knowledge
Developing interactive communication skills
Reinforcement of basic vocabulary and specific Dutch grammatical structures
Developing knowledge of Dutch and Flemish culture
B2- level of the CEF for the receptive skills and for the speaking skills (main objective) B1 level for the writing skills

Contents and pedagogical approach :
- listening and reading comprehension exercises
- individual and interactive speaking exercises
- writing exercises (to some extent)
- texts and activities on subjects of general interest

Evaluation :
continuous assessment, oral exam.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

A 30-hour course taught two hours a week during one quadrimester or one hour per week throughout the academic year
3 ECTS

Requirements:
Students should have a good knowledge of the basic receptive grammar and vocabulary and have reached a LOWER B1 level (reading, listening and speaking) of the " Common European Framework for Languages " (European Council).

The course is based on practicing interactive communication. The activities done in class aim at developing spontaneous communication while developing at the same time the mastery of the code (vocabulary, grammar). These activities stimulate real situations which require oral proficiency and, to a lesser extent, written skills. Among the activities suggested : role plays, debates on various topics chosen by the teacher and/or the students, more or less directed discussions based on articles, films, video sequences,… Students are required to deliver a talk on a chosen topic (which can be study-related or not). During this presentation, they are asked to create interaction with the public. All these activities require some preparation work to be done by the students who are also themselves responsible for perfecting their linguistic knowledge (vocabulary study, revision of grammatical points,…). Teachers will guide them in this work and a self-tuition centre (with multimedia room) is at the students' disposal at the language institute.

Workload:
Classroom hours : 30
Self-study : 15

Pedagogical Accompaniment:
Course taught in groups of 15 to 20 students.
Every teacher has at least one office-hour a week and can be contacted by e-mail.
Accompaniment at the Self-Tuition Centre (CAA) and the Multimedia Room (SMM)

Didactic aids:
- Course notes aimed at self-tuition, containing basic thematic vocabulary presented in a systematic way, a
mini-grammar with exercises and corrections.

Assessment:
- Continuous assessment which takes into account the active participation in class activities, the work done and the
talk (presentation).
- Oral exam on a topic previously determined by the teacher, in agreement with the students (press file, cultural file,
topics dealt with in class,…)

Programmes in which this activity is taught

Other credits in programs