Duration
90h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Stéphane Ghijsen, ISLV, Amaël Verbeure
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
All year long, with partial in January
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This course has a B2 CEFRL level (B2+ for reading skills). The aim of the course is to consolidate and extend the students' general language understanding and use and the specific features of the language related to politics. This is done in the four language skills, i.e.reading, listening, speaking and writing. Concretely students will deal with:
- selected articles and a book (Media Control)
- discussions and oral presentations
- writing exercises (formal argumentative essays)
- grammar revision
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The dual purpose of the course is
- to consolidate and extend the students' general language understanding and use
- to develop and consolidate students' mastery of the specific features of the language related to politics
- to introduce to academic English
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
- Intermediate level, B1 CEFRL level
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
In addition to regular preparation work, students will have to:
- write 2 argumentative essays in class
- do 1 graded oral presentation
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
Weekly preparation work is expected, the work load this represents is variable and depends on the students' level of competence.
Recommended or required readings
- Course book: Political Science-Level B, available online, on eCampus.
- Grammar book: Murphy R., English Grammar in Use (4th edition), Cambridge University Press. There will also be workshops online on eCampus.
- Book: Chomsky N., Media Control.The spectacular achievements of propaganda (open media pamphlet series). The comprehension exercises on the book will be available online.
Assessment methods and criteria
The students will have to take three exams (one written exam is held in January and will make up 20% of the final grade, while the other is held in May/June and will make up 45% of the final grade). The written exam in June is composed of several papers (vocabulary and grammar MCQs, translations from French to English, listening and reading comprehension MCQs, and writing exercises).
The third exam will be an oral exam (25% of the final grade) held in May/June and will deal with texts from the readings file and the book Media Control. The written and oral exams in June are two inseparable parts.
The assessment grid for the oral exam takes into account content and language skills. In case the student did not get at least 4.5/10 for each part, the final grade for the oral exam cannot be equal or above 10/20.
Continuous assessment of progress (class participation and tasks [oral presentation and in-class essays]). Accounts for 10% of the final grade.
Work done during the year will be assessed according to a number of criteria including their content and internal cohesion, the accuracy of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation, and the range of vocabulary and structure.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
Students can also train online. To do so, simply log on to: http://www.islv.ulg.ac.be.
Click on ANGLAIS and INTERFACE ETUDIANTS in order to have access to the exercises.
Contacts
- Stéphane Ghijsen - s.ghijsen@ulg.ac.be
- Amaël Verbeure - amael.verbeure@ulg.ac.be
- ISLV