2020-2021 / LANG2966-2

English language: level 3

Duration

24h Pr, 48h E-Lrng

Number of credits

 Bachelor in bioengineering4 crédits 

Lecturer

Sophie Depoterre, Estelle Mayard, Fiona Thewissen

Substitute(s)

Ivan Dosen

Coordinator

Fiona Thewissen

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

All year long, with partial in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course is taught in English.
Level 3 is a specialty English course focusing on speaking skills. We will use complex authentic source documents.
The studied topics are directly linked to the students' field of study. Here are some examples: explaining trends/graphs, increase of wild fires, climate agreements...
The second development trajectory 'Présenter en anglais un sujet complexe dans des termes adaptés au public visé' of the professional situation 4.3.4 ('Utiliser diverses méthodes de communication avec la communauté des bioingénieurs et la société au sens large') will be developed and assessed in class.  

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of the course, the student will have reached Level B2+ of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages as far as reading, listening and oral summarizing skills are concerned.
Concretely, the student should be able to understand extended discourse on abstract and complex topics, including technical discussions, related to the field of bioengineering and which are propositionally and linguistically complex.
For the oral summarizing skills, the student can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously. He/she can use language for academic and professional purposes and present clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects. Students are expected to synthetize and present information in the form of an oral summary and formulate ideas and opinions related to the topic.
 

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

The student has to have a B2 level (cf. CEFR) before starting the course.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Each topic includes many different activities, such as reading and listening comprehensions, oral summaries of complex study-related sources, oral interaction, and specialty vocabulary exercises. Students are also required to revise specific grammar points.
Students are required to take part in all the speaking activities of the course, including the coaching sessions with student assistants (compulsory).

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

The course will include face-to-face teaching, self-learning activities on ecampus, as well as coaching sessions with student assistants.
Since the course is worth 4 ECTS for the year, homework amounts to 4 hours per course week. 
12h in-class (6 sessions*2) (S1) + 12h  in-class (6 sessions*2) (S2) =24h
24h homework (6 sessions*4h)+24h homework (6 sessions*4h) (Q2) = 48h
 

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

In case sanitary measures are strenghtened, classes will be given online using Collaborate. 

Recommended or required readings

We strongly recommend that Level 3 students get the following reference book:
Murphy, R. (2012). English Grammar in Use (fourth edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Any session :

- In-person

written exam

- Remote

oral exam

- If evaluation in "hybrid"

preferred remote


Additional information:

Continuous assessment (20%)
- Tests (grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening) on E-Campus + pronunciation tests (10%)
- Presentations done throughout the year (10%) - 2 all in all 

Certifying evaluation
The written and oral exams will take place in June
1) The written exam will cover: reading, listening, vocab (S1+S2) and grammar (S1+S2) : 20%
2) The oral exam: 60% 
What will be also be calculated in the final grade
3) is the work done throughout the year, i.e. tests : 10% 
4) and presentations : 10%
In September: 
1) The written exam: reading, listening, vocab (S1+S2) and grammar (S1+S2) : 35%
2) The oral exam: 65%

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

A precise description on the course and evaluation methods will be given during session 1.A podcast has been made available with all the instructions on the course. 
Students with 'crédits résiduels' will be invited to a compulsory meeting at the beginning of the year.
Master students who prioritize other teaching activities will have to postpone the exam to the following session/year. In other words, the Master students whose Bachelor program includes this English course should give it priority over their Master courses.
For practical reasons and to ensure fairness, the exam will not be postponed or organized in any other form. If you cannot attend the exam on the scheduled date, it will be postponed until the year after.
Exemptions, even partial, will not be granted.
The student who failed the oral exam, for instance, but succeeded the written exam will automatically have to take both parts again in August - the written AND the oral. 
In case of unjustified absence to one part or the entire exam (the written and/or the oral part), the student will be marked absent for the final grade. 
Students signing one part of the exam will be given a final grade of 0/20.

Contacts

Fiona Thewissen
English Teachers' Office
081/62 24 46
fthewissen@uliege.be