IF3155 - Foundation English (2023/24)
Module specification | Module approved to run in 2023/24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Module title | Foundation English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Module level | Foundation (03) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Credit rating for module | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | School of Social Sciences and Professions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total study hours | 150 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Assessment components |
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Running in 2023/24(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
This module focuses on helping students to improve their level of English in preparation for entry to an undergraduate degree.
Aims:
- to develop the students competence and confidence in the use of the four language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening
- to enable students to communicate effectively with their peers and fellow and teachers
- to accustomise students with the conventions and the practices of academic English
- to develop students’ vocabulary, grammar and academic English in relation to their chosen subject pathways
Prior learning requirements
IELTS 4.5 in all 4 skills
Syllabus
-Writing in English: including planning, structuring and writing assignments; writing summaries and paraphrasing; using linking and signalling devices; improving syntax and paragraph structure, developing grammar and vocabulary, writing in an academic register. LO1 - LO4
- Reading in English: including techniques of skimming for general impression; scanning for detailed information; prediction and ascertaining meaning from context, identifying academic registers. LO1 - LO4
- Speaking in English: including developing clear, comprehensible and appropriate communication for an academic context. LO1 - LO4
- Listening in English: listening for gist, listening for detail, listening & writing simultaneously in an academic environment, prediction, interpreting language signals. LO1 - LO4
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
The module is delivered through a range of different methods including lectures, tutorials, workshops, individual work, pair work, small group work, seminar-based discussions, and on-line materials.
There will also be regular opportunities for students to have one-to-one contact with their tutor.
Students will be expected to appraise and comment on their own and other students' work and to produce both oral and written work regularly. The Individual Study Log assessment requires students to reflect on and assess their own progress and development on a weekly basis, and to take responsibility for their own learning.
Teacher input: with individuals, pairs, small groups.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate their fluency and understanding of spoken standard and academic English.
2. Produce coherent writing in clear, comprehensible English for different academic purposes.
3. Read a range of texts in order to extract information and for learning purposes.
4. Demonstrate an ability to reflect on and assess their progress as language learners.
Assessment strategy
Formative assessment will take place consistently throughout the module in the form of continuous feedback on: regular classroom-based progress tests, written work: spelling, punctuation, accuracy of grammar, vocabulary, register, reading and listening comprehension; Individual Study Logs
Summative assessment:
- An individual study log (30%) consisting of a number of weekly language learning and reflective tasks submitted to the VLE.
- Unseen Writing test (70%) week 12.
Bibliography
See Weblearn for online reading list