Practical English Language Course

Master 2019/2020

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Bridging course (Foreign Languages and Cross-cultural Communication)

Area of studies: Linguistics

Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages

Where: School of Foreign Languages

When: 1 year, 1, 2 module

Mode of studies: offline

Instructors: Ksenia Chermoshentseva, Sergey Ryabchun

Master’s programme: Иностранные языки и межкультурная коммуникация

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 46

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The purpose of the course is to present the grammatical structure of the English language from the perspective of tools required in discourse: to refer to objects, to give information about them, to express the time and the manner of the action performed by the object, to express the speaker’s attitude towards the action, to combine sentences into a cohesive statement.

Learning Objectives

Consolidate the knowledge of the English grammar as a collection of tools for expressing ideas accurately;
Learn to recognise grammar errors and explain why a certain usage is incorrect;
Study patterns most frequently used in communication and learn to use them;
Distinguish between the three styles – conversational, neutral, formal.

Expected Learning Outcomes

A consolidated picture of English grammar as a collection of tools for expressing ideas accurately;
An ability to recognise grammar errors and explain why a certain usage is incorrect;
An ability to use appropriate syntactic patterns in conversation and writing;
An ability to distinguish between the three styles – conversational, neutral, formal.

Course Contents

Practical course of the first foreign language (Functional Grammar). Masters. A. An overview of functional grammar
Here we discuss what makes functional grammar different from practical grammar and theoretical grammar and give a broad overview of various grammatical forms which allow us to put our ideas into words. The students will learn that meaning is inseparable from function.
Practical course of the first foreign language (Functional Grammar). Masters. B. Interactions between people.
The communicative purpose of the message is achieved not only through lexical units but also through grammatical structures. The students will learn to recognise grammar errors and explain why a certain usage is incorrect
Practical course of the first foreign language (Functional Grammar). Masters. C. The world around us
In this section we look at how various grammatical structures are used to describe the world around us – people, nature, events etc. – and our inner world – feelings, thoughts, ideas etc. The students will learn what resources the language has for referring to entities in the world and the ways in which those entities act on or relate to each other.
Practical course of the first foreign language (Functional Grammar). Masters. D. Organising the message.
Here we look at language from the point of view of the textual metafunction. The students will learn how to construct their messages in a way that makes them fit smoothly into the unfolding language event.
Practical course of the first foreign language (Functional Grammar). Masters. E. Combining clauses
Clauses are combined into multiple sentences when we need to express something more complex than can be handled by simple sentences. The students will learn the logic of the structure of the multiple sentence
Practical course of the first foreign language (Functional Grammar). Masters. F. Cohesion and coherence
Cohesion and coherence of a given text are two of its aspects that ensure its inner connectedness and logical structure. The students will learn how to use cohesive devices and what makes a text coherent.

Assessment Elements

Homework
Mistake Grammar (morphological, syntactical): -1 Lexical (wrong word, collocation, preposition): -0.5 Wrong article: -0.5
Performance in class
Tests
Exam

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (2 module)
0.3 * Exam + 0.2 * Homework + 0.2 * Performance in class + 0.3 * Tests

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Downing, A. (2015). English Grammar : A University Course (Vol. Third edition). London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=929043

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Гумовская Г.Н. - Английский язык профессионального общения. LSP: English for professional communication - Издательство "ФЛИНТА" - 2018 - 320с. - ISBN: 978-5-9765-2846-8 - Текст электронный // ЭБС ЛАНЬ - URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/89880

Course Syllabus