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Course Syllabus

2022/2023

English for General Communication Purposes. Foundation Course

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'
Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'
Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'
Type: Optional course
Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages
When: 1-4 module
Open to: students of one campus
Instructors: Yuliya Suvorova
Language: English
ECTS credits: 16
Contact hours: 256

Course Syllabus

Full Syllabus

Abstract

"English for General Communication Purposes. Foundation Course" takes an intelligent approach to building the confidence and skills students need to succeed in academic study and use English in a globalised world. The course stretches students' ability to understand real-life English and enhances students’ language skills, communicative competences to the B1 level in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (HSE Scale 30-39). The course is designed to assist students in achieving the level of independent users through developing reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills, attaining excellence in vocabulary management and grammatical accuracy. A variety of authentic materials, contemporary topics and issues, real-life English expressions and scenarios stimulate students' minds and develop critical thinking skills as well as digital literacy. The course develops a solid general English base for further success in learning English for academic or special purposes, taking international examinations, future academic studies and research. "English for General Communication Purposes. Foundation Course" is available to the first-year students if there is not a mark for an English course in their high school diploma.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  •  To improve interpersonal and intercultural communication in English  To develop the listening, reading, writing and speaking skills in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), B1 level (HSE Scale 30-39)  To promote communicative language competences (vocabulary range and grammatical accuracy)  To raise sociocultural awareness  To develop digital literacy
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Applies the vocabulary for places in a city
  • Uses the vocabulary for jobs and places for work
  • Scans and skims various texts
  • Talks about a film in general, types of film and expresses personal tastes in film
  • Practises comparative adjectives to compare different means of transport
  • Talks about the tastes in food and healthy/ unhealthy diet
  • Speaks about shops and shopping habits
  • Speaks about cities and ancient civilisations
  • Writes paragraphs about the most important inventions
  • Carries out an opinion survey
  • Speaks about preparing for and taking an exam
  • Discusses past travel experience
  • Practises listening for specific details and notetaking
  • Gets specific information from listening for gist
  • Defines important components of academic writing
  • Realises an 'abstract' at the start of an academic article
  • Practises writing a body paragraph
  • Develops skills of using basic reading techniques skimming and scanning (predicting, understanding main ideas, understanding details)
  • Produces presentations (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
  • Produces monologues (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
  • Participates in dialogues on general and academic topics (active listening, questioning, responding to questions, emphasizing, discussion strategies)
  • Develops writing skills (email / summary / essay/CV)
  • Forms skills of note-taking
  • Develops understanding of lectures and learning context
  • Develops skills of using basic listening techniques (predicting, understanding main ideas and details)
  • Improves understanding of dialogues and polylogues on both familiar and unfamiliar topics
  • Develops understanding of articles, reports, straightforward texts concerned with contemporary problems at the threshold level
  • Forms understanding of text structure
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Work and Study
  • Nature
  • Leisure time
  • City transport
  • Food
  • Shopping
  • History and culture
  • Inventions
  • Money
  • Homes
  • Journeys of a lifetime
  • Human planet
  • People
  • The media
  • Health
  • Natural World
  • Society and family
  • Scientists
  • The night
  • Work and Industry
  • Global affairs
  • The environment
  • Minority sports
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Final Assessment
    The interim exam lasts 70 minutes. The exam is a written paper-and-pen test and is aimed at checking whether the student can demonstrate the acquisition of the learning objectives set. The exam consists of two parts, i.e. Listening (L) and Writing (W) that weigh 50% and 50% respectively in the total mark for the exam: Listening (L): Listen to the text ONCE and complete the tasks. Max. 10 points. Writing (W): Read the text. Write a summary on the text you have read. A student should write a 150-word summary. Students have no more than 20 minutes to complete the Listening (L) part and 50 minutes to complete the Writing (W) part. Grading formula: L*0,5 + W*0,5 = 10 The actual scores for Listening are turned into percentages which are tuned into a final mark out of 10 points. Grading scale: 10 =100 - 96%, 9=95 - 91%, 8=90 - 86%, 7 = 85 - 78%, 6 =77 - 71%, 5= 70 - 61%, 4 = 60 - 51%, 3 = 50 - 36%, 2 = 35 - 21%, 1 = 20 - 1 %, 0 = 0%. Writing is assessed against the criteria. Period of FA: 10 days prior to the 2nd module’s session. The release of examination papers: during the session. Retaking exams: till the 15th of February 2023. Time limit: 70 minutes online/offline. The structure of the exam: 1. Listening (L): Listen to the text ONCE and complete the tasks. Max. 10 points. Students have no more than 20 minutes to complete the Listening (L) part. 2. Writing (W) Read the text. Write a summary on the text you have read. A student should write a 150-word summary. Students have 50 minutes to complete the Writing (W) part. Grading formula: L*0,5 + W*0,5 = 10.
  • non-blocking Written Assessment
    Written assessment includes: 1 reading test, 1 listening test, 2 vocabulary and grammar tests, 2 written works (email and summary).
  • non-blocking Oral Assessment
    Oral assessment includes a monologue on a given topic and a discussion.
  • non-blocking Student Independent Work Assessment
    Independent work includes activities that students do at home, activities that students do in the classroom and online work. The elements of independent work cannot be retaken.
  • non-blocking Final Assessment
    Final assessment equals to the interim exam which is held in the form of a written test. The exam aims to check whether the student demonstrates the acquisition of the set learning objectives. The exam includes two parts: Reading and Writing. Reading (R): Max. 10 points (1 point for every correct answer). Time: 20 min. Writing (W): Max. 10 points. Time: 50 min. Task: Write an essay. Recommended word count – 250. Grading formula: R* 0.4 + W*0.6 = 10. Period of FA: 10 days prior to the second module’s session.
  • non-blocking Written assessment
    Written assessment includes: 1 reading test, 1 listening test, 2 vocabulary and grammar tests, 2 written works (essay).
  • non-blocking Oral assessment
    Oral assessment includes a monologue on a given topic and a discussion.
  • non-blocking Student Independent Work Assessment
    Independent work includes activities that students do at home, activities that students do in the classroom and online work. The elements of independent work cannot be retaken.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2022/2023 2nd module
    The final grade is composed of the following parts: 25% Written Assessment (WA) +20% Oral Assessment (OA) + 25% student Independent Work Assessment /online (IWA) + 30% Final Assessment (FA). Only overall grade is rounded up.
  • 2022/2023 4th module
    The final grade is composed of the following parts: 25% Written Assessment (WA) +20% Oral Assessment (OA) + 25% student Independent Work Assessment /online (IWA) + 30% Final Assessment (FA). Only overall grade is rounded up.
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • New headway: pre-intermediate : student's book, Soars, J., 2007
  • Straightforward: elementary : student's book, Clandfield, L., 2006

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Essential grammar in use : a self-study reference and practice book for elementary students of English: with answers, Murphy, R., 2010
  • Essential Grammar in Use, A self-study reference and practice book for elementary students of English with answers, 3rd ed., 319 p., Murphy, R., 2011
  • Oxford living grammar : pre-intermediate: [learn and practise grammar in context], Harrison, M., 2009
  • Vocabulary: pre-intermediate, Bourke, K., 2006
  • Буренко Л. В., Тарасенко О. С. ; Под общ. ред. Краснощековой Г.А. - ГРАММАТИКА АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА. GRAMMAR IN LEVELS ELEMENTARY – PRE-INTERMEDIATE. Учебное пособие для СПО - М.:Издательство Юрайт - 2021 - 227с. - ISBN: 978-5-9916-9261-8 - Текст электронный // ЭБС ЮРАЙТ - URL: https://urait.ru/book/grammatika-angliyskogo-yazyka-grammar-in-levels-elementary-pre-intermediate-471736
  • Буренко Л. В., Тарасенко О. С., Краснощекова Г. А. ; Под общ. ред. Краснощековой Г.А. - GRAMMAR IN LEVELS ELEMENTARY – PRE-INTERMEDIATE. Учебное пособие для вузов - М.:Издательство Юрайт - 2021 - 230с. - ISBN: 978-5-534-04538-3 - Текст электронный // ЭБС ЮРАЙТ - URL: https://urait.ru/book/grammar-in-levels-elementary-pre-intermediate-471708