Study Guide

Objective

The student manages professional situations requiring language skills both orally and in writing. The student masters the central vocabulary of his/her own specific field and is able to apply information from sources available in English. The student has the language skills required by the internationalising working environment.

Content

The contents of the study module are based on communication situations occurring in working life. Main topics:
- Education and applying for a job: students are able to tell others about themselves and about their education and work experience
- Working environment and business life: students can communicate in a customer-oriented way in the working environment of their own field and pass information on their job, tasks and the field-specific functions as part of the surrounding society.

Materials

Teacher's material in itslearning
Material chosen by the students

Teaching methods

Learning by doing
Completing tasks and studying the material in itslearning
Groupwork and individual studying

Exam schedules

No exams, no re-sits.
As stated in the degree regulation, the student cannot raise the final grade by redoing one or more course tasks. The course assignments must be submitted by the given deadline.

International connections

Pedagogical approaches encourage students to actively learn and apply knowledge through a variety of methods and field-specific tasks.

Completion alternatives

No options for passing the course. The student must complete the given tasks by the deadline and be present in lessons.

Student workload

Pre-class work
Evaluated tasks 1-4
Other tasks

The course is equivalent to approximately 81 hours of student work. This includes contact teaching and preparing and completing of the course tasks individually and in pairs and groups.

Content scheduling

The aim of the course is to activate and develop the students’ field-relevant English language and communication skills. The students gain professional skills in various spoken and written communicative situations encountered in working life and society. In addition, they learn to utilize tools and techniques to further develop their skills in authentic, field-specific contexts.
Upon completing the course, the students have acquired sufficient skills to communicate at level B2 of the European Framework of Reference for Languages which states that at level B2, students should be able to produce clear, coherent and well-structured texts, present detailed descriptions related to their field of interest, express and exchange opinions using fluent language, follow complex argumentation, and read longer articles and reports.

The course focuses on professional communication skills in English.
The course includes the following topics:
- Communicating with Style, using correct register
- Professional emails
- Trade Fairs and Innovations
- Professional reporting
- Professional Presentation Skills
- Meetings
- Discussion Skills
- Work Safety
- Field-specific terminology and vocabulary

Further information

Itslearning
Email: piia.pesso@turkuamk.fi (during office hours 8-16 on weekdays)

The students are expected to take part in the lessons by answering questions, asking and commenting. Active participation is required.

The course starts on Thursday, September 5 according to the timetable. Participation in the opening lecture is highly important.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

Task-based assessment, no exams. The course is assessed on a scale of 1-5 based on the following criteria:

The scale of 0-5 per assignment:
1 Professional Email (on Sep 19)
2 Meeting (on 24 and 25 October)
3 Professional Report (by Nov 17)
4 Presentation (in weeks 47-49)

The final evaluation: the average of assignments 1-4 and active participation in lessons + completion of pre-class work and other course tasks on time (+/-)

Active attendance and participation in lessons is required (min. 50% of contact lessons) due to the nature of the studied subject (some lessons are obligatory). During the lessons, the students practice spoken communication, which requires participation in group work. Absences cannot be compensated with extra work and there are no exceptions to deadlines.
If the student passes the course, it is not possible to raise the score (and the grade) by redoing some of the assignments (as stated in the degree regulation).

Assessment criteria, fail (0)

Evaluated assignments not completed (more than one missing).
More than 50% absences from lessons.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

All assignments not completed on time, average 1.5 from the other assignments (grade 2) or at least 1 (grade 1).
Pre-class work not completed and/or many absences from lessons.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The average from the assignments at least 3.5 (grade 4) and 2.5 (grade 3).
Active demonstration of skills in lessons and pre-class work completed (grade 4). Attendance in lessons.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

All assignments and tasks completed on time and the average at least 4.5.
Active demonstration of skills in lessons and pre-class work completed on time. Active attendance in lessons.