Study Guide

Objective

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

Content

- writing professional, field-specific texts
- presenting and discussing field-specific topics in a professional manner
- reading field-specific texts and utilizing the information in professional contexts
- learning and using key terminology of their field
- becoming professional, autonomous language users in working life

Materials

Course.material will be available on Itslearning. No material costs for the students.

Exam schedules

No final exam, the course assessment is based on the graded assignments implemented partly independently, partly on campus. All course assignments need to be passed to get the final course grade (0-5).
Independent and group work in itslearning: Pass/Fail
Presentation 0-5
Written test 0-5

Content scheduling

NB! Some of the lessons are held in Zoom (the link will be provided later and some of the lessons are held on campus. The detailed information will be updated and sent to you vie emai and infromed in itslearning course space.

Course content:

• Personal learning goals and needs, language level, studies and professional profile
• Communication needed in client situations
• Professional vocabulary
• Field-related topics; texts and discussion
• Reading and summarizing field-related articles
• Spoken presentation
• Self-reflection

Further information

Itslearning messaging is used for course specific communication. For urgent messages, please use email. Additional support and guidance meetings can be arranged in Teams if necessary.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

The course will be graded on a scale 0-5. Please, see the criteria below and in itslearning.

In addition to the teacher's feedback, the student will provide and receive peer feedback.

Assessment criteria, fail (0)

The student does not perform adequately on the course, or terminates the course.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

The student's production is inconsistent and sometimes hard to follow. However, the student knows the basic, most central vocabulary of their field, and can use it in their speech and writing. There are mistakes in the student's production related to structure and vocabulary, which influence the understandability. The message is conveyed in both spoken and written production despite the mistakes. The student does not participate very actively to the teaching. However, all the required assignments are submitted.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The student's language use is appropriate, logical, clear and mostly fluent. Their speech and writing is easy to follow. The student knows professional vocabulary and can use it to their advantage in writing. Mistakes might occur from time to time in both speech and writing, but they do not affect the understandability. The student has followed instructions in their productions and their performance is professional. The student also participates actively to teaching and interactional situations. The required assignments are submitted and done well.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student's language use is versatile, skilled, appropriate and incisive in both written and spoken productions. Their speech and writing is pleasant to follow. Their knowledge of the professional vocabulary is excellent and they can routinely use it to their advantage in their productions. The student is a skilled participant in interactional situations and is excited to participate in them. Both their spoken and written productions consist of diverse structures. The student has been an active participant on the course and their productions show an excellent readiness to use language.