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 the field
- becoming professional, autonomous language users in working life

Materials

Material available on itslearning.

Teaching methods

Learning by doing
Working in teams
Self-study

Exam schedules

Task-based assessment. No exams, no re-sits.
No possibility to redo assignments and raise the score.

International connections

Flipped classroom method
Working in teams, self-study

Completion alternatives

No optional ways to pass the course. The given instructions and deadlines must be followed.

Student workload

contact lessons at the campus >> in weeks 12, 17 and 21
online lessons 4 x 1 hr (except on April 10 2 hrs)
independent work appr. 120 hrs

Course assignments:
- Online meeting
- Presentation
- Professional email
- Reporting

- Individual and group work

Content scheduling

The course topics:
- Formal and standard Language, Registers
- Professional emails
- Presentation skills
- Discussion skills
- Reporting
- Meetings
- Field-specific terminology

The course starts in week 12 (Thu, March 20) and ends in week 21 (Friday, May 23). A more detailed schedule will be presented on itslearning.

Further information

The students need a working camera and microphone for the online lessons.

The course starts in March, 2025 according to the timetable.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

Task-based assessment, no exams or re-sits.

The student completes the given assignments by the deadline.

The assessment is based on the following evaluated assignments:
- Online meeting
- Presentation
- Professional email
- Report

In addition, the student must complete pre-class work (min. 4/8 tasks) and participate in the lessons. The requirement is to be present in all lessons at the campus because some of the evaluated assignments will be completed then. The lessons on Teams are also mandatory, but absence from one or two online lessons will not affect the final grade The student is then responsible to study the material on their own.

Late submissions will not be accepted or graded and absences cannot be compensated with extra work. If the student passes the course, it is not possible to redo any assignment in order to try to raise the grade (as per degree regulation). Deadlines are non-negotiable and late submissions will not be accepted.

Assessment criteria, fail (0)

More than one of the four evaluated assignments not completed on time or at all.
Absences from the lessons.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

The student:
- produces texts that may fail to follow the standard structuring.
- produces texts that may not be understandable and the style may not be appropriate to the situation.
- produces texts that include mistakes in vocabulary choice and clumsy expressions.
- relies on notes when speaking and pronunciation may not be natural.
- shows little activity in discussions and reacts prompted by another speaker.
- speaks in a way that is not natural and there are problems with correct pronunciation.
- the fluency of the language is often interrupted by regular basic mistakes.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The student
- can produce texts that are complete, but may lack from the standard structure.
- can produce texts that are understandable, but may contain some clumsy expressions and the style may not be correct all the time.
- communicates in a way that is understandable, but may contain problems with word choices and style.
- speaks mainly in a structured way and may need notes.
- pronounces mainly naturally, but there may be occasional problems with more complex words or sounds.
- participates in the discussion mostly actively, sometimes prompted by another speaker.
- can often rephrase words they do not remember, but may sometimes have problems.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student
- can write fluent, professional texts and use appropriate style and tone for the situation.
- can produce written texts that are well-written and include the use of professional vocabulary of the field.
- can speak fluently and naturally and rarely needs notes.
- participates in discussions and meetings actively and unprompted and is able to present arguments and opinions.
- speaks with largely correct grammar, vocabulary and uses functional language (e.g., signposting).