English Language Stage 6A

Learning Outcomes

Cognitive Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• organise and present ideas within the framework of a structured and reasoned argument
• engage in analytical and evaluative thinking
• use language creatively and precisely for a range of purposes and audiences
• extract and synthesise key information from written and spoken sources
• engage with and interpret layers of meaning within texts and other cultural products
• reflect critically and make judgements in the light of evidence and argument
• develop problem-solving skills.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• use target language source materials appropriately
• research effectively in libraries and handle bibliographic information
• access electronic resources and use information and communication technologies appropriately.
• use and present material in the target language and one's own language in written and oral forms in a clear and effective manner
• take accurate and effective notes and summarise material
• work autonomously, manifested in self-direction, self-discipline and time management
• write and think under pressure and meet deadlines

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Communication strategies - Use the language creatively to play with meaning or to provide paraphrases in situations where the appropriate word is not known. - Use contextual factors to infer probable meanings in situations where communication is difficult. - Handle most encounters requiring a range of strategies, including being vague or evasive when the situation demands it. - Be familiar with certain non-standard forms of the language and be able to use them in ways that are situationally appropriate.
• Speaking: production - Introduce and present complex and unfamiliar topics effectively and with precision in an appropriate style with the help of audio-visual aids. - Give coherent and detailed arguments and explanations and justify them effectively in general discussion
• Language knowledge and awareness - Produce with accuracy all TL phonemes and phoneme sequences. - Be aware of the situational and cultural constraints on language use, including the principles governing the use of polite forms, the norms of conversation and phatic communion, and how form and use varies across genres. - Be familiar with the way in which tone, stress and intonation effect the exchange of meaning. - Be aware of how rhetorical patterns differ from those in similar genres in your first language.
• Speaking: interaction - Engage with ease in interaction on complex and abstract topics using a range of grammatical structures, vocabulary and discourse markers - Employ mostly appropriate and effective strategies in managing linguistically and/or culturally complex interactions, including informal conversation, difficult encounters.
• Knowledge and understanding of the target language and culture - Be familiar with the major cultural groupings of users of the language and of its major varieties. - Be aware of how language use varies between social groups and of the acceptability of different usage. - Understand cultural allusions where knowledge is assumed rather than provided. - Possess a confirmed knowledge of most aspects of the TL culture
• Language learning strategies - Be a skilled and independent language learner in that you make proficient use of a full range of reference tools, that you access and learn from all available TL media, and that you set appropriate learning goals and monitor your progress. - Use all available linguistic and para-linguistic data (e.g. TV, corpora, interview data, body language) to refine your knowledge and understanding of the nuances of meaning and use of the language.
• Writing - Write clearly in a range of appropriate styles in complex topics in a range of genres. Express arguments and conclusions. - Write coherent, cohesive and accurate texts where errors and infelicities do not compromise the communicative effectiveness of the writing.
• Listening - Understand with relative ease in most situations and registers, including the media and specialist areas within the aims of the course - Understand most of the implications and intentions, including humour and irony, of spoken language delivered in a range of accents and registers and at any speed
• Reading - Understand with relative ease texts in most registers, with recourse to reference materials for specialised and unfamiliar topics - Understand with ease the main ideas and details and recognise the implications and intentions of authentic texts in a wide variety of genres (including abstract, structurally or linguistically complex and humorous/ironic texts).

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• intercultural competence.
• the ability to work creatively and flexibly with others as part of a team
• self-reliance, initiative, adaptability and flexibility
• be proficient in and know how to learn a foreign language; you will know this is a key skill in its own right
• communication, presentation, interaction
• qualities of empathy

This Stage develops linguistic proficiency by focusing on wide range of texts (both written and spoken) relevant to the target language culture(s). These texts will provide a framework for developing sophisticated language forms and uses. Authentic print and multimedia material covering a variety of styles, registers and

genres will be used. Most inadequacies in your linguistic proficiency will be remedied through discussion with the tutor, who will refer you to self-access material relevant to your particular needs available in the relevant resources area and help you to develop an individual learning programme.

Teaching and learning methods

Classes

Although part of any class session is likely to involve direct teaching, the emphasis is on student participation and you will be expected to take part actively in discussion and in tasks such as small group and pair work, role play, and individual or group presentations.

Independent learning

You will be expected to spend time studying outside the class, and we provide guidance, facilities and materials to help you develop your expertise as an independent language learner. As you progress through the Stages you will learn to understand, monitor and improve your own learning style; you will also acquire

some expertise as a researcher and develop the kind of key skills which are valued by employers. You are encouraged to use the facilities in the Centre for Language Study Resources Centre at the Avenue Campus and at other sites in the University, including the Southampton Oceanography Centre, the Hartley Library and

Winchester School of Art. These include on-line and computer-based resources, current newspapers and magazines, language laboratories and satellite TV, and self-access materials. For this Stage, you will be asked to consolidate your class work, to read, watch or listen to material in the target language, to prepare

exercises and activities for the class, to write assignments, undertake projects and continue to develop your repertoire of effective language learning strategies.

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Resources and reading list. The Library and Learning Commons is continually updating its facilities and materials and you will find many of the recommended learning and reference materials here. You will need a comprehensive dictionary for this module and there will also be a large number of resources made available via Blackboard, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment.

Assessment strategy

At the beginning of the module, you will receive information about your assessment. This will include:

• what tasks you will be expected to carry out
• clear criteria against which your work will be assessed
• what the provisional date and deadline of each assessment task is.

Note that it is the responsibility of students to ensure that they have read and understood this documentation, to plan their work schedule in advance, and to keep to the deadlines. If you are in any doubt, talk to the module coordinator in good time.

Assessment will cover what you have studied in class and what you are expected to have acquired as an independent learner. The design of the tasks and the criteria by which they are assessed ensure that you will be able to demonstrate all aspects of your learning: language skills, strategies and knowledge related to

language learning, and key skills. Coursework and the in-class exam will give you formative feedback on your progress, that is, feedback which will help you learn. The exam at the end of the module will test what you have achieved and also what you are able to do in real life conditions of language use where you need to think on your feet and use your own linguistic resources.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External