English Language Stage 4B

Learning Outcomes

Cognitive Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• develop problem solving skills
• engage in analytical and evaluative thinking
• extract and synthesise key information from written and spoken sources.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Communication stkiils: written, oral and IT
• Attention to detail
• Time management
• Development of memory
• Intercultural and interpersonal skills
• Learning, research and organisational skills
• Perseverance

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• STRATEGIES AND KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO LANGUAGE LEARNING i. Language learning strategies - Use bilingual and monolingual dictionaries and standard grammar reference books effectively to check complex grammar and a broad range of vocabulary. - Use a growing repertoire of skills in using resources for independent language learning. - Set, monitor and refine your learning goals. - Be prepared to take risks in trying out the language, monitor the accuracy and appropriacy of your performance and learn from your evaluation. - Engage with the current media in the target language on a regular basis.
• STRATEGIES AND KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO LANGUAGE LEARNING iv. Knowledge and understanding of the target language and culture - Have a general understanding of intercultural differences in interactional behaviour. - Have a basic understanding of the paralinguistic meaning (non-linguistic communication devices/signs). - Have a general understanding of the political and educational systems and key historical issues in the countries in which the target language is spoken.
• STRATEGIES AND KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO LANGUAGE LEARNING ii. Communication strategies - Use basic repair and paraphrase strategies in order to convey, clarify and negotiate meaning and opinions appropriately with another target language user. - Use a range of conversational maintenance devices.
• STRATEGIES AND KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO LANGUAGE LEARNING iii. Language knowledge and awareness - Identify and simulate fairly closely all target language sounds/sound sequences. - Identify a range of registers. - Have knowledge of all the grammatical structures of the target language, and command of most of them. - Have command of a good range of vocabulary on familiar and some specialised topics, including collocational patterns and some fixed expressions - Know sufficient metalanguage (terminology), where necessary in English, to understand and construct accurate descriptions of grammar and of how language is used.

Knowledge and Understanding

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

• PRODUCTION iii. Writing: - Write in a variety of common genres in order to communicate information, ideas, concepts and opinions relating to a variety of situations and topics. - Write accurate texts which are cohesive at sentence, paragraph and whole text level. - Use complex grammatical structures and appropriate vocabulary, but still with first language interference.
• Reading: - Read and understand the main ideas and most detail in authentic texts in a variety of genres (including emails, newspapers, textbooks and literature) without too much effort and with some recourse to dictionaries, glossaries and grammar reference materials. - Accurately extract information, ideas, opinions and hypotheses relating to most general topics and to specialised topics of personal interest.
• PRODUCTION ii. Speaking (production): - Successfully present facts and ideas with the help of visual aids. - Manipulate language dealing with everyday topics, as well as some specialised ones, using a range of grammatical structures and vocabulary with a reasonable level of accuracy.
• Listening: - Understand a wide range of vocabulary and structures relating to most everyday contexts as well as some specialised vocabulary relating to particular topics and experiences. - Understand the gist and detail of most spoken language in a range of registers, delivered at normal speed with only occasional need for concession by a target language speaker or written support. You should be able to follow most films and television programmes.
• PRODUCTION i. Speaking (interaction): - Engage confidently and accurately in conversations relating to everyday topics and a range of specialised ones. - Employ a range of interactional strategies to deal effectively with familiar and some unpredictable situations.

This Stage develops linguistic proficiency by focusing on a 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

You will experience a wide variety of teaching and learning methods including: full class teaching; seminar discussions; individual and group presentations; individual, pair and group work in class; set tasks to be completed outside class; self-directed independent study and group tutorials.

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 Library and Learning Commons 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

English Dictionary. MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners OR Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary.

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 be a large number of resources made available via Blackboard, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment.

Textbooks

Eastwood, J. (1994). Oxford Guide to English Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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
• the provisional date and deadline for each assessment task

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.

Coursework (40%)

Summative tasks may be research/investigative; writing academic essays, reports, making individual or group oral presentations; doing reading/listening/viewing comprehension tasks

Examination (60%)

• 2-hour reading & writing examination (40%)
• Oral assessment (10%)
• Listening examination (10%)
• Coursework (40%)

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.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

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