Module overview
This module is taken during semesters 1 and 2 of the year abroad in the RA country (where the language is NOT spoken). It complements the language learning module(s) taken at the host university. Therefore the total number of ECTS (language stage 6) taken by the student during the year abroad equals 15, as for students taking this stage at Southampton.
Linked modules
LANG2011
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Handle most encounters requiring a range of strategies, including being vague or evasive when the situation demands it.
- Translate written and spoken texts in a variety of genres from TL into English, maintaining the content and reproduce the style.
- Understand cultural allusions where knowledge is assumed rather than provided.
- 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.
- Give coherent and detailed arguments and explanations and justify them effectively in general discussion
- Write clearly in a range of appropriate styles on complex topics in a range of genres. Express arguments and conclusions.
- Use all available linguistic and para-linguistic data (e.g. TV, corpora, interview data, body language) to refine your knowledge and understanding of the variations in the meaning and use of the language.
- Be aware of how language use varies between social groups and of the acceptability of different usage.
- Produce with accuracy all TL phonemes and phoneme sequences.
- Write coherent, cohesive and accurate texts where errors and infelicities do not compromise the communicative effectiveness of the writing.
- Understand with relative ease in most situations and registers, including the media and specialist areas within the aims of the module
- Be familiar with the way in which tone, stress, and intonation affect the exchange of meaning.
- Understand with relative ease texts in most registers, with recourse to reference materials for specialised and unfamiliar topics
- 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
- Introduce and present complex and unfamiliar topics effectively and with precision in an appropriate style with the help of audio-visual aids.
- Use the language creatively to play with meaning or to provide paraphrases in situations where the appropriate word is not known.
- Possess a confirmed knowledge of most aspects of the TL culture
- Employ mostly appropriate and effective strategies in managing linguistically and/or culturally complex interactions, including informal conversation and some difficult encounters.
- Use contextual factors to infer probable meanings in situations where communication is difficult.
- Be aware of how rhetorical patterns differ from those in similar genres in your first language.
- Be familiar with the major cultural groupings of users of the language and of its major varieties.
- Understand with ease the main ideas and detail 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).
- Be familiar with certain non-standard forms of the language and be able to use them in ways that are situationally appropriate.
- Engage with ease in interaction on complex and abstract topics using a range of grammatical structures, vocabulary and discourse markers
- 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.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- self-reliance, initiative, adaptability and flexibility
- intercultural competence.
- mediating skills, qualities of empathy
- the ability to work creatively and flexibly with others as part of a team
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- develop problem-solving skills.
- use language creatively and precisely for a range of purposes and audiences
- engage with and interpret layers of meaning within texts and other cultural products
- extract and synthesise key information from written and spoken sources
- reflect critically and make judgements in the light of evidence and argument
- organise and present ideas within the framework of a structured and reasoned argument
- engage in analytical and evaluative thinking
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- use target language source materials appropriately
- in written and oral forms in a clear and effective manner
- research effectively in libraries and handle bibliographic information
- work autonomously, manifested in self-direction, self-discipline and time management
- write and think under pressure and meet deadlines
- use and present material in the target language and one's own language
- access electronic resources and use information and communication technologies appropriately.
- take accurate and effective notes and summarise material
Syllabus
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 multiple media material covering a variety of styles, registers and genres, together with the most suitable grammar book available, will be used. Most inadequacies in your linguistic proficiency will be remedied through online and Skype 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.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Independent learning
You will be expected to spend time studying independently. You will draw on local L2 resources and we will provide guidance, facilities and materials to help you develop your expertise as an independent language learner. For this Stage, you will consolidate your learning in the target language, you will be expected to submit regular formative work (typically once a fortnight), you will also write assignments, undertake projects and continue to develop your repertoire of effective language learning strategies.
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Teaching | 12 |
Independent Study | 138 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Blackboard.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Assignment | 40% |
Examination | 10% |
Coursework | 20% |
Examination | 10% |
Coursework | 20% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External