This course focuses on language and communicative skills which are developed through e-learning activities on contemporary topics that branch out from the broader themes of society, culture, and the world. It is through a theme-based approach that the language skills, essential for effective written and spoken communication, are worked on and practiced in the virtual classroom using different interactive tools available on the learning platform.
The aim of this Foreign Language course is to help students reach the competences pertaining to level B2.1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, i. e. : "learner must be capable of understanding the essential details of themes, concrete or abstract, in a complex text. He or she must equally be able to speak in a clear and detailed manner on a great variety of topics, expressing an opinion on a problem, and showing the various possible advantages and disadvantages."
This course revolves around contemporary issues on the general themes of society, culture and the world today, such as childhood, diversity, healthy
eating, sustainability and well-being. Different activities based on these topics are provided where that all the skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as grammar and pronunciation are worked on based on the principles of ESL/EFL (English as a Second/Foreign Language) approaches to language learning: “Content based instruction”, “Theme based learning” and Communicative Language Teaching. There is no manual for the course, but different resources are available on the learning platform.
Short story (new stories are added each academic year):
Liu, Ken “The Paper Menagerie” (2016) The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. Saga Press.
Grammar book:
Murphy, Raymond; English Grammar in Use (Intermediate) 3rd Ed.
Dictionary:
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2004.http://www.macmillandictionary.com/(Qualquer bom dicionário de lingua inglesa, Ex: Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture.)
E-learning
All students are automatically enrolled in continuous assessment. For a full evaluation students must do 2/3 e-folios (assignments submitted on the learning platform) during the course of the semester and an online final Test (p-fólio), at the end of the semester which amount to, respectively, 40% and 60% of the final mark.
