Cod: 31063
Department: DH
ECTS: 6
Scientific area: Language
Total working hours: 156
Total contact time: 15

This course uses contemporary themes to develop language and communicative skills through e-learning activities. The topics which are studied branch out from broader themes such as 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 on the learning platform.

Family
Work
Education
Culture

The aim of this Foreign Language subject is to help students reach the competences pertaining level B2.2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, i. e. : “Understands the main points of both concrete & abstract input. Can take active part in discussions on familiar topics, support ideas, discuss advantages & disadvantages, speculate about causes & hypothetical situations. Can interact spontaneously & fluently enough with a native speaker to avoid strain for either party.”

This course revolves around contemporary issues on the general themes of society, culture and the world today, such as family values, difference and equality, education, work, consumption and cinema. 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 which are made available on the learning platform.

Short story (new stories are added each academic year):
Dahl, Roald. "Lamb to the Slaughter" (1953) Harpers Magazine.
Dahl, Roald "Taste" (1979) Tales of the Unexpected Penguin, UK
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 evaluated through continuous assessment. For a full evaluation students must do 2/3 e-folios (assignments submitted on the learning platform) during the semester and an online final Test (p-folio), at the end of the semester which amount to, respectively, 40% and 60% of the final mark.