Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
- read academic texts in English more efficiently
- recognize features of English audience-friendly academic spoken and written communication
- apply these effective strategies in producing spoken communication and in comprehending written communication
- document sources properly and select strategies to avoid plagiarism
- give and receive constructive feedback

Credits: 3

Schedule: 24.10.2022 - 02.12.2022

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Signe-Anita Lindgren

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

Signe-Anita Lindgrén
Aalto University Language Centre

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period): B2

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  In this course, students practice strategies for reading, writing, and speaking focusing on audience expectations. The different learning activities include analyzing oral and written samples, the latter of which can come from a textbook within their own field of study. Based on these, the primary task for the oral aspect is developing a short pitch (videoed). The written part entails various reading and writing activities which introduce strategies for successful reading of English textbooks, for explaining an idea in writing, and for orally presenting an idea with a focus on meeting audience expectations. Through guided tasks, students learn to identify structures, strategies, and elements of audience-friendly communication and to apply them. Additionally, they practice referencing and summarizing techniques. The emphasis of the learning activities is on improving students’ competence in using English consciously in their studies and in working life and in becoming more confident language users. The course applies a process approach to learning including self-reflection, peer feedback and teacher feedback.

  Working Life Skills: Know-how of the field of study, Foreign language skills, Skills related to international work environment, Team working skills, Information retrieval skills, Oral communication skills, Written communication skills, Self-consciousness, Self-confidence, Critical thinking skills, Analytical skills, Ethical consciousness, Continuous learning skills, and Project management skills.

• applies in this implementation

  Provided in MyCourses
  

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  - Continuous assessment of active contribution
  - Successful completion of all tasks on time (35%)
  - Speaking, reading and writing demonstrated through oral and written assignments that meet criteria further detailed in MyCourses (65%)
  - Completion of assignments at CEFR level B2 or higher

• applies in this implementation

  Provided in MyCourses
  

Workload

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  81 h guided independent and small-group work.

• applies in this implementation

  Provided in MyCourses
  

DETAILS

Study Material

• applies in this implementation

  Provided in MyCourses
  

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  This course is especially suited for students who are able to complete work independently and in an online environment within a given framework of time as well as willing to collaborate online.
  

  Teaching Language : English

  Teaching Period : 2022-2023 Autumn II
  2022-2023 Spring IV
  2022-2023 Spring V
  2023-2024 Autumn II
  2023-2024 Spring IV
  2023-2024 Spring V

  Enrollment :

  Registration for Courses: Sisu.

  Priority is given to
  (1) ARTS Bachelor degree students,
  (2) ARTS Master’s degree students,
  (3) others.

  Students will be selected to the course based on the number of credits accumulated.

• applies in this implementation

  This course has no zoom classroom meetings or meetings on campus but students work individually according to a set schedule with strict weekly deadlines made available at the beginning of the course.
  

Details on the schedule

• applies in this implementation

  The time provided in SISU is a placeholder. The course starts on 24 Oct. and ends on 2 Dec.
  3 ECTs, 81 hrs in 6 weeks. Please reserve approx. 13.5 hrs/week for this course in your schedule and be prepared to meet weekly deadlines.
  A detailed schedule will be available at the beginning of the course.
  

Description