The aim of this B2.1 English class is to develop the students’ reading, writing and oral expression skills in several scenarios. Thus, the objectives and competencies to be acquired are: understand extended speech and complex factual or literary texts; speak fluently and effectively; and write clear, well-structured texts. In order to achieve these objectives we will attempt to give you the necessary confidence to express your views and improve fluency. Another focus will be a more detailed look at some of the fundamental basics of the language, i.e. grammar, in order to obtain more accuracy. Finally, there will be a particular emphasis on developing your reading (interpreting and discussing) and writing skills along with vocabulary acquisition.

By the end of the semester, students should be able to:

·         understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation;

·         interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party;

·         produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

GRAMMAR

• Students will be taught how to know when to use which verb tenses (and they will need to prove they know how to do this in the midterm and in their compositions).
• They will also need to dominate their prepositions, the gerund vs. the infinitive, etc.
  

COMPREHENSION:

• reading and analyzing texts;
• listening to and analyzing audio and possibly film clips;

WRITING:

SPEAKING:

·         in-class reading;

·         Q&A;

·         Group oral presentations;

·         end of semester oral presentation;

·         etc.

GRADE PERCENTAGES

Attendance and class participation – 10%

Grammar Test – 20%

Midterm Test – 40% (Descriptive/Narrative - 20%, Persuasive - 20%)

Oral presentation – 30% 

Should you FAIL the course, you can sit the Final Exam (Época Especial) which will be in January 2024.

OPTIONAL HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS and TUTORIALS

In addition to grammar lessons and other in-class activities, students will have two OPTIONAL homework assignments which, upon completion, they must email me. All students are entitled to tutorials for grammar, homework writing assignments (after they receive their work marked) and for their oral presentation.  

No student can have more than three one-on-one tutorials in total.  

All tutorials will be on: Fridays from 11h00 – 12h00 (but if you cannot make this time due to work/school restrictions, we will try to find alternatives).

Homework assignments must have the following on the front page:

·         Student’s name;

·         Student’s class (turma).

Homework documents must be saved as follows:

       Example:

• ana silva – descriptive/narrative writing
• ana silva – persuasive writing

• Oral presentations are worth 30% of your final grade.
• You must speak for a minimum of 6 minutes and a maximum of 12 minutes
• anyone who speaks less than the 6 minute minimum will get an automatic fail.
• You can do the presentation on your own or in a group but each person must speak a minimum of 6 minutes and a maximum of 12.
• The presentation will be on a short story of your choice from Small Avalanches and Other Stories.
• Please inform me of your date and short story of choice as soon as possible – only a few people can present any given story, and no more than 6-10 people can present on any given date, so story and date allocation will be done on a first-come-first-served basis.
• You must use visual aids such as the whiteboard (I can give you a marker) or use a PowerPoint to make your presentation more interesting.
• You can use video or audio clips in your presentation but these do not count towards your 6-minute minimum yet must be within the 12 minute maximum.
• Do not plagiarize – I can always tell.
• Do not read your presentation - this will result in a 0.
• Do not memorize your presentation word for word - this will result in a 0.
• It is recommended that you not write out a full speech as there will be the temptation to read/memorize - bullets or topics on cards or sheets of paper are best and will remind you of what you're supposed to say.
• Students may be asked questions at the end of their presentation - if asked questions by the teacher or by other students, try to answer these in long answers and avoid 1-2 word answers.
• Your notes may be requested at the end of the exam - if this happens, you must hand them over to the teacher.

ADVICE ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR ORAL EXAM

·         Find a student/friend in a higher level, e.g. C1.1 and practice delivering your oral presentation to them.

o   Have them ask you questions at the end – you won’t be able to prepare for this in advance, so you’ll be able to see how you deal with answering questions under pressure.

o   You might want to record everything on your phone for future reference.

·         If you have no one to practice in front of, practice on your own in your room while recording yourself.  Listen to the recording.  Make a note of the mistakes you think you’ve made – repeat the sections that you did incorrectly, correcting yourself, if you can.

o   Get someone in a higher level, e.g. C1.1 and have them listen to your recording.  Ask them to be honest – did they understand everything?  Which sections did they not understand.

·         Practice over and over again – otherwise you will be really nervous on the day!

You will need:

·         Hilda Eusébio’s B2.1 English cCourse book which will be made available on the shared Google drive.

·         Grammar books:

• Grammar Practice for Elementary Students (with answers).
• Essential Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises (with answers).
• Grammar Practice for Pre-Intermediate Students (with answers).
• These will also be on the shared Google drive.

·         www.englishpage.com is an excellent website to learn and practice English grammar for free.

The following book: Small Avalanches and Other Stories by Joyce Carol Oates

Students are to check their emails regularly and come to class prepared.

English

B2.1 (Vantage) level (ENG2.11915)

1st semester 2023/2024 - TP1 and TP2

Lecturer: Isabel Maria Ferro Mealha

Email address: isabelmealha@edu.ulisboa.pt

1. Learning outcomes of the course

The course will follow the objectives outlined in the Council of Europe document Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF). At the end of this course students will be able to understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics; interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with fluent/proficient speakers quite possible without strain for either party; produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

2. Syllabus

Students will develop their language competencies with regard to the four skills:

a) READING: literary and non-literary texts (e.g. newspaper articles, essays and contemporary short stories).

b) WRITING: opinion and discursive essays; summaries; emails and letters.

c) SPEAKING: individual and group oral projects with a view to developing oral presentation skills; debates (putting forward arguments for and against); students will ask and answer questions about the English-speaking world.

d) LISTENING to interviews and talks, watching films and/or documentaries with a view to developing note-taking skills.

Students will develop linguistic, social and cultural aspects related to the English-speaking world while further developing the ability to use grammatical structures with an emphasis on increased accuracy.

3. Teaching methodologies (including evaluation)

Teaching methodologies foster ongoing development of the CEF linguistic competencies. Task-based activities held include reading and discussing texts, dramatised reading, essay writing, a speaking paper, watching films and/or talks followed by guided debates. Lexicogrammatical items are addressed in class with an emphasis on increased accuracy. Other individual and team/group teacher-oriented task-based activities will be carried out. In accordance with Regulamento de Avaliação dos Estudantes da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa (RAE), students will be assessed on oral and written work throughout the semester. Weighting will be as follows: 

• first writing test 20%; 
• second writing test 30%; 
• individual oral presentation 20%; 
• written and oral assignments 25%; 
• attendance 5%

The oral presentation is an individual assignment that will consist in a 6-minute speech, spoken from notes, NOT read. Each student will choose the date of the oral presentation from a set of proposed dates (TBA). Topic: presenting a linguistic, social or cultural aspect related to an English-speaking country. 

Dates of tests

TP1 (Mondays & Wednesdays)

FIRST TEST: October 30 

SECOND TEST: December 4

TP2 (Tuesdays & Thursdays)

FIRST TEST: October 31

SECOND TEST: December 5

Since assessment will be conducted on a regular basis, any task that is not submitted when due and/or any form of plagiarism will be given a zero. Any student who fails to do one of the above-mentioned tests/tasks will be given a zero. If needed, an assignment submission extension may be granted as long as it is requested by email in advance of the submission deadline. In exceptional cases, students may apply for an extension retrospectively.  

Worker students may opt for continuous assessment (in which case they will have to comply with all the assessment criteria set for regular students) OR sit the Época Especial de Avaliação examination. The examination will focus on the contents of the syllabus adopted for the B2.1 level. 

6. Bibliography

Mealha, Isabel Ferro. B2.1 Workbook 2023-2024 (a compilation of articles, essays, short stories by English-speaking writers and other materials). (compulsory – please bring your workbook to every class). Additional materials will be sent by email and/or uploaded to Moodle.

Optional:

Swan, Michael. 2005. Practical English Usage. 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The Longman Dictionary Of Contemporary English For Advanced Learners. 2009. 5th edition. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

The Oxford Phrasal Verbs Dictionary for Learners of English. 2006. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

ATTENDANCE 

Attendance of classes is compulsory. For exceptions, please check the Regulamento de Avaliação dos Estudantes da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa (RAE).

Absence from class should be reported by email to the teacher prior to missing a class, if at all possible, or as soon as possible after a student misses a class. Reporting an absence does not automatically “excuse” missed work. In these cases, students should contact the teacher to discuss what options may be available. If the absence is due to illness or other emergency, please submit a doctor’s note or any other appropriate documentation within the following ten working days (see RAE, Artigo 3º, 3).

Please be punctual and do not use mobile phones, headphone and earphones in class. Exceptions will be negotiated one-on-one. Texting, emailing, surfing the web, posting on social media in class is extremely disrupting to other students, and a waste of your time in class. Students who are found disruptive of other students' learning will be asked to leave the room.

LECTURER/STUDENT COMMUNICATION

Teacher and students will communicate via institutional email addresses only. You should make sure that you check your institutional email on a regular basis so as not to miss out on any important information related to the class.

OFFICE HOURS & TUTORIAL  - Wednesdays, 9.30-10.30, Room C213.A

There will be a weekly one-hour tutoring session which can be used to answer individual students’ questions, review any materials students need to review, or provide extra practice, etc. 

REQUIREMENTS

Having successfully completed English B1.2 or having been placed in English B2.1 as a result of a placement test done at the beginning of the academic year.