Subject:

English Strong Vantage (B2.2)

Teacher:

Teresa Casal (mcasal@campus.ul.pt)

Year / Semester:

2017-18/ 1

Class:

Timetable:

Office hours:

TP1

Tue. 14h00-16h00, Room 3.1; Thu. 14h00-16h00, Room 3.1

Thu. 16h00-17h00 @ Dept. of English Studies

Aims:

The course will follow the objectives outlined in the Council of Europe document Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Students should be able to understand language in most of the subjects related to common every day topics, and describe events and opinions with some fluency. They should also be able to follow and take part in more abstract/technical discussions. There could still be some errors, but not in basic structures and there should be a variety of vocabulary and grammar that shows enough flexibility to communicate fluently in more or less familiar topics. The objective is also to understand some aspects of English-speaking cultures and how they relate to language, and to be able to describe their own culture and view of the world.

Topics:

Under the heading “Home_Roam,” the course will look into notions of home, travel, and migration and will draw on audiovisual and written materials from various parts of the English-speaking world, ranging from films and documentaries, to short fiction and essays.

Students will develop language competencies with regard to listening, reading, speaking, and writing, according to the aims stipulated for Level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, namely:

Listening: Students can understand extended speech and lectures on topics and follow complex lines of argument that are less familiar to them. They can understand TV news and current affairs programmes without difficulty, and can understand most films.

Reading: Students can read, understand and interpret easy literary texts and appreciate their literary value. They can understand simple technical texts.

Speaking: Students can present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects in most fields of interest. They can explain a viewpoint on a non-topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Writing: Students can write clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects. They can write detailed essays or reports, passing on information or giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view. They can write detailed letters.

Special emphasis will be given to accurate comprehension and effective oral and written communication. This will require students’ assiduous engagement both in writing (creative writing, academic essay) and in speaking (role plays, debates, and oral presentations) so as to develop their language skills, while sharpening their knowledge of the culturally diverse English-speaking world.

Teaching methodologies and assessment:

A communicative approach focusing on lexical, grammatical, semantic and phonological competences will be used. Fluency and argument construction will be developed through classroom debates, freeform discussions, and discursive writing, in which students will practice different strategies for presenting ideas and opinions clearly on a wide range of topics. The methodology, which aims to be creative and constructive, will target fluency, grammatical and lexical accuracy. Systematic errors will be analyzed and explained so that students may become aware of correct usage. Assessment will be continuous and will consist of the following:

·       First written test (26 Oct.): 30%

·       Second written test (12 Dec.): 40%;

·       Oral presentation and participation: 15%;

·       Classwork (including written assignments): 15%.

Selected Bibliography:

Monolingual dictionary (e.g. Oxford, Longman, CoBuild).

Vince, Michael. Advanced Language Practice. 3^rd ed. Oxford: Macmillan, 2009.

http://www.myenglishpages.com/

Prerequisites:

Approval in B2.1 or Placement Test.

Lesson No.

Date

Contents

1

19 Sept.

1. Introduction. Aims and themes. Assessment: First written test: 30%; Second written test: 40%; Oral presentation: 15%; Attendance and participation: 15%.

Test 1: 26 October; Test 2: 12 December.

Office hours: Thu., 16h00-17h00, Dept. English.

2. Listening comprehension: “On Being an Unemployed Arts Graduate” & “How to Find Fulfilling Work”. Discussion.

3. Short written assignment (HW).

2

21 Sept.

1. Feedback on written assignment. Identification of areas in need of revision and consolidation.

2. Text 1 - “What is Human Migration?”

3. A Brief History of Migration – Charting Culture: Listening comprehension: What is migration?

4. Identification of key information. Discussion.

3

26 Sept.

1. Text 2 - in “Six Shorts”, Freeman’s: Best New Writing on Home, ed. Jonathan Freeman, 2017, pp. 9-13: reading comprehension; discussion.

2. Preparation of role play.

4

28 Sept.

1. Text 2 – Presentation of role play.

2. Text 3 – Bharati Mukherjee, “Imagining Homelands,” in Letters of Transit: Reflections on Exile, Identity, Language, and Loss, ed. André Aciman, New York: The New York Public Library, 1999, pp. 65-86.

2.1. Analysing the essay: identifying key concepts and stories; describing the essay’s structure;

2.2. Discussing the essay; summarizing the key ideas in the discussion; expressing personal opinion.

5

3 Oct.

Text 3 – Summarising: i) the essay; ii) the responses it generated in class.

6

10 Oct.

Text 4: Savia Viegas, “Girls Are to Be Married”, in Let Me Tell You About Quinta, 2011, pp. 34-46 – reading comprehension; discussion.

7

12 Oct.

Talk and reading with Indian writer and artist Savia Viegas – Anfiteatro III ­| Theatre 3.

8

17 Oct.

Text 4 – Further discussion. Written assignment.

9

19 Oct.

1. Text 5 - Jhumpa Lahiri, “A Temporary Matter”, in Interpreter of Maladies, 2000, 1-22 – Students’ presentation; discussion; engaging creatively with the text.

10

24 Oct.

1. Text 6 -  Jhumpa Lahiri, “When Mr Pirzada Came to Dine”, in Interpreter of Maladies, 2000, 23-42 – Students’ presentation; discussion; engaging creatively with the text.

11

26 Oct.

Written test 1.

12

31 Oct.

1. Text 7: “Hope and Home”, Freeman’s: Best New Writing on Home, ed. Jonathan Freeman, 2017, pp. 73-87: reading comprehension; discussion.

2. Summarising information and expressing personal opinion.

13

2 Nov.

Looking for stories: students’ presentation of researched migrant stories.

14

 7 Nov.

Writing back: Text 8 – Aicha Bassry, “Woman Swimming in Thirst”; Sarah Clancy, “Poem for a Migrant Poet Waiting to Make Her Crossing” – reading; discussion; writing back.

15

9 Nov

1. Australia’s Stolen Generations: Texts and documentaries:

1.1. Text 9 - Stolen Generations Fact Sheet, July 28, 2007.

1.2. Text 10 - “Closing the Gap in Indigenous Disadvantage,” Council of Australian Governments.

16

14 Nov.

Screening of Philip Noyce’s film Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002).

17

16 Nov.

Representations of Home symposium – attendance of panel presentations related to themes under discussion in class.

18

21 Nov.

Text 11  - Sally Morgan, “Daisy Corunna’s Story”, My Place, 1987 (excerpt) – reading comprehension; discussion.

19

23 Nov.

Embodied selves: Text 12 - John Howard Griffin, Black Like Me [1962] 1996, 1-9 (excerpt) – students’ presentation; reading comprehension; discussion.

20

 28 Nov.

Embodied selves: Text 13 - Lucy Caldwell, “Through the Wardrobe”, in Multitudes: Eleven Stories, London: Faber and Faber, 2016, pp. 90-99 – students’ presentation; reading comprehension; discussion.

21

30 Nov.

Embodied selves: summarising and expanding the discussion. Role play.

22

5 Dec.

Embodied selves: Text 14 – Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive, 2015, pp. 1-21 - students’ presentation; reading comprehension.

23

7 Dec.

Embodied selves: Text 14 – Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive, 2015, pp. 1-21 – discussion.

24

12 Dec.

Written test 2.

25

14 Dec.

Further students’ presentations / interviews.

26

9 Jan.

Meeting for final assessment.