Syllabus
Semester I License 1 2013-2014
Important Information
Instructor: Annika
Gielen
Email: annika.gielen@univ-angers.fr OR amgielen@gmail.com
Class Blog: englishclassdesk.blogspot.fr
Office Hours: Room
#503 IMIS-ESTHUA building (by
appointment)
Class Expectations and Grading
Policy
·
Attendance – 5 %
Attendance is mandatory in accordance with the University
of Angers
·
Participation – 10 %
Participation, specifically speaking, is extremely
important to learning English. The more
effort you put into your class the more you will get out of the class. Participation includes individual and
in-class assignments (both written and oral), your efforts pronunciation,
grammar, vocabulary and syntax, displayed level of comprehension and your
ability to express yourself.
If you miss any classes*, be sure to check the blog to
get the information!
*N.B. If you do not come to class it is likely that
you will not pass this class, you will not have the information needed to
answer test questions and you will lose automatically 15% of your grade.
·
CV in English– 20 %
You will learn how to correctly create a CV in English
during the class and will be expected to write one for yourself for a grade.
·
Group Presentation – 30 %
This
will be assigned in class and you will work in groups. Presentation in front of the class.
·
Final Exam – 35 %
This exam will cover all the subjects that we have
learned in class throughout the semester.
Class Objectives
Purpose: Each class will have an
introduction that will layout the goal of each course and the important points
you should try and learn from the class.
Grammar and Vocabulary: Each class will cover some
specific grammar points and vocabulary that will help you to complete the
in-class activity or to discuss a topic.
This is not a grammar class so all grammar will be to help you to build
on your existing knowledge.
Expression and Conversation: The overall goal of this
class is to improve your ability to express yourself correctly and with
confidence. It is important to
participate as much as possible to improve your speaking abilities so that in
your future job you will have the confidence to succeed.
English Resources
Anglophone Places in Angers
·
English Language Library / Bibliotèque Anglophone
60 rue Boisnet 49100 ANGERS / www.ellia.org /
02 41 24 97 07 / Tues – Sat: 1:00pm – 6:00pm
Library with a wide variety of
materials in English including manuals to study for the TOEIC exam, bulletin
board for language exchanges, tutors, private lessons and other various
activities in English. Sign up for the
monthly news letter. First year university students
and foreign students – free / students L2 and up – 12€
·
My Favorite Place
4 rue l’Espine 49100 ANGERS
Café owned by an Irish woman in
Angers
Dictionaries
www.dictionary.com / www.thesaurus.com
: English-only resources
www.urbandictionary.com : modern slang dictionary for
American English
www.wordreference.com : multi-language dictionary
with forums for idiomatic phrases.
Extremely helpful resource complete with verb conjugations.
Translators
N.B. DO NOT USE THESE FOR
ASSIGNMENTS OR PROJECTS, I CAN TELL
http://translate.google.com
Finding Information
When looking
for English-language resources on the internet, be sure to use websites in
English or the English version of a website.
Ex: instead of using google.fr
use google.com or google.uk.
Wikipedia
is not a reliable source; it is a good place to start. In university assignments and projects,
Wikipedia should not be your only
source, you should have at least two other sources! Remember: you are not allowed to copy and
paste information from any website and use it as your own in your projects,
this is plagiarism and is not expected.
For questions concerning plagiarism please feel free to ask me at any
time.
Article
databases and scholarly databases are a great and reliable way to find
information.
http://www.npr.org/collections/articles-databases
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat
Listening Resources
Free
streaming information on the radio is a great resource to boost your oral
skills:
www.npr.org – National Public Radio of
the United States
www.bbc.co.uk/radio/ - Same idea but with the
British accent and cultural aspects, the choice is yours!
Reading Resources
Blogs
are an excellent and interesting way to practice your comprehension skills
because you can find one about anything these days so there is sure to be one
that interests you such as art, fashion, celebrity gossip, travel, politics,
music, etc. If you are really motivated
you can even start your own! I recommend
following some blogs, if you aren’t already.
Don’t forget the class blog!
Video Resources
Watch
your favorite television shows and movies in V.O. Every bit helps, if you don’t know any shows
I have some tourism based recommendations: No
Reservations, An Idiot Abroad, or Globtrekker
These
can be watched on:
www.natgeo.com
www.travelchannel.com
www.PBS.org
Getting
to Know Someone
Knowing
and correctly using English questions is an important skill. Knowing the vocabulary is not the only step!
I hear
this all the time in the streets: "ello!
'ow are oo?" correct: Hello! how are you?
Dropping
the H seems little but it is
important. Imagine if I said to you:
"BonGOUR! Ka va Been?"
Some
simple questions/responses to practice, make sure you concentrate on
pronunciation:
Where do you
live/come from? I am
from... I live in...
How old are you? I
am...(age). I am (age) years old.
What do you do? Do
you study? Do you work?
Do you have brothers
or/and sisters? Yes, I have...
No, I do not...
How do you like it here? It is...
What kind of music/food/movies
do you like?
Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Although
you can not always use these types of questions in a professional setting, they
are good for really getting to know
someone. With a partner, select 3-5
questions to ask. Then switch roles.
Questioner:
read the question, practice it, and then ask again without looking! Write down your partner's response, and make
up a second follow-up question if you can.
Responder:
Respond to each question, and give a reason why.
Presenting: Tell us your partner's name, age,
and years studying English plus be ready to tell us some interesting things you
learned about them while doing your interview.
Questions
What did you do this summer?
Have you ever been abroad? In Europe ? Farther?
What is your favorite memory? Best travel experience you have had?
How do you like to spend your free
time?
What's your dream car? What color is it?
If you were to die tomorrow, what
would you do today? What would you eat
for your last meal?
What is your biggest fear? What is the scariest thing you have ever
experienced?
What is your favorite movie? What is your favorite type of movie?
What is something that you really
would like to do?
Where do you dream of travelling
to? Where would you like to live?
What's your dream job? Which company would you like to work for?
Vocabulary:
to
hope - espèrer
already - déjà
dream - rêve
switch -
changer
We played a game with prononciation using this handout:
We then talked about stereotypes and watched the clip:
For homework: please rewatch the video and be prepared to discuss the other cliches seen in this video that we had not alreday discussed in class.
We played a game with prononciation using this handout:
We then talked about stereotypes and watched the clip:
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