Syllabus
Semester II License 2012-2013
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
standards as well as the IMIS-ESTHUA policy.
No absence is excused without a valid doctor’s note, transportation
strike, or emergency. You will lose points for not coming to class or
for consistently arriving late.
·
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 %
·
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
/ 06 63 06 52 78
Café owned by an Irish woman in
Angers. Hosts weekly English conversation groups for
students on Tuesdays from 5:00pm – 6:00pm
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
that covers all topics. (Podcasts, downloads and streaming)
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
A descriptive adjective is a word that indicates a quality and describes
a noun. In English, descriptive
adjectives do not change form
regardless of the noun. (Ex. She is intelligent. He is intelligent.) The adjective in English is always placed
before the noun.
Write the correct person’s name under the adjective that
best describes him or her.
|
There’s no point in arguing with Bruce. He won’t listen to the
opinions of others, even if they prove him wrong.
As the owner of a small company, Carol has to be able to do many
different things. In addition to her regular duties, she’s also the
accountant, hiring manager, and even receptionist sometimes.
Victor takes care when making decisions in order to avoid
unnecessary risk.
People love working for Randy because he’s relaxed. He doesn’t
mind if his employees are late and he gives them a lot of freedom.
Robert, the new boss, fired four people in his first week.
He’ll do whatever he has to in order to turn the failing company around.
Patricia works hard and she makes an effort to do her tasks
well.
Fresh out of university, Tanya, was excited about getting started
with her job and learning new things.
Mike is very helpful. He’s always willing to be of
assistance to the other members of the team.
|
easygoing
____________
prudent
____________
diligent
____________
stubborn
____________
eager
____________
ruthless
____________
cooperative
____________
versatile
____________
|
Match each word on the left to a word on the right with an
opposite meaning.
|
1. easygoing
2. prudent
3. diligent
4. stubborn
5. eager
6. ruthless
7.
cooperative
8.
versatile
|
A. lazy
B. uptight; strict
C. unhelpful
D. caring; sympathetic
E. flexible; open-minded
F. foolish
G. limited
H. apathetic
|
Comparative adjectives are used when two or more persons or things have
the same quality or characteristic and it is shown which has a greater, lesser,
or equal degree of quality.
Comparison
of Greater Degree (more):
-
short adj + -er + than
Ex. She is taller than
Mary. She
is prettier than her sister.
-
more + longer adj + than
Ex. Paul is more
intelligent than Mary His
car is more expensive than ours.
Comparison
of Lesser Degree (less):
-
not as + adj +
as OR - less +
adj + than
Ex. Mary is not as tall as Dan. My
car is less expensive than your car.
Comparison
of Equal Degree (same):
-
as + adj + as
Ex. Paul is as tall as Mary.
The
Superlative is used with three or more nouns and is used to stress the highest
and lowest degrees of quality.
Superlative
of Greatest Degree
-
the +
short adj + -est
Ex. Mary is the smartest.
-
the most + long adj
Ex. Mary is the most intelligent.
Superlative
of Lowest Degree
-
the least + adj
Ex. Paul is the
least
active.
1.
A hammer
is __bigger___ ___than__ (big/comparative greater degree) a nail.
2.
Tape is
___less__ adhesive ___than____ (comparative lesser degree) glue.
3.
Your mind
is __the___ ___best__ (superlative greatest degree) useful tool for the job.
4.
The ladder
is __as___ _ tall ___as___ (comparative
equal degree) the house.
5.
A wrench
is __the__ __worst__ (superlative lowest degree)useful tool for the job.
