Course teacher(s)
Frédéric GRUN (Coordinator)ECTS credits
5
Language(s) of instruction
english
Course content
Activities focusing on reading comprehension, listening comprehension, discussion, and written expression centered on social science themes: education and social mobility, the media and their influence, gender stereotypes, social class, discrimination, inequality, poverty, multiculturalism, sociolinguistics, crime and deviance, the prison system, etc. Classroom activities are supplemented by numerous exercises on the Virtual University (UV). Since students also spend several weeks presenting key concepts related to their fields of study in English, and because class discussions are structured around their own comments and questions, a significant portion of the course content relies on student contributions.
Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)
This course aims to help students acquire the English language skills needed to engage with English-language publications in the social sciences and to discuss their field of study with fluency, precision, and an appropriate register. To achieve a passing grade of 10/20, students must demonstrate, at a minimum, proficiency corresponding approximately to CEFR level B2 in listening and reading comprehension, and level B1 in speaking and writing.
Prerequisites and Corequisites
Required and Corequired knowledge and skills
The course is suitable for students with at least a B1 level in listening and reading comprehension and an A2+ level in spoken and written expression according to the CEFR. They must be able to:
- understand the main points of authentic documents related to their field of study with instructional support
- express an opinion simply, ask simple questions, and participate in a prepared discussion on a familiar topic
The course is not yet suitable for students who have not acquired the basics of English, such as essential vocabulary, personal pronouns, common prepositions, modal verbs, and elementary sentence structures. Such students are advised to improve their English before taking the course.
Required and corequired courses
Courses requiring this course
Teaching methods and learning activities
The course follows the flipped classroom model. Each week, students familiarise themselves with a series of English-language texts and videos at home and complete interactive activities on the Virtual University (UV) designed to reinforce their reading and listening comprehension, as well as their vocabulary and, to a lesser extent, their grammar. Based on these resources, they are required to prepare and submit written questions and comments related to the themes covered in the texts and videos to fuel in-class discussion. They will also be required to give two oral presentations related to their subject of study.
References, bibliography, and recommended reading
Bailey, S. (2014). Academic writing: A handbook for international students. Routledge.
Browne, K. (2005). An introduction to sociology. Polity.
Swan, M. (2005). Practical English Usage. Oxford Univ. Press.
Murphy, R., & Hashemi, L. (2019). English grammar in use. Cambridge University Press.
Course notes
- Université virtuelle
Other information
Contacts
Frédéric Grün (coordinateur) : frederic.grun@ulb.be
Campus
Solbosch
Evaluation
Method(s) of evaluation
- written examination
- Oral presentation
written examination
- Open question with short answer
- Open question with developed answer
- Closed question with multiple choices (MCQ)
- Open question with fill-in the blanks text
- Closed question True or False (T/F)
Oral presentation
Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)
- In-class presentations (30%)
- Presentation 1: 10%
- Presentation 2: 20%
- Written exam in June (65%)
- Participation (5%)
- 2.5 % Term 1
- 2.5% Term 2
- Presentations take place in class and are not rescheduled in August. Consequently, failure to participate in presentations during the academic year cannot be made up in August, in accordance with Article 70 of the Règlement Général des Etudes.
- Students enrolled in the course as part of a bridging programme without having taken "Anglais I" will, by default, be assessed 100% based on the written exam, unless they request to participate in the presentations. This policy stems from the fact that these students have not undergone prior assessment and may lack the necessary language prerequisites for oral presentations. It aims both to avoid placing these students in a situation for which they are not ready and to preserve collaborative working conditions for other students, who need to be able to rely on their peers' engagement and preparation.
- The participation grade depends entirely on assignment submissions on the UV: the weekly questions to fuel discussions during Term 1 and Term 2, and, during Term 2, the four writing tasks. A student may fail to submit assignments up to three times per term before losing their participation grade for that term.
Language(s) of evaluation
- english