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Regular version of the site
2020/2021

English for General Communication Purposes. Advanced Course - 1

Type: Optional course
When: 1, 2 module
Instructors: Данилова Елизавета Андреевна, Сергеева Ольга Николаевна, Семина Нелли Владимировна, Скудина Елена Владимировна, Годованец Бэла Борисовна, Рой Вера Вадимовна, Савицкая Наталия Александровна, Семина Нелли Владимировна, Данилова Елизавета Андреевна, Ильченко Ольга Алексеевна, Сенникова Ксения Георгиевна, Букина Анна Викторовна, Клементьева Екатерина Александровна, Сенникова Ксения Георгиевна, Борисова Лада Вячеславовна, Конова Маргарита Анатольевна, Yulia Aleshina, Evgenia Anikudimova, Yuliya Antonova, Anton Arhipov, Tatyana Baranova, Elena Borodkina, Alina Budnikova, Valentina Byvalina, Anna Cheremnykh, Mariana Dobrovolskaya, Anna Doshlygina, lutsiya Rasikhovna Fattakhova, Anastasia Germanovich, Ekaterina Gridneva, Alexander Vladimirovich Kalashnikov, Alina Khavronich, Irina Nikolaevna Khlebnikova, Elena Petrovna Khoch, Svetlana Kolesnikova, Veronika Kondratova, Victoria Kosheleva, Elena Krasilnikova, Victoria Kuznetsova, Anastasia Levina, Galina Levitskaya, Viktor Makarenko, Marina Anatolyevna Markushova, Ekaterina Mironenko, Natalia Mironenko, Daria Ulkhanovna Mirzaeva, Elena Yurievna Mostacheva, Elena Borisovna Nikitina, Tatyana Nurgaleeva, Irina Pelevina, Tatiana Pitra, Anna Popova, Pavel Rakitin, Elena Shustova, Lidia Shvets, Alexandra Smorodinova, Ekaterina Alexandrovna Sobolyanova, Aleksandra Sokolova, Olga Stognieva, Olga Sviridenko, Anna Vaisman, Ksenia Vasilyuk, Anna Viklova, Elizaveta Volodyaeva, Maria Zamkovaya, Tatiana Zelenova, Anna Zhuravleva, Медведева Екатерина Павловна, Трибис Ксения Валентиновна, Медведева Екатерина Павловна, Трибис Ксения Валентиновна
Language: English
ECTS credits: 3
Contact hours: 56

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The discipline refers to the variable educational tracks offered to students of the curricula for bachelor's and master's degree at choice while mastering the optional course of English in accordance with the Concept of developing English-speaking communicative competence of students of Higher School of Economics — National Research University https://www.hse.ru/docs/381549301.html “English for General Communication Purposes. Advanced level” course is originally designed for the students of B2 CEFR level aspiring to excel their knowledge. Completing the course enables learners to boost their English language competences and skills up to the C1 level. Touching upon various life spheres from theatrical art to entrepreneurial success, the course builds up a student’s image as a thriving personality able to successfully communicate in diverse environments. Advanced vocabulary units and grammatical structures are acquired and applied throughout the course, which makes undergraduates feel comfortable in the multicultural atmosphere of the university. The use of assorted modes of working in the process of study contributes to the development of soft skills including time-management, teamwork, presentation skills and others. The course employs exclusively authentic materials such as articles, reviews, essays, podcasts and videos (e.g. TedTalks) as well as games and web-based platforms to build strong reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. The adaptability and saturation of the course provides each student with an opportunity to tailor the program to suit their individual interests and needs. By the end of the course you will have gained the skills and confidence to communicate effectively in English at C1 level (HSE Scale 70-79).
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The complex development of skills and competences for general communication of the C1 level (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), HSE Scale 70-79 points);
  • The improvement of students’ command of English for interpersonal and intercultural communication;
  • The enhancement of receptive and productive skills related to general purposes;
  • The expansion of vocabulary on a variety of topics;
  • The expansion of grammar structures in use.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • To develop understanding of articles, reports, straightforward and specialised texts concerned with contemporary problems at the threshold/vantage/effective operational proficiency level
  • To form understanding of text structure
  • To develop skills of using basic reading techniques skimming and scanning (predicting, understanding main ideas, understanding details)
  • To improve understanding of dialogues and polylogues on both familiar and unfamiliar topics
  • To develop understanding of lectures and learning context
  • To develop skills of using basic listening techniques (predicting, understanding main ideas and details)
  • To form skills of note-taking
  • To develop writing skills (email / summary / essay)
  • To participate in dialogues on general, academic and professional topics. (active listening, questioning, responding to questions, emphasizing, discussion strategies)
  • To produce monologues (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
  • To produce presentations (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Tourism and conservation
    Popular holiday destinations. Specialised types of tourism. Protecting the environment. Rules of behaviour at natural objects. The destruction of idyllic places. World environmental problems: causes and solutions. Grammar: Articles; Modal verbs. Vocabulary: Travel collocations; Multi-word verbs; The natural world. Word-formation: compound nouns (noun+noun); Multi-word verbs.
  • Fashion and consumerism
    Shopping. Global consumerism. Design classics. Catwalk controversies. Grammar: Future in the past, emphatic structures. Vocabulary: consumer collocations. Word-formation: compound adjectives formed with nouns, suffixes (nouns).
  • Education and employment
    Education system of Russia and other countries. Learning by rote. Ways of achieving success. Educational background of successful people. Job interviews. Standard format for CVs in Russia. Ways of looking for a job. Aspiration of young people today. Grammar: The continuous aspect; the perfect aspect. Vocabulary: Issues in education; Reporting what others say; Suffixes (adj); Abbreviations. Word-formation: Suffixes to form adjectives (-able, -ic(al), -ial, -ate, -ive, -ful, -ous).
  • International relations
    National traits and stereotypes. The way Russians see themselves. National values. International collaboration: emergencies, disasters, space programmes, scientific research. The role of international organisations in solving global problems. Characteristics of an ambassador. Global issues. Grammar: Subordinate clauses; Modal perfect. Vocabulary: Adjectives of character; Word sets; Abbreviations; International relations; global issues. Word-formation: adjectives with prepositions.
  • Health and care
    Health and fitness. Unhealthy habits of a nation. Spending on healthcare. The healthcare system in various countries. Working in healthcare. Most common and dangerous illnesses of the present. Grammar: Cohesion (linkers); Future forms with be. Vocabulary: Health collocations; Healthcare; The language of emotion. Word-formation: Linkers (as soon as, consequently, whereas, since, even though, although…yet, for this reason, etc.).
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Written assessment
    Written assessment includes: 1 reading test, 1 listening test, 5 vocabulary and grammar tests, 2 written works (email and summary). SUMMARY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA max 10 points TASK RESPONSE: 3 - All key points are mentioned; 2 - Most key points are mentioned and/or some crucial supporting information is omitted and/or the author’s ideas are partly reflected; 1- Very few key points are mentioned and/or little supporting information is provided and/or very few of the author’s ideas are mentioned, 0 - Only the topic is mentioned and/or no supporting information is provided and/or the author’s ideas are not reflected. VOCABULARY: 3 – Without mistakes; 2 - The original expressions are paraphrased. A wide range of vocabulary is used. 1-2 lexical mistakes are made; 1 - The original expressions are partly paraphrased and/or an adequate range of vocabulary is used and/or 3-4 lexical mistakes are made; 0 - The original expressions are copied and/or a limited range of vocabulary is used and/or more than 4 lexical mistakes are made. GRAMMAR: 3 – Without mistakes; 2 - A variety of complex grammar structures is used. No more than 1 punctuation and/or 1-2 grammar mistakes are made; 1 - An attempt to use complex grammar structures is made and/or 3-4 grammar mistakes are made; 0 - Elementary grammar structures are used and/or more than 4 grammar mistakes are made. STRUCTURE: 3 - The text is logically organized. A wide range of transitions is used appropriately; 2 - The text is mostly logically organized and/or an adequate range of transitions is used; 1 - The text may have serious breaches in logic and/or transitions may be over- or underused; 0 - There is no sequence of ideas and/or transitions are used inappropriately or not used at all.
  • non-blocking Oral assessment
    Oral assessment includes a monologue on a given topic, answers to 2-3 questions and a presentation. The elements of oral assessment cannot be retaken
  • non-blocking Independent work assessment
    Independent work includes activities that students do at home, activities that students do in the classroom and online work. The elements of independent work cannot be retaken.
  • non-blocking Final Assessment
    The final assessment is held within 10 days before the exam period. The final assessment includes one one listening test and one written work (summary). The assessment tasks can be of different types. The final written assessment is conducted in Zoom/MsTeams/other platform. Students connect to the videoconference 10 minutes before the exam begins; the teacher sends a task, creates separate sessions and assigns the participants of the meeting to these breakout rooms if necessary. During the exam, it is prohibited to: communicate (using social media, with people in the room), cheat, give the exam variant to others to have it done, listen to the audio file more than twice, pause the audio, use dictionaries, translators or other sources. During the exam, the student is allowed to: use blank sheets of paper for drafts, open the audios in other web-browsers or download the audio to the computer and open it there. A short-term communication failure during the Exam is considered to be a loss of a network connection for up to 5 minutes. A long-term communication failure during the Exam is the loss of a network connection for more than 5 minutes. It is not possible to complete the Exam in case of a long-term communication failure.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (2 module)
    0.3 * Final Assessment + 0.25 * Independent work assessment + 0.2 * Oral assessment + 0.25 * Written assessment
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • New language leader: advanced : coursebook, , 2015

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Berry, R. (2018). English Grammar : A Resource Book for Students (Vol. 2nd edition). [Place of publication not identified]: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1753147
  • Качалова, К.Н. Практическая грамматика английского языка с упражнениями и ключами : учебник / К. Н. Качалова, Е. Е. Израилевич. — Санкт-Петербург : КАРО, 2018. - 608 с. - ISBN 978-5-9925-0716-4. - Режим доступа: https://new.znanium.com/catalog/product/1047576