2023/2024

English for Specific Purposes. Urban Studies - 1

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Optional course

Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages

When: 1, 2 module

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Irina Pelevina

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 48

Course Syllabus

Abstract

«English for Specific Purposes. Urban Studies – 1» is designed for first-year undergraduates studying Urban Planning at National Research University «Higher School of Economics» to address their English language needs for study and future career. In compliance with "Concept of Development of English-language Communicative Competence of HSE Students" and "Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at National Research University Higher School of Economics, the course aims at developing English-language communicative, integrated, critical and creative thinking competences, which is consistent with multidisciplinary nature of urban studies, and required by multiple stakeholders. Specifically, the course is targeted at building core receptive and productive knowledge and skills belonging to the professional and academic domains at B2+/C1 level and mastering key professional and business terminology and functional grammar. Importantly, the course embraces authentic audio-visual and printed study materials on crucial city issues, while considering the city phenomenon from scientific, historic, societal, environmental, and spatial perspectives. To provide for more sophisticated cognitive environment, theoretical materials are complemented with city case studies, group problem-solving discussions, and designing project presentations. To facilitate knowledge acquisition, the course implies independent/ peer group work on the SMART LMS online platform. Apart from traditional and alternative forms of control, the course is supplemented with gamification online tools. Overall, «English for Specific Purposes. Urban Studies – 1» would contribute to first-year students’ academic success and research at HSE, while accommodating their professional needs and learning styles.

Learning Objectives

• The course focuses on developing essential analytical and language skills to deal with authentic reading/ listening/ writing and speaking assignments in English for urban studies, which are geared by contemporary urban professional and academic needs. While accommodating to different learning styles, the course fosters autonomous learning, team building and digital literary competences. To achieve these goals, students are expected to - foster awareness of key urban planning concepts issues, challenges, trends, cultural and ethical considerations in urban planning as well as develop academic competences; - to increase awareness of and apply appropriate reading; writing; listening; speaking strategies and professional and academic language command to extract and analyze necessary information and produce relevant oral and written responses, depending on the target audience/ interlocutor; purpose; topic and organization requirements; - reflect and enhance their style of autonomous learning, team building needs and digital literary competences.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• - students demonstrate their knowledge of different definitions of a city; ancient city life; socio-cultural, environmental, technological factors of urban planning
• - students apply key professional terminology, academic and business vocabulary and functional grammar pertaining to urban planning domain at B2+ level;
• - students read and comprehend English authentic print and audio texts (lectures, presentations, polylogues B2+) on urban planning issues for the main idea, text organization, and detailed information, applying predicting, skimming, scanning, note-taking and paraphrasing techniques;
• - students produce coherent and cohesive texts (e-mails, text-based summary; graph descriptions), applying paraphrasing, paragraphing; comparing and contrasting techniques;
• - students confidently participate in problem-solving discussions; deliver a project presentation based on their independent reading (formulating a thesis statement and supporting arguments)

Course Contents

• Sections for Urban Studies - 1 Unit 1
• Sections for Urban Studies - 1 Unit 2
• Sections for Urban Studies-1 Unit 3

Assessment Elements

• Independent work
  Independent work includes activities that students do at home, in the classroom and online. The principal focus is placed on the autonomous study of authentic printed (3) and audio-visual (3) materials while designing final project presentation. The elements of independent work cannot be retaken. Assessment criteria for independent work comply with the following Grading system: Percentage Grade 96-100% 10 91-95% 9 86-90% 8 78-85% 7 71-77% 6 61-70% 5 51-60% 4 36-50% 3 21-35% 2 1-20% 1 0% 0 A fully completed task means that an assigned task meets the deadline and all the requirements. 0% is given when the student does not attend the class or does not attempt the task in any way.
• Written assessment
  Written assessment includes: minimum 2 reading tests, minimum 2 listening tests, minimum 2 vocabulary and grammar tests, minimum 2 written works (summary +e-mail). Written assessment elements can be taken during the course of 10 days after they took place if a student has a medical certificate. The 10-day period starts from the last day of the medical leave. This, however, does not apply to oral assessment and individual work assessment (elements cannot be retaken).
• Final Assessment
  Period of Final Assessment: the final exam is held in class within 10 days before the exam period. The release of examination papers: during the session. The exam consists of 2 parts: Listening (50%) and Writing (50%) respectively in the total mark for the exam. 0 points in case of cheating. Retaking exams: till the 15th of February 2024. Time limit: 80 minutes. Structure: 1. Listening (L) Listen to the text and complete the tasks 1-10. (max. 10 points) 2. Writing (W) Write a summary of a text. (max. 10 points) Grading formula: R*0,5 + W*0,5 = 10
• Oral Assessment

Interim Assessment

• 2023/2024 2nd module
  Written assessment (WA): Письменная работа * 0.25 + Oral assessment (OA): Устный опрос * 0.2 + Student Independent Work Assessment (IWA): Самостоятельная работа * 0.25 + Final Assessment (FA): Контрольная работа * 0.3

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Academic Writing Skills 3, Student's Book, 140 p., Chin, P., Reid, S., Wray, S., Yamazaki, Y., 2014
• Business English handbook. Advanced, Emmerson, P., 2007
• Business grammar & practice, Duckworth, M., 2003
• Handbook of urban education, , 2014
• Key concepts in urban studies, Gottdiener, M., 2016
• Oxford grammar for EAP : english grammar and practice for academic purposes with answers, Paterson, K., 2013
• The new urban sociology, Gottdiener, M., 2019
• The Oxford dictionary of architecture, Curl, J. S., 2016

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• 50 steps to improving your academic writing : study book, Sowton, C., 2012
• Business vocabulary builder. The words & phrases you need to succeed. Intermediate to upper-inter..., Emmerson, P., 2009
• Study writing. A course in writing skills for academic purposes, Hamp-Lyons L., 2013
• Study writing. A course in writing skills for academic purposes, Hamp-Lyons, L., 2013

Authors

• PELEVINA IRINA ANATOLEVNA