Module Information

Module Identifier
IC00710
Module Title
Listening and Speaking Skills for University (Route C)
Academic Year
2017/2018
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 2
Pre-Requisite
Completion of Block 1 modules or IELTS 5.0 or IELTS 6.0 depending on the Pathway being followed

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Oral presentation within a Seminar  Oral presentation within a Seminar – 10 minutes  50%
Semester Assessment Listening  Listening exam – 90 minutes  50%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

Answer general and detailed questions on an extended listening text (a talk/lecture) on a familiar topic with complex lines of argument (CEFR B2)

Understand short listening texts of standard spoken language on both familiar and unfamiliar topics normally encountered in personal, social, academic or vocational life (CEFR B2)

Understand standard spoken language, live or broadcast on both familiar and unfamiliar topics normally encountered in personal, social, academic or vocational life (CEFR B2)

Give a clear, prepared 5 minute presentation, giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view and giving advantages and disadvantages of various options (CEFR B2)

Take a series of follow up questions with a degree of fluency and spontaneity which poses no strain for either him/her or the audience (CEFR B2)

Brief description

Listening and Speaking for University – Academic Skills 2, is one of 3 core English language skill development modules that make up the 20 hours of study per week of the IFC Block 2 course. The fourth core Block 2 module is delivered by the subject specific academic department.
This module will develop, extend and consolidate the general & academic listening, speaking and study skills needed for successful study at AU.

Aims

1. To develop, extend and consolidate students’ general & academic listening skills for university
2. To develop, extend and consolidate students’ general & academic speaking skills for university
3. To give practice in the independent learner study skills required to function effectively in a higher education learning environment

Content

Due to the nature of each IFC cohort of students, the IFC course will need to be flexible and responsive to students’ needs. It is a student centred syllabus.

The outline below is indicative of the skills that this module will cover.

Key listening skills to be developed:
• Extensive and intensive listening
• Listening for gist, main points, specific details
• Following academic lectures
• Note taking techniques

Key Speaking skills to be developed:
• Speaking and discussion skills for different audiences
• Pronunciation and intonation
• Taking part in academic discussions
• Making academic presentations

Week 1,2,3,4 Course Introduction

Developing and improving listening skills for example - prediction skills, listening for gist, main ideas & points in a lecture, details and understanding connected speech, recognising sign posts, different forms of note taking, developing personal styles of note taking etc

Developing speaking fluency & competency - offering advice and suggestions, encouraging communication from others, shifting the topic, preparing and giving academic presentations, developing seminar skills, preparing notes for speaking, using sources in presentations, acknowledging sources etc

Week 5,6,7,8

Developing and improving listening skills for example - listening for discourse markers, understanding vocabulary in context, distinguishing cause and effect, problems and solutions, using prior knowledge to predict the content of the presentation/lecture, listening to interpret the speakers attitude & bias, listening for supporting statements and examples etc

Developing speaking fluency & competency – asking for clarification, agreeing and disagreeing, paraphrasing, managing questions, expressing agreement and disagreement with ideas, expressing interest in the ideas, challenging ideas, the validity of an idea etc

Week 9, 10,11,12

Developing and improving listening skills for example -listening for details, the order of events, the order in a process, how an argument is supported, understanding the speaker’s attitude, focusing on your purpose for listening, developing the above skills with more demanding texts etc

Developing speaking fluency & competency – being an effective public speaker, using and referring to visual aids, refuting an argument, debating an issue etc

Week 13 Revision and exam preparation

Module assessment

Week 14 Further teaching

Week 15 Module feedback + tutorial support

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number
Communication This module develops communication and literacy skills through weekly presentations and vocabulary extension activities
Improving own Learning and Performance This module incorporates targeted individual learning tutorials to encourage students to assess and analyze their own learning and performance.
Information Technology The multimedia language laboratory will develop students’ ability to use listening & pronunciation software to improve their language skills. It will provide an engaging and interactive learning environment. Students will also be encouraged to search the web for sources of information and use presentation software for the presentations.
Personal Development and Career planning
Problem solving Developing listening sub skills involves problem solving to find and record the key information required to comprehend texts
Research skills This module will involve students actively and independently researching topics for presentations
Subject Specific Skills Academic English study skills
Team work This module involves students working in pairs and teams to develop their listening and presentation skills

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 3