Foundation Course
General English
Foundation programs are designed for those students who need skills at a bachelor degree level. The courses (in some schools and colleges they are also called modules or subjects) in such programs are designed to meet students' practical communicative needs in an academic environment. Most students need basic English skills; they also need to learn basic English words. They need to acquire basic English vocabulary, basic English grammar and pronunciation skills. For most students learning English is their first life experience. They also need to learn how to study. Most of them do not know how to learn English independently as they had never learnt any foreign language in the past. The most important and the most challenging course in a foundation program is General English Skills.
FOUNDATION 1 (Semester 1)
Module Title: General English Skills
Module Code: F1-GES
Credit Points: 25
Prerequisites:
(1) High School Certificate.
(2) Placement Test: 30 points or higher.
Aims The module aims to enable students to (1) acquire English skills that are needed in their academic environment; (2) improve fluency in speaking; (3) familiarize with the use of everyday vocabulary; (4) acquire basic listening comprehension skills; (5) provide an opportunity to learn about cultural norms through interaction with peers in pair and group work.
Content
Unit 1. Listening and Speaking
Stress; intonation; international phonetic transcription; silent letters; vowel sounds; diphthongs; minimal pairs. Asking for directions, clarification, expressing apology, agreement and disagreement; describing people, objects and places; giving short presentations; gist listening; comprehensive listening. Face-to-face communication and discussions in small groups; debating on various issues; presentations of opinions / ideas in front of class.
Unit 2. Lexicology
Words and their meanings. Comprehension of contextual meanings of words. Compound words; borrowings; acronyms and abbreviations. Synonyms and antonyms; homonyms - homophones and homographs. Derivations; phrasal verbs; idioms; collocations.
Unit 3. Grammar and Correct Writing
Parts of speech. Nouns; singular and plural; types of nouns. Verbs; tenses; regular and irregular verbs; sequence of tenses. Adjectives and adverbs - comparative and superlative forms. Prepositions; types of prepositions. Pronouns; types of pronouns. Conjunctions. Articles and particles. Parts of a sentence; subject, predicate and object; word order in a sentence. Types of sentences. Punctuation; linking words; parts of the paragraph; paragraph development and topic sentence; supporting sentences, concluding sentence; crossing out irrelevant sentences; rearranging sentences. Style and logic. Logical and illogical statements.
Unit 4. Comprehension of Texts
Types and structures of texts. Identifying key paragraphs of a text. Evaluation of a text. Understanding the idea of the author. Pragmatics of text. Paraphrasing the text without changing its basic meaning. Writing a summary of a text.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course the students will be able to
(1) demonstrate knowledge of sounds, stress and intonation by responding to questions, statements and disagreements;
(2) deliver short presentations on various everyday topics;
(3) participate in face-to-face discussions;
(4) acquire basic correct writing skills;
(5) demonstrate ability to use intensive reading strategies.
Module Delivery
In-class lectures, student presentations, group discussions and group work.
Teaching Tools and Learning Resources
Handbook compiled by tutors; textbook with audio cassettes provided by the college; handouts; easy reading abridged books; magazines, journals and/or newspapers; online materials.
Recommended Learning Materials
Textbook: Cunningham S. and Moor P. (2005) Cutting Edge. Students’ Book, Intermediate. Longman, 15th Ed.
Workbook: Carr J.C. and Eales F. (2004) Cutting Edge. Workbook. Longman, 7th Ed.
Textbook: Cunning S. and Moor P. (2005) Cutting Edge. Students’ Book, pre-intermediate. Longman, 12th Ed.
Workbook: Moor P. and Cunningham S. (2005) Cutting Edge. Workbook, pre-intermediate. Longman, 10th Ed.
Assessment
The module is evaluated for a total of 100 marks of which 70 marks will be based on continuous assessment and mid-term examination and 30 marks will be based on the end-semester examination:
Test 1 - 10 marks
Test 2 - 10 marks
Mid-term examination - 30 marks
Oral communication - 10 marks
Attendance and participation - 10 marks
Final examination - 30 marks
Regulations and Requirements
Each student must fulfill the following requirements of the General English Skills course.
(1) Actively participate in discussions on various topics by asking questions and giving short two-minute presentations or comments, whenever required by the tutor.
(2) Take lecture notes, study the handouts provided by the lecturer, textbooks and the Internet materials regularly. Use the learning tools and materials which are provided in the websites and/or as recommended by the tutor.
(3) The course General English Skills consists of lectures (2 hours per week, in a large lecture theatre of approximately 250 students) and small group tutorials (6 hours per week in small classrooms). Students are required to take notes during the lectures and discuss the topics of lectures during the tutorials. The aim of the lectures is to develop students’ active listening and note-taking skills. The aim of the tutorials is to help students to develop their fluency in speaking, critical thinking skills and to provide with the basic writing skills. The topics of the lectures are related to the most difficult English language learning issues such as correct writing / grammar and language study skills.
(4) Each student must spend approximately 18 hours per week for self-study. Self-study includes preparation for discussions, collecting and selecting materials for the chosen essay topic, formulating questions, preparing to discuss various topics. Self-study also includes all assignments given by tutors and lecturers.
(5) Attend all classes regularly. If a student misses more than two classes without a clear reason she/he will not be allowed to continue the course without a special permission from the tutor.
(6) Prepare and give oral presentations and participate actively in class discussions.
(7) Attend all examinations and tutorials. Cheating at examinations is not tolerated and students who are caught during examination will automatically fail.
(8) Students are not allowed to walk or chat loudly with each other during the lesson without a teacher’s permission. If a student ignores the teacher’s remarks, uses offensive words or offensive body language, leaves the classroom early and without the teacher’s permission, is late for classes or insults other students and the teacher, behaves in an arrogant manner or in any other inappropriate way, the student will be severely punished including expulsion from the College. Expulsion implies that the student should not consider the College for further education.
(9) Students are expected to comply with the college-wide requirements for academic integrity. The College is committed to academic integrity—the honest, fair, and continuing pursuit of knowledge, free from fraud or deception. This implies that students are expected to be responsible for their own work. Presenting another individual’s work as one’s own and receiving excessive help from another individual will qualify as a violation of academic integrity. Plagiarism is cheating. In this course, using another person’s words or ideas as your own without giving credit, producing a memorized piece (either your own or someone else’s), or having someone do any portion of your work is cheating. Every student is expected to complete his/her own, original work by using his/her own words.
(10) The Course Outline is the main document of the course and the topics which are written in the Course Outline must be discussed in class every week. The duty of each student is to conduct Internet and library research, study the handouts and prepare for class discussions. The Course Outline is handed in to each student during the first week of the semester.
(11) Any additional questions or suggestions related to the above can be answered or discussed personally by your tutor during the tutorial, after the tutorial or by email. Each student who approaches the teacher by email must write his/her student ID number, name, course title and the class/section number. Anonymous emails will not be replied.
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