| Unit name | Language and Communication Studies |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LANG00017 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | QCA-3 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Ms. Vanttinen-Newton |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
IELTS overall 7.0, minimum; minimum 5.5 in Speaking, Listening and Reading components, minimum 6.0 in Writing component or equivalent. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
Accelerated Academic Language and Literacy LANG00023 |
| Units you may not take alongside this one | |
| School/department | Centre for Academic Language and Development |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Language and Communication Studies will introduce you to different communication and discourse models and help you to understand the role and importance of language in communicating meaning. On your undergraduate degree you will encounter different types of communication and discourse which you will need to understand and apply to your own learning. Language and Communication Studies will help you to critically analyse a range of communication and discourse models and theories which you can apply to your subject discipline on your degree pathway. This unit will also provide you with valuable text analysis tools to explore how meaning is made in different types of discourse.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
Language and Communication Studies complements the unit Accelerated Academic Language and Literacy (LANG00023) and the purpose of these two units is to provide the foundations of academic language and literacy skills needed for undergraduate study. Learning on these two units will be applied across your IFP subject units helping you to develop essay and report writing, presentation and seminar skills, and listening and reading strategies.
An overview of content
This unit provides an introduction to key areas of language and communication combined with some key related frameworks of analysis. Topics range from language in text and in context, to communication in art, film, and other media. Communication is viewed broadly, including the more concrete mechanics of linguistic and visual communication as well as more abstract approaches to meaning. This implicates areas such as rhetoric, discourse analysis, semiotic theory, and related concepts of narrative and myth. These are examined within a variety of domains, such as gender, ethnicity, and politics, across a range of mediated contexts. The overall aim is to develop foundation analytical and critical skills through a focus on expression, signification and representation.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will be introduced to seminal communicative and linguistic theories and models across the course and use these as lenses to analyse language and meaning communication in different types of discourse. You will unpack and critically analyse reading and listening texts and by the end of the course will be able to transfer this analytic toolkit to your future discipline. You will leave the course with the skills and tools necessary to unpack, understand and respond to a variety of texts, and you will be able to critically evaluate your learning on the course.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Learning is facilitated in weekly small group sessions with both individual and group-based work. In addition to a range of authentic texts, appropriate e-learning technologies will be used for self-study and self-assessment as well as work in class.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
When assessment does not go to plan
Any student registered on the International Foundation Programme will be offered a conditional place on an undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol. Students must meet the entry requirements to be admitted onto an undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol. Different degree programmes may have different entry requirements. The IFP Board will review the mark profiles of all students who are close to attaining the entry requirements but are outside the previously agreed near miss criteria and may agree to admit them to a degree programme. If not admitted, students may be offered a further opportunity (i.e. two attempts in total) to meet the entry requirements for their intended degree programme at the University of Bristol by re-taking a relevant assessment. Marks are not capped for this purpose. If a student is absent or their performance in assessment is significantly affected due to exceptional circumstances, they may re-take the relevant assessment at the next appropriate time, without penalty.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LANG00017).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
