Unit information: Foreign Language Skills for Postgraduate Students (Advanced) in 2020/21

Unit name	Foreign Language Skills for Postgraduate Students (Advanced)
Unit code	MODLM0031
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Foster
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Modern Languages
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will provide students with the opportunity to study a foreign language, at an appropriate level, in the context of their Master’s programme. Students who choose this unit option will take a language unit from a degree programme in the School of Modern Languages, appropriate to their language level at point of entry (benchmarked against the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – CEFR). The School of Modern Languages’ portfolio includes French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech and Portuguese.

This unit will be open to students wishing to develop their language skills as part of their postgraduate training; it will therefore not be possible for students to take this unit in their mother tongue.

The unit will include:

• General communication skills
• Academic listening and note-taking skills
• Academic and sub-technical language
• Academic reading and writing skills
• Subject specific language
• Oral presentation skills
• Cultural and social aspects of the language
• E-learning opportunities

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will:

a) improve their language skills, relative to their entry point, and be able to communicate orally and in writing with a reasonable degree of accuracy and fluency.

b) be able to work at appropriate level with material in the target language and retrieve necessary information.

c) have acquired knowledge and awareness of the general social and cultural background of the target language.

d) be able to understand and interpret written texts at an appropriate level.

e) be able to respond to written texts at an appropriate level.

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered online through a combination of synchronous sessions and asynchronous activities, including seminars, lectures, and collaborative as well as self-directed learning opportunities supported by tutor consultation.

Assessment Information

• Timed online examination which includes Reading, Writing and Listening – 75% - assesses ILOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• In-class presentation / speaking exercise to assess oral – 25% - assesses ILOs 1, 2 and 3

Reading and References

Reading lists are specific to the language and level, and will be provided by the unit coordinator.