Unit information: Czech for General Purposes Level 1 Grade 1 (ab initio) in 2016/17

Unit name	Czech for General Purposes Level 1 Grade 1 (ab initio)
Unit code	LANG10013
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Ms. Nahodilova
Open unit status	Open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Russian
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The unit provides an introduction to Czech language.

The unit aims:

• To provide students with a solid foundation of the essential structures of the target language thus enabling them to communicate effectively across the four key language skills at an elementary level on a variety of general topics.
• To enable participants to give and understand information and to achieve a confident elementary level of communicative competence in everyday situations.
• To introduce students to the customs, culture and society of the regions/countries in which the languages are spoken and to develop student awareness of the general social and cultural background of the language.
• To enable students to apply their developing language skills into areas related to their field of study.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will:

1. be able to communicate orally and in writing with a reasonable degree of accuracy and fluency.
2. be able to work at a basic level with authentic material and retrieve necessary information.
3. have acquired knowledge and awareness of the general social and cultural background of the target language
4. be able to understand and interpret written texts at a basic level
5. be able to respond to written texts at a basic level

Overall, students will attain a level comparable to A1/ A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Teaching Information

The communicative approach will be used; learners will be involved in a variety of interactive and stimulating activities with maximum use of the target language. This will be supported by e-learning opportunities; a Blackboard site, wikis, blogs and use of self-study facilities.

3 contact hours per week (Students must remain in the same group with the same tutor for all 3 hours)

Assessment Information

The four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are assigned equal weighting for the purposes of assessment (25% each).

For reading and writing there is a formal examination in the summer examination period, which comprises 25% (reading) 25% (Writing) of the total mark. This assesses ILOs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Listening is assessed by continuous assessment, consisting of listening assignments and class tests, which comprise 25% of the total mark. Both assess ILOs 1 and 2.

Speaking is tested by continuous assessment, consisting of marked coursework (oral presentation) and an oral test. Both assess ILOs 1, 2 and 3.

Reading and References

The unit is based on a handbook developed by the unit coordinator, which will be made available on Blackboard and in hard copy.