English as a foreign language

compulsory

Latvian

1st cycle

The objective of the course is the study of English as a second language. Students develop their language skills at an advanced level. At the end of the course students reach a fluency level of at least B2+ .

Year 2

The course consists of 4 hours a week. This course develops and consolidates students’ knowledge of English, with emphasis on all language skills: reading and listening comprehension; speaking and writing. It also includes systematic study of grammar and vocabulary.

During the course students:

- develop all language skills at an advanced level;

- do exercises similar to CAE tasks;

- study vocabulary with emphasis on idioms and collocations

- read and analyse original English texts, available on the Internet, in newspapers and books;

- listen to original radio programmes;

- practise speaking skills by responding to questions, discussions in pairs and in larger groups;

- write compositions, with the required length of 250 words. The tasks include articles, essays, and proposals.

- systematically expand and consolidate their knowledge of grammar and their lexical resources.

The main objective of this course is to develop students' mastery of English to the advanced level, comparable to the standard of Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE). This course is the first part of a two-year course.

During this course students acquire the following general skills:

- second language mastery

- ability to work in an international environment

- appreciating cultural diversity

More specifically, students:

- can understand the general meaning of more complex texts, scan texts for relevant information and grasp main topic of text.

- can comprehend most kinds of spoken text, and pick up nuances of meaning.

- can express opinions, support them with arguments, and can keep up conversations for an extended period of time and discuss abstract/cultural topics with a good degree of fluency and range of expression.

- can write most types of written text (s)he is likely to be asked to do.

Course book:

Wilson, JJ, Clare, A. 2012. New Total English Advanced. Pearson

Additional printed materials:

Vince, M. 2004. Advanced Language Practice. Longman.

Additional audio materials:

1 BBC Radio 4 podcasts

Students can understand the main ideas of written texts, including texts on contemporary and abstract topics.

Students can understand discussion and other spoken texts, including texts on abstract topics.

Students are able to communicate fluently and spontaneously using a style appropriate for the situational context, including communication with native speakers of English.

Students can write clear, concise texts that are grammatically correct, using appropriate style for the situational context.

Students have mastered correct pronunciation and intonation of English.

Students have gained basic cultural knowledge of the English-speaking countries.

To complete the course students have to:

- write a series of tests and get at least 60 % of the points;

- deliver a required number of listening reports based on radio podcasts;

- give a required number of oral presentations in class

- write essays

- max. 2 absences allowed per semester.

The final grade is based on the result of the final examination.