Course syllabus autumn 2016
Course syllabus autumn 2016
Title
English I
Swedish title
English I
Course code
EN101A
Credits
30 credits
Grading scale
UA / Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Faculty of Culture and Society
Syllabus approval date
2015-06-10
Syllabus valid from
2016-08-29
Entry requirements
General entry requirements + English B.
Merit rating is calculated based on Swedish upper secondary grades achieved, according to specific entry requirement 6/A6.
Level
Basic level
Main field
English
Progression level
G1N
Progression level in relation to degree requirements
The course constitutes the level 1-30 within the main subject of English.
Course contents
English I consists of four 7.5 credit modules:
Reading and Responding (7.5 credits)
Academic Writing and Rhetoric (7.5 credits)
Introduction to English Grammar (7.5 credicts)
Phonetics (7.5 credits)
Reading and Responding is an introduction to the analysis of literature in English, literature both canonical and contemporary.
Academic Writing and Rhetoric focuses on the formal aspects of written production through the general practices of both social science and humanities essays.
Introduction to English Grammar deals with the formal and functional aspects of grammatical structures in English and the analytical tools for describing these. In particular, the course focuses on the grammar of standard academic English.
Phonetics is an introduction to phonetics and phonology, applied especially to English but with application to any language, producing not only increased awareness of the sound of various accents, but also introducing students to the seminal importance of the notion of difference in the study of language.
Learning outcomes
Reading and Responding
Knowledge and understanding After finishing the module, the student:
1. recognises and understands conventional terminology employed in the analysis of literature in English, and
2. has some understanding of literary genre and history.
Skills and ability
After finishing the module, the student:
3. can employ conventional terminology in the analysis of literature in English
4. demonstrates ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadline
Critical skills and approach
After finishing the module, the student:
5. is critically aware of his or her own cultural standpoint in literary analysis.
Academic Writing and Rhetoric
After finishing the module, the student:
- understands the basic elements of rhetoric, including the interaction of purpose, writer, audience, content, form, and meaning
- understands writing as a process that includes prewriting, drafting, writing, rewriting, peer review, and editing
- can use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communication
- can control such features as grammar, punctuation, and spelling
- can write a well-crafted paper
- can evaluate learner texts or other texts on different levels in terms of basic rhetorical elements
- can demonstrate the ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadlines.
Introduction to English Grammar
After finishing the module, the student:
Knowledge and understanding
- knows and understands the terminology of grammatical analysis with regard to both form and function
Skills and ability
After finishing the module, the student:
- can analyze English sentences in terms of grammatical form and function
- can write standard academic English at a level of grammatical correctness that reflects the analytical skills gained in the course
- can work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadlines
Critical skills and approach
After finishing the module, the student:
- can critically evaluate their own production with regard to appropriateness of register
- can take responsibility for their own learning by utilizing available support in the practicing and acquisition of analysis skills and proficiency
Phonetics
After finishing the module, the student:
Knowledge and understanding
- understands the basic principles of phonetics and phonology, in general but also in particular in relation to English;
- will be able to recognize and use standard descriptive terminology for phonetics and English phonology;
- will be able to identify and describe some non-standard varieties of spoken English;
- will understand and be able to use the standard terminology employed to describe metre and other sound patterning in English poetry (rhyme, assonance etc), and
- knows the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Skills and ability
After finishing the module, the student:
- can analyse the structure of English phonology;
- can speak English in an accent that is understood by a majority of English speakers in Europe, and
- demonstrates ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadlines.
Critical skills and approach
After finishing the module, the student:
- is able to reflect critically on the role of English pronunciation in contemporary society from perspectives of gender, class, education, group membership etc;
- can think critically about the way any accent of English - including his or her own - facilitates or impedes communication, and inevitably arouses prejudice either positive or negative, and
- understands the notion of significant difference, central to any understanding of phonology, and central too to any understanding of the notion of shared culture. Understands too that what is “natural” in the production of one language may not be in another.
Learning activities
Learning activities are lectures, seminars, peer reviews and self-study. The lectures introduce the topics of the course and lay a foundation for the self-study of the literature and for the work with exercises. The seminars focus on the exercises and provide feedback on the students' understanding of the issues at hand. In the peer reviews the students learn to evaluate other students’ production.
Assessment
Reading and Responding is examined by a written exam (5 credits) and a portfolio (2.5 credits). The portfolio assesses learning outcomes 3 and 4. The exam assesses learning outcomes 1-5.
Academic Writing and Rhetoric is examined by two graded written assignments, and a pass/fail-graded portfolio.
Introduction to English Grammar is examined by two graded exams: one mid-term exam (3 credits) and one final exam. The final exam contains two separately graded parts (3.5 credits and 1 credit respectively).
Phonetics is examined by an exam (5 credits) and a paper (2.5 credits) defended in an oral examination.
Students who do not pass the regular course exams have the minimum of two re-sit opportunities. Re-sits follow the same form as the original exams,apart from re-sits for group work, which take the form of individual written and oral assignments.
Course literature and other study material
Reading and Responding (7.5 credits)
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart: Authoritative Text, Contexts and Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009.
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre: Authoritative Text, Contexts and Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2001.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006.
Milton, John, Paradise Lost. Available at http:www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/text.shtml
Peck, John, and Martin Coyle. A Brief History of English Literature. 2 Rev. ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2013.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Further material will be supplied online via It's Learning.
Please note that these editions have been chosen because they contain scholarly material that we will use in the course. The first text on the course is Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and you should have read it by the time the course starts.
Academic Writing and Rhetoric (7.5 credits)
Details concerning the course literature (digital platform and E-book )will be given at the introductory meeting.
Additional photocopied material or electronic publications may be introduced by the teacher but no more than 100 pages.
Introduction to Grammar (7.5 credicts)
Hopper, P., & Hudson J. (In preparation.) English Grammar Will be published on the homepage for the course.
Additional material in the form of articles and other short texts can be included.
Recommended supplementary literature:
Crystal, D. 2004. Rediscover Grammar. 3rd edition. Harlow: Pearson Education. ISBN 0582848628
Phonetics (7.5 credits)
Beverley S. Collins and Inger M. Mees: Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students (Routledge English Language Introductions) Paperback – 28 Jan 2013. Paperback: 352 pages. Publisher: Routledge; 3 edition (28 Jan. 2013) ISBN-10: 0415506492 ISBN-13: 978-0415506496
Course evaluation
All students are offered an opportunity to give oral and written feedback at the end of the course. A summary of the results will be made available in the school's web-pages.
Student participation takes place through the course council.