The course aims at level B1+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in the following skills:
Written and oral comprehension
Understanding documents related to one's field of interest and discipline if the language is clearly articulated: identifying the structure of a document, distinguishing main ideas from details, understanding simple technical information, and inferring the meaning of a word from its context.
Oral production (alone and in interaction)
Producing simple and coherent speech (with or without preparation) on familiar topics and in one's areas of interest: telling about an event while providing the necessary details for understanding, describing feelings and reactions, explaining a problem and presenting solutions, developing an argument/explanation that is sufficiently clear and easily understood most of the time, and verifying comprehension by asking questions.
Written production
Writing simple texts on a range of topics in one's field by linking a series of discrete elements into a linear sequence: summarizing experiences by describing feelings and reactions, adopting a simple formal style, presenting the main ideas of a document clearly and coherently, and taking notes during a simple presentation, provided the topic is familiar, the language is direct, and the diction is clear in everyday language.
The foreign language skills reference frameworks for secondary education indicate the English language proficiency level between B1- and B1+ (depending on the first or second foreign language). The priority of Bloc 1 is to confirm each student's B1+ level at the end of Bloc 1 in the selected skills for the Bachelor's degree exit profile: written, oral, and audio-visual comprehension; written and oral production.
This course also serves as an introduction to formal and scientific English. By the end of the year, students should be able to:
The course is taught throughout the year (1st term and 2nd term) and is divided into 4 modules:
See course programme on WebCampus.
Exercises and tools are available on the Webcampus platform.
The first thing to do is to take a mandatory diagnostic test (link on WebCampus) at the beginning of the academic year, in order to identify your strengths and weaknesses. If this test is not completed within the time limit, your course grade will not be validated (maximum grade of 7/20).
If you are a beginner or have been diagnosed as an A1 learner, you will have the opportunity to take a Beginner’s course (in addition to the SELVB103 course) during the first term. Although there is no exam for the Beginner’s course, it is strongly recommended that students who have never studied English (or very little) participate actively in all sessions. For more information, visit the 'ENSTARTER' WebCampus page of the Beginner’s course or get in touch with Hélène Bouchat (helene.bouchat@unamur.be), head teacher of the course.
The final grade for the course is calculated as follows:
A. Continuous assessment (40%): at the end of each module, students must submit a final task (5%) and take a grammar/vocabulary test (5%) on the material of the module.
B. June exam (60%)
- Oral exam (20%): informal conversation with the teacher and/or other students about the topics of the different modules.
- Listening comprehension (10%): audio(visual) document on a topic related to the course.
- Written assessment of language skills (10%): assessment designed to confirm mastery of the language skills covered in the four modules (grammar and vocabulary).
- Writing (20%): correction/improvement or writing of an email and a summary of a scientific article.
C. August session exam (100%)
The final tasks (at the end of each module) must comply with the instructions provided in class. Failure to comply with these instructions will result in a failure.
According to Article 79 §1 of the « Décret Paysage », all learning activities that took place during Q1 must be assessed. The grade given in January will reflect the student's progress in modules 1 and 2. Therefore, there will be no exam in the January session.
Note: The final grade for the course will only be validated if the following conditions are met.
For the following exam session (August), if the final grade (in June) is lower than 10/20, each student will retake the parts for which they did not score 10/20. There will be no partial grade transfer from one academic year to another.
Important note: successful completion of this course is non-certifying, i.e. it does not certify that the student has reached level B1+ of the European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor in Geography : General | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Bachelor in Geology | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Bachelor in Geology | Standard | 1 | 3 | |
| Bachelor in Geography : General | Standard | 1 | 3 |