VB001 Specialist English

Faculty of Informatics
Spring 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 1 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Lucie Procházková (lecturer)
Mgr. Eva Rudolfová (lecturer)
Mgr. Marcela Sekanina Vavřinová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Antonín Zita, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Ing. Lenka Matyášová (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Eva Rudolfová
Language Centre, Faculty of Informatics Division – Language Centre
Contact Person: Mgr. Eva Rudolfová
Supplier department: Language Centre, Faculty of Informatics Division – Language Centre
Prerequisites
Enrolment prerequisite for this exam is the completion of the VB035 and VB036 courses or the knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary, and phrases taught at these courses.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 17 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Students should be able to: understand specialized articles; use the language fluently; talk about a wide range of IT related topics; provide relevant explanations and arguments; give clear descriptions and presentations; answer questions and interact fluently and spontaneously.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to - communicate in English about their field of study; - write formal emails (requests, applications, complaints etc.); - understand spoken and written English on general and general academic level + their field of expertise; - present their ideas/ findings efficiently; - interact efficiently and politely with others - negotiate, debate, cooperate and solve problems constructively; - think critically and argue in an informed way; - plan and reflect, provide and receive feedback and act upon it.
Syllabus
  • Grammar, vocabulary and phrases at B2 level
  • English for Specific Purposes, English for Academic Purposes
  • Listening, reading, writing and speaking skills
Literature
    required literature
  • PRODROMOU, Luke. Grammar and vocabulary for Cambridge first : for students preparing for the Cambridge English First exam. Second edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2012, 319 stran. ISBN 9781447903055. info
    recommended literature
  • VERMAAT, Misty, Susan L. SEBOK, Steven M. FREUND, Jennifer T. CAMPBELL and Mark FRYDENBERG. Discovering computers 2016 : tools, apps, devices, and the impact of technology. [Boston]: Cengage Learning, 2016, 1 svazek. ISBN 9781305391857. info
  • MURPHY, Raymond. English grammar in use : a self-study reference and practice book for intermediate learners of English : with answers. Fourth edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, x, 380. ISBN 9780521189064. info
    not specified
  • FITZGERALD, Patrick, Marie MCCULLAGH and Carol TABOR. English for ICT studies : in higher education studies : teacher's book. Reading: Garnet Publishing, 2011, 276 stran. ISBN 9781859645208. info
  • MANN, Malcolm and Steve TAYLORE-KNOWLES. Destination B2 : grammar and vocabulary with answer key. 1st publ. Oxford: Macmillan, 2006, 254 s. ISBN 9780230035386. info
Teaching methods
A written test and an oral examination.
Assessment methods
The examination consists of two parts: a written test and an oral examination. In order to be able to sit for the oral part of the exam, students need to reach a minimum score of 60% in the test.
The written test as part of a standardized exam is based on upper-intermediate grammar and IT field relevant vocabulary. It consists of listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary, and writing sections. Students can be exempt from most of the written part of the exam (but they still have to take the email writing part and the oral part) if they have the following certificates (not older than four years): Cambridge English: First (previously FCE), Advanced (previously CAE), Proficiency (previously CPE); IELTS band score 5.5/6.5 or higher; TOEFL iBT Total score 87 or higher. Secondary school exams (i.e. maturita) are not accepted. Students must submit their certificate (original plus a copy) in person to CJV FI head (in their office hours) one month prior to the start of the exam period in which they wish to take VB001.
The oral examination has two parts: a presentation on an IT-related topic delivered in front of an audience and a discussion based on one of the presentations. To facilitate the discussion, students need to prepare a handout to complement their presentations. The following criteria are taken into consideration for the presentation part, so students are strongly advised to bear those in mind while presenting: good content, clear structure, good conclusion, usage of signposting, correct usage of English (self-correction is possible and welcomed), relevant range of vocabulary and correct pronunciation (avoiding irritating mistakes), stress and intonation, quality and language of visuals and references (excluding wikipedia), eye contact with the audience and proper body language, good timing, handling the Q&A session and overall impression (fun, passion, expertise, effort..., fluency, dress code). For the discussion, students are expected to bring a good-quality handout (FI unified style, goal of presentation, bullet points, question for discussion) and be active within the discussion. This includes turn-taking, negotiating, agreeing and disagreeing using relevant and appropriate language. The whole group is also rewarded a point if they reach a conclusion.
The level of the exam is B2 of the Common European Framework (Upper Intermediate).
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught each semester.
The course is taught: every week.
Information on course enrolment limitations: zápis studentů v alespoň 4. semestru studia je možný bez prerekvizit
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2002, Spring 2003, Autumn 2003, Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Autumn 2005, Spring 2006, Autumn 2006, Spring 2007, Autumn 2007, Spring 2008, Autumn 2008, Spring 2009, Autumn 2009, Spring 2010, Autumn 2010, Spring 2011, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Autumn 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2013, Spring 2014, Autumn 2014, Spring 2015, Autumn 2015, Spring 2016, Autumn 2016, Spring 2017, Autumn 2017, Spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Spring 2020, Autumn 2020, Spring 2021, Autumn 2021, Spring 2022, Autumn 2022, Spring 2023, Autumn 2023, Spring 2024, Autumn 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2019, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fi/spring2019/VB001