English I

Course Code: EN101A

Institution:

School of Arts and Communication

Revision:

2

For students admitted fall 2013   spring 2013  

Other set versions

Approval

The course was established 09 February 2012.
This course syllabus (version 2) was approved 07 December 2012 by the Board of Studies at Faculty of Culture and Society (k3).
The syllabus is valid from 21 January 2013. Replacement for course syllabus ratified 24 February 2012.

Education level

First cycle

Course description

Advancement in relation to the degree requirements

The course constitutes the level 1-30 within the main subject of English.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements + English B.

Learning outcomes

__Reading and Responding__
Knowledge and understanding
After finishing the module, the student:

• has knowledge of some of the major literary genres;
• has a basic understanding of literary form, and
• knows terminology employed in the analysis of literature, in fictional prose and other genres.

Skills and ability
After finishing the module, the student:

• can perform basic analyses of fictional prose and other genres, both orally and in writing;
• is able to read literary texts closely with a particular attention to thematic questions;
• can assess others’ analyses of fictional prose and other genres, and
• demonstrates ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadlines.

Critical skills and approach
After finishing the module, the student:

• demonstrates awareness of basic critical methodology in the analysis of literature in English, and
• 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 and give a well-crafted oral presentation in an accent that can be understood by the majority of English speakers;
• can evaluate learner texts or other texts on different levels in terms of basic rhetorical elements, and
• can demonstrate the ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads and meet deadlines.

__Introduction to English Grammar__
Knowledge and understanding
After finishing the module, the student:

• knows the terminology of grammatical analysis;
• has some understanding of the relationship between syntax and the other linguistic disciplines, semantics and pragmatics, and
• understands that producing language is always a matter of selecting from a number of options.

Skills and ability
After finishing the module, the student:

• can perform basic grammatical analysis of English sentences;
• can proofread English texts for “correctness”;
• can discern and describe some syntactic features of various registers and media, and
• demonstrates ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadlines.

Critical skills and approach
After finishing the module, the student:

• has some sense of why some language is considered “correct”, and is bestowed with prestige, sometimes fairly arbitrarily.

__Phonetics__
Knowledge and understanding
After finishing the module, the student:

• 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.

Assessments

Reading and Responding is examined by two exams and a portfolio. Students must receive a passing grade in all examination elements to pass the course.

Academic Writing and Rhetoric is examined by two graded written assignments, an oral presentation (done in groups), and a portfolio containing ungraded assignments.

Introduction to English Grammar is examined by one graded paper, one graded exam, and a portfolio of peer-graded grammar exercises.

Phonetics is examined by an exam and a presentation/paper done in pairs.


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 content

English I consists of four 7.5 credit modules:

1. Reading and Responding (7.5 credits)
2. Academic Writing and Rhetoric (7.5 credits)
3. Introduction to English Grammar (7.5 credicts)
4. Phonetics (7.5 credits)

Reading and Responding is an introduction to the analysis of literature in English, literature both canonical and contemporary, but with clear focus on questions of migration, ethnic relations and gender.

Academic Writing and Rhetoric focuses on the formal aspects of written and oral production: the general practices of both social science and humanities essays, and practical skills for giving oral presentations.

Introduction to English Grammar is an introduction to language study in general and the study of English grammar in particular. The course focuses on formal and functional aspects of English grammar and the analytical tools for describing these.

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 activities

Learning activities are lectures, seminars, self-study, peer review work and oral presentations.


Grading system

A,B,C,D,E,U.


Reading list and other media

__Reading and Responding (7.5 credits)__
Coetzee, J. M. Disgrace. London: Vintage, 2000. ISBN: 0099284820

Montgomery, Martin, et al . Ways of Reading. Routledge; 3 edition (24 Nov 2006)
# ISBN-10: 9780415346344
# ISBN-13: 978-0415346344

Oates, Joyce Carol (ed.): The Oxford Book of American Short Stories. Oxford University Press ISBN10: 0195092627

Further material, in the form of out-of-copyright poetry, will be supplied online via It's Learning.

__Academic Writing and Rhetoric (7.5 credits)__
The online resource MyCompLab. Further details about how to purchase MyCompLab will be provided upon admission to the course.

Additional photocopied material or electronic publications may be introduced by the teacher but no more than 50 pages.

__Introduction to Grammar (7.5 credicts)__
Hopper, P., & Hudson J. (In preparation.) English Grammar Will be published on the homepage for the course.

Trask, R. L. 1999. Language: The Basics. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415340195

Recommended supplementary literature:
Crystal, D. 2004. Rediscover Grammar. 3rd edition. Harlow: Pearson Education. ISBN 0582848628

__Phonetics (7.5 credits)__
Rogerson-Revell, Pamela. English Phonology and Pronunciation Teaching. Continuum, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8264-2403-7



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.