Study Guide

Location and time

See the time-table in Finnish.

Materials

Moodle materials. Student generated learning materials. External online materials.

Teaching methods

Methods: Virtual and digital teaching methods. Activating lectures and exercises in Zoom online learning environment Six workshops. incl. info. Learning assignments (three (3) assignments)
and task feedback discussions..
Themes
1. Initial and final self-evaluations (evaluation of own competence, evaluation of the development of own competence)
2. Digital tools for the development of the English language and the needs of working life. (task 1)
3. Academic skills: reading a scientific article using the eye technique, making a scientific poster in English (abstract). (task 2)
4. Written and oral communication in working life: (e.g. presentation skills, meeting practices and documents in English, presentation of own work, job interview, cv, email, refence letters, etc. ...) (task 3)
The work life communication task topics are chosen according to the wishes and needs of the group.
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Employer connections

Working life based themes and learning assignments.

Exam schedules

There is no exam in the study unit. Competence is demonstrated through learning tasks and in the feedback discussions,

International connections

The study unit aims to foster the student's international competence in terms of academic and practical themes in their own professional field.

Completion alternatives

In addition to the info session, the study unit has 5 workshops in the Zoom environment. During the workshops, the student gets to know the theoretical knowledge and vocabulary related to the themes. In addition she/he practices oral and written English communication related to the themes. The student demonstrates his/her competence with the help of learning tasks related to the themes and in the feedback discussions.

You can complete the course also independently. In the independent completion option, the student familiarizes himself with the materials and recordings of the study unit independently in his own time, demonstrates competence by means of the required tasks and by participating in the feedback discussions.

Content scheduling

The study unit is scheduled for the autumn semester 2024. A more detailed schedule can be found in the time and place section.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

Study unit assessment is based on the student’s spoken and written English competence.

English communication competence is demonstrated in the workshops, by learning assignments and in the related feedback sessions.
Assessment criteria applied to each of the assignments and the final grade comply with the Finnish national English competence level descriptions of Universities of Applied Sciences.

Assessment Criteria
Grade 5
Student uses English with ease in all his/her assignments , during the workshops and in the feedback sessions. . He/she communicates professional language and idiomatic expressions naturally and fluently. The terms and concepts used are appropriate and correct for the situation. Grammatical forms and structures are versatile and for the most part flawless. Student communicates clearly in the context of the study modules both in terms of writing and speaking. Pronunciation, word choices, sentence stress and intonation are natural. The English language the student produces has an individual flavor and there are no visible, evident traces to the mere use of digital language aids present. Digital means (such as dictionaries and translators) have been used in a clever, moderate manner. Spoken and written competence correspond. Students participates actively in the feedback sessions.
Grade 4
Student uses English with ease in all modules and assignments, and in the feedback sessions. He/she is able to communicate using professional language and terminology both orally and in writing with no misunderstandings. Student has a wide vocabulary knowledge in use and he/she produces language in a clear and well-structured manner. Professional terms and concepts used are appropriate and for the most part correct. There are some shortcomings in grammatical forms and structures but they do not impede comprehension. The content of communication is correct for various situations. Pronunciation, word and sentence stress and intonation are mostly correct. The English language the student produces has an individual flavor and there are no visible, evident traces to the mere use of digital language aids present. Digital means (such as dictionaries and translators) have been used in a clever, moderate manner. Spoken and written competence correspond. Student participates actively in the feedback sessions.
Grade 3
Student communicates in a comprehensible manner in all modules and assignments, and during the feedback sessions using also professional language and terminology. The language is appropriate for the situation and the terms and concepts used are mostly correct. All expressions used in English are not exact to convey the message but the student can communicate the main ideas intelligibly in her/his own words. The basic grammatical forms are mostly correct. Occasional errors in grammatical forms and structures are not systematic, and they do not generally impede interaction. There are shortcomings in pronunciation, word and sentence stress and intonation but they do not for the most part obstruct intelligibility of communication. There are some challenges, and yet the student is able to complete the given tasks to demonstrate coping in English. The English language the student produces somewhat lacks individual flavor and there some visible, evident traces to the use of digital language aids present. The use of digital means (such as dictionaries and translators) is sometimes obvious. Spoken and written competence correspond ifor the most part.. Student participates actively in the feedback sessions but may have some challenges in communicating in English.
Grade 2
Student communicates in English with shortcomings in the use of professional terminology and concepts. The use of variable grammatical forms and structures is limited. Grammatical errors occur frequently but the main message can be understood. Student has major challenges in correct pronunciation, word and sentence stress and intonation and they may impede intelligibility of the main message. Student fails to communicate clearly and the language produced may be hard to understand. Student may fail to comprehend the given learning tasks independently. The English language the student produces lacks individual flavor and there are often visible, evident and obvious traces to the use of digital language aids present. Spoken and written competence correspond somewhat in the assignments. Student participates in the feedback sessions, but has major challenges in English communication.
Grade 1
Student communicates with difficulties in words choices, grammar and structures. Grammatical structures are very basic and most of the time incorrect. Communicated sentences are short and simple making the speech fragmented. There are major problems in pronunciation, word and sentence stress and together with intonation challenges the language produced may be very difficult to understand. The student is able to complete tasks with the help of digital tools and others, and to demonstrate coping in professionally in English. The English language the student produces lacks individual flavor and there many visible, evident traces to the use of digital language aids present. Spoken and written competence do not correspond in some of the assignments. Student participates in the feedback sessions, but has severe difficulties in communicating in English. However, he/she is willing to use simple English language to communicate and manages to do so.
Fail / Redo
Student’s performance is below the requirements for Grade 1. The content is not correct for the situation because the student does not know the correct words and expressions or how to use them. Student is unable to understand the instructions to the various assignments independently. The language used and the grammatical forms are incorrect to the extent that the output is incomprehensible. Vastly incorrect pronunciation makes it impossible to communicate in English. There is no interaction on hardly any level in English and the student is not able to demonstrate enough English competence in the assignments. The English language the student produces lacks individual flavor totally and it is evident that the assignments have been completed by using merely digital language aids (direct translation etc.). Spoken and written competence do not correspond at all. Student fails to participate in the feedback sessions.