Study Guide

Learning outcomes

Proficiency level: B2

Students are able to demonstrate the ability to comprehend, analyze and summarize authentic professional texts in English, to learn and master professional vocabulary, and the ability to read quickly and effectively by using different reading techniques.

Implementation and methods of teaching

The course will be taught online through Moodle, and will consist of the students studying the course material independently and practicing their reading skills through assignments. The assignments consist of reading both popular and academic texts using various reading strategies, and answering questions based on their understanding of the text. There are 4 assignments in total.

Timing and attendance

3.5.-4.6.2021. Online course, no attendance requirements or scheduled lessons.

Learning material and recommended literature

Provided by the teacher through Moodle.

Learning environment

The course is taught wholly online through Moodle.

Student time use and work load

The overall workload estimate is 54 hours of individual work, including studying the course material, reading texts and working on the assignments.

Contents

Learning vocabulary building strategies, reading techniques (skimming, scanning, critical reading), and text structure by using reading comprehension exercises.

Additional information for students: previous knowledge etc.

No prerequisites. Course taught at a level of B2.

Assessment criteria

Grading on a scale of 1-5.
Students are expected to complete all assignments according to the timetable in time.

Assessment scale

1-5

Failed (0)

A student fails to complete the assignments in time or the submitted assignments repeatedly fail to meet the required criteria.

The student fails to capture any of the main points of a given text in their summary and the summary is very difficult to understand due to problems in grammar, syntax or spelling.

One or more parts of the assignment are not completed.

Assessment criteria: level 1 (assessment scale 1–5)

The student masters the contents of the course in a satisfactory way.

Can read specialized texts using basic reading strategies. Has a poor active reading vocabulary.

Can obtain information, ideas and opinions from specialized sources within his/her field, provided he/she can use a dictionary. Can understand the main ideas of specialized articles outside his/her field.

Can summarize an article, extracting the main facts of the original text, but the summary is lacking some certain elements. Some factual mistakes might occur in the interpretation of the specialized text. The length of the summary is incorrect and the reference is missing. The summary is unclear without the original text.

The student conveys the core message using some basic structures of grammar and general field-specific vocabulary. Some defective words might impede understanding.

Assessment criteria: level 3 (assessment scale 1–5)

The student masters the contents of the course well.

Can read with a certain degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes. Has a good active reading vocabulary.

Can obtain information, ideas and opinions from specialized sources within his/her field, provided he/she can use a dictionary to confirm his/her interpretation of terminology. Can understand the main ideas of specialized articles outside his/her field.

Can summarize an article, extracting the main themes and facts of the original text. Some minor factual mistakes might occur in the interpretation of the specialized text. The length of the summary is adequate, minor mistakes might occur in the reference. The summary is mostly understandable without the original text.

Grammar and vocabulary are wide enough to convey the intended message.

Assessment criteria: level 5 (assessment scale 1–5)

he student masters the contents of the course in an excellent way.

Can read with large degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes. Has a broad active reading vocabulary.

Can obtain information, ideas and opinions from highly specialized sources within his/her field. Can understand specialized articles outside his/her field, provided he/she can use a dictionary occasionally to confirm his/her interpretation of terminology.

Can summarize a wide range of texts, extracting the main themes and facts of the original text. The length of the summary corresponds to the instructions and proper reference is used. The summary is understandable without the original text.

Grammar and vocabulary mistakes do not impede understanding.