Study Guide

Learning outcomes

Proficiency level: B2

Students are able to
- comprehend, analyze and summarize authentic professional texts in English
- learn and master strategies for expanding professional vocabulary
- use strategies for effective reading.

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 practising their reading skills through assignments. The assignments consist of reading both popular and academic texts using various reading strategies, completing Moodle quizzes based on their understanding of the text, as well as completing written assignments.

Timing and attendance

Online course, no attendance requirements.
Period 4 of spring semester 2024.
Hard deadlines. If a student fails to meet a deadline, they fail the course.

Learning material and recommended literature

Provided by the teacher through Moodle.

Alternative completion methods

Recognition of prior learning: a language portfolio demonstrating the acquisition of required reading skills plus the Testing section of the course for evaluation.

Learning environment

Moodle

Student time use and work load

The overall workload estimate is 81 hours of individual work, including studying the course materials, reading texts, completing quizzes, and working on the assignments. It is expected students will adhere to given deadlines. A student will study the theory materials, read 3 popular science articles and 3 academic articles and complete Moodle quizzes and written assignments based on them, as well as read one popular science article and one academic article of their choice and complete one written assignment based on them.

Contents

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

Assessment scale

1-5

Failed (0)

The student fails to complete the assignments in time or the submitted assignment repeatedly fails to meet the required criteria.
The student does not pass the test quizzes.
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.

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.

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.

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

The 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.