General

Charles University, Prague, Faculty of Arts, Language Centre

English. Course I. Blended Learning

 This is a one-semester course, 1x2 face-to-face lessons per week and ca. 2 lessons of online work via Moodle. This course is designed for lower-intermediate students (A2/B1), corresponding to the level of the standardised state school-leaving exam. Unlike general English, it offers topics and texts with an academic flavour. Apart from reviewing and consolidating the basic grammatical structures, it deals with key strategies on how to write an essay and take notes etc. The leaving level is set to B1+.

 Distance learning:

 1 x 60-90 minutes online (Zoom), which will replace the face-to-face lessons. The time will be the same as the scheduled F2F lessons (Wed 10:50 – 12:20) and we will meet every week.

Students will be required to have a video and audio connection so that they can actively participate in the lessons.
Ca. 2 online lessons (Moodle) – the time required for the online work relates also to the individual approach and level of the English knowledge of a particular student.

The requirements for the course completion:

Regular attandance of face-to-face lessons and/or on-line lessons (50% - 6 sessions; special cases will be dealt with individually); I still include the requirement of the minimum attendance, but still if you do not manage for actually any reasons to be present at the required number of lessons, it doesn’t mean that you will not get your credit. This is rather to remind you that still there is a need for you to “come” to Zoom and meet me and the others for a reasonable number of lessons.
Active participation, which also includes preparation for the face-to-face and/or on-line lessons
Completion of the tasks in Moodle. Because this will be the one half of the course and you can manage your own time dedicated to work, I require that you complete everything you find (at least 60% of correct answers) in Moodle. In case I add some extra work which is voluntary, I will specify that with the task that it is not obligatory to be completed.

Submission of 1 written assignment (preparation for the Writing part of the B2 exam)

Final Test which will be based on the textbook we will go through in this course

Materials:

You will need the following textbook:
Brook-Hart, G., Jakeman, V. Complete IELTS Bands 4-5 (Students' Book), CUP, 2012. 

Additional sources (you do not need these but are recommended for further study):
Hopkins, D., Cullen, P., Grammar for IELTS, CUP; 
Cullen, P., Vocabulary for IELTS, CUP;
Murphy, R., English Grammar In Use, CUP;
Vince, M., First Certificate Language Practice, Macmillan;
Prodromou, L., Grammar and Vocabulary for First Certificate, Longman;
Mann, M., Taylore-Knowles, S., Destination B2 – Grammar and Vocabulary, Macmillan.

Additional learning materials will be available for students in the form of copies or electronically via Moodle.