The teaching methodology used is based on:

• Teacher-led activities (30%, 1.8 cr)
• Supervised activities (15%, 0.9 cr)
• Self-study and student-led activities (50%, 3 cr)
• Assessment tasks (5%, 0.3 cr)

Teacher-led activities (Theoretical and practical classes)

• Lectures using ICTs.
• Class debates and discussions.
• Practical activities in groups or pairs.
• In-class receptive and productive skills practice.

Self-study and student-led activities

• Practice with course materials and additional academic references.
• Revision of linguistic content covered in class (grammar, vocabulary and discourse).
• Reading of academic texts related to the course topics.
• Practice through ICT tools and Moodle.
• Preparation of assessment tasks (précis, oral debate and exams).

Assessment tasks

• A diagnostic speaking task
• In-class précis (i.e. written summaries based on audio-video input)
• Oral exam
• Written exam (précis, listening, use of English

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment structure:

• Continuous assessment: 30%
• Final written exam: 40%
• Final oral exam: 30%

General Assessment Rules:

• Due to the practical nature of the subject, attendance and active participation in at least 80% of the teaching activities (text commentaries, tests, presentations, oral debates and other in-class activities) is required in order to be assessed for the 30% corresponding to continuous assessment.
• The exact dates of the assessment activities will be announced at the beginning of the course via the schedule published on the class Moodle page.
• The scheduling of assessment activities (both final and mid-term, where applicable) cannot be modified, except in duly justified cases. Erasmus students requesting to reschedule an exam must submit a written document from their home university justifying their request.

Continuous Assessment (30%):

• Continuous assessment aims to provide students with tools for the progressive improvement of their linguistic and academic competences, with ongoing monitoring and formative feedback throughout the course. Continuous assessment consists of the following activities: Diagnostic speaking test, Précis 1, Précis 2, Midterm (Use of English + Listening) and Portfolio.
• Any assigned work that is not submitted will be graded with a 0.
• Students may receive a final grade of “No Avaluable” provided that they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.
• Continuous assessment activities cannot be reassessed.

Final Oral Exam (30%):

The final oral exam consists of an academic debate in groups of four students, with two students in favour and two against a proposed topic. The topics are linked to the course thematic axes and have been previously worked on through in-class activities and academic readings (scientific articles and book chapters). The aim is for students to be able to defend arguments rigorously, based on academic evidence, and using a formal register typical of academic university discourse in English.

• To pass this exam, a minimum grade of 4,5 (out of 10) is required.
• If the exam is not passed, students may reassess theoral exam, provided that the mark is ≥ 35% and < 50%.
• The written exam can only be taken if the oral exam has been passed.

Final Written Exam (40%):

The final written exam is divided into two parts: Précis (20%) and Use of English + Listening (20%).

To pass it, the following conditions must be met:

• Students must obtain a minimum grade of 4.5 in each part of the exam.
• Only if all parts have a grade of 4.5 or higher will the written exam average be calculated.
• The exam will be considered passed if the final written exam average is equal to or higher than 5.0.
• Continuous assessment marks will only be taken into account once both the final written and final oral exams have been passed.

Reassessment:

It is not possible to resit exams that have already been passed.

To be eligible for reassessment, students must have previously been assessed in a set of activities whose combined weighting is equivalent to at least two-thirds of the total continuous assessment grade, provided that they have not failed to submit more than 30% of the assessment activities.

Students may resit:

• the final oral exam, provided that the average mark of the oral exam is equal to or higher than 3.5; and/or
• one single part of the final written exam, provided that the average mark of the written exam is equal to or higher than 3.5.

After reassessment, the new mark obtained will replace the previous one and the exam average will be recalculated using all components.

To pass the course after reassessment, students must:

• obtain a minimum grade of 4.5 in each component of the written exam, and
• obtain a final average of the written and oral exams equal to or higher than 5.0.

Students who pass through reassessment will receive the final course grade based on the average of the final written and oral exams, exclusing continuous assessment activities.

Single-Assessment Option

This subject/module does not incorporate the single-assessment option.

IMPORTANT:

• In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject. Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indicating authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.
• This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.