BASIC OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course you will have completed the equivalent of the Council of Europe's level B2
Being able to read and infer information from advertisements, articles and reports from the press, simple books in original version. Extracting useful and interesting information from web pages. Being able to distinguish between different written registers; academic, journalistic etc.
Global understanding and extracting pertinent information from extended speech in a variety of contexts; news, lectures, advertisements, documentaries. Following conversations and interviews between native speakers.
Writing clear, well-organised and accurate texts in a variety of genres including; reports, transactional letters; detailed descriptions, discussions presenting opposing arguments, articles and narratives.
Being able to actively participate in discussions and debate on current issues. Negotiating and interacting in order to reach conclusions and decisions as part of group discussion. Adapting oral expression appropriately to reflect context (e.g. levels of formality). Making short oral presentations.

SYLLABUS

GRAMMAR
Noun Phrase
Countability and plural noun forms. Change of meaning in nouns with the same form when countable or uncountable (a wood v a piece of wood). Collective nouns. Uncountable nouns ending in -s.
Determiners and quantifiers (no, none, either, neither, both, every, each,{a}few, {a}little etc.)
So and such, too and enough
Use of the definite, indefinite and zero article.
Adjectives ending in -ing/-ed
Verb Phrase
Modal verbs of speculation
Modal verbs of obligation, necessity, permission, ability etc. - present and past
Modal verbs past forms; didn't need to, needn't have, shouldn't have etc.
Phrasal verbs: types: transitive, intransitive, verbs with two particles, patterns: separable, unseparable.
Reported Speech: verb patterns after reporting verbs: suggest, recommend
Passive Voice: transitive/intransitive, passive with reporting verbs (He is said to have stolen the money).
Causative have/get (I have my hair cut every two months and I had my wallet stolen)
Habitual actions: tend to and will, used to and would
Sentence Patterns
Adverb: Use, position, comparative forms, modifiers, adverbs often confused (yet, still, already, for, since, during etc).
Gerunds and infinitives: further extension, differences in meaning depending on use (I tried to do it vs. I tried doing it)
Conditional forms: consolidation (0, 1, 2 , 3 and mixed conditional), conditional clauses: provided/providing that, as long as, etc.
Future forms: consolidation, future time clauses (about to, on the point of, likely, unlikely, bound + infinitive).
Use of past forms to indicate hypothetical situations (I'd rather you didn't..., if only you hadn't..., imagine..., suppose..., it's time).
Clauses of reason and result (so, as, since, because v because of, owing to etc.)
Clauses of purpose (so as {not} to, so that, therefore, to avoid, to prevent)
Relative clauses: relative pronouns (use and omission), prepositions and formality (This is the town I was born in, This is the town in which I was born).
Other
Affixation: negative and positive prefixes, changing part of speech
As vs. like
would rather/would sooner with past tense
what vs. which
whenever/whatever/whoever etc. No matter/ However + adjective or adverb

TOPICS

Weather
Food
Crime
Fashion
Exams and Education
The Media
Strange Phenomena
The Future
Historical Events
Family and Friends
Theatre/Cinema/Music
Town and Country
Travel
Work
Science/Ecology
Houses and Decoration
Gender
Modern Technology
Personality/Feelings
Health/Sleep

MATERIALS

Coursebook: Your teacher will tell you which coursebook you will be using.
Supplementary materials:

A good dictionary English-Castilian/Catalan : Castilian/Catalan-English (for example: the Diccionario Oxford or the Cambridge Word Selector: Anglès-Català)
An English monolingual dictionary: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Collins COBUILD Dictionary or Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.
Readers

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH READERS Levels 4 and 5
EXPRESS PUBLISHINGREADERS Level 5
MACMILLAN GUIDED READERS Upper
OXFORD BOOKWORMS Stage 6
OXFORD PROGRESSIVE ENGLISH READERS Grades 3 and 4
PENGUIN READERS Level 5

EVALUATION

(a) Continuous Assessment - 40%

(b) Final Exam - 60%

(c) Pass Mark:

In order to pass the course, it is necessary to achieve a minimum mark of 50% in the written and oral examinations and 60% in the overall combination of examination and continuous assessment.