IDENTIFYING DATA

2017_18

Subject (*)

TECHNICAL ENGLISH

Code

17224102

Study programme

Bachelor's Degree in Telematics engineering (2010)

Cycle

1st

Descriptors

Credits

Type

Year

Period

Compulsory

First

Language

Català

Department

English and German Studies

Coordinator

QUESADA VAZQUEZ, LETICIA

DOLS RODRÍGUEZ, IRENE

RUEDA RAMOS, MARIA DEL CARMEN

E-mail

Lecturers

Web

http://moodle.urv.cat

General description and relevant information

This course aims to introduce students to the main characteristics of technical English in the different fields of engineering. The objectives of the course are to help students improve their linguistic competence in English and to provide them with the necessary resources for effective oral and written communication in an academic setting. Throughout the course, students will practise reading and writing technical texts, as well as listening to and speaking about different aspects of their discipline. They will also practise oral presentation skills in English by presenting a project related to their specific field of engineering. This project, called course project, will be part of a collaborative effort in which students will first have to find information about a topic of their choice and then deliver a group oral presentation at the end of the course. The course will cover the following areas: • Practice on all four skills through a variety of engineering topics. • Practice on the rhetoric of professional and academic documents in engineering. • Practice on the most common functions, notions and grammar structures found in engineering texts. • Practice on the oral presentation of topics related to engineering. Course level: • At the end of the course, students will reach an upper intermediate level (B2) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). • At the beginning of the course, students will take an “Online Placement Test” to test their English level.
In this subject you only have the right to make the exam, because the degree you are studying is going to be extinguished. You have to take a look the timetable of the subject to know the exam's date. If you need an extraordinary exam session, you have to enrol for this, presenting an application to the secretariat of your campus or faculty.

Continguts

Topic	Sub-topic
UNIT 1: HISTORICAL FACTS IN ENGINEERING	1.1 Chronological description: narrative texts 1.2 Review of verb tenses: ways to express time sequence 1.3 Texts: History of Engineering, Energy Supply, Electronics in the Home, Electromagnetism, History of Computers, History of Electricity / Podcasts: Studying in the UK, Global Workers. Genres: Encyclopedias
UNIT 2: A COMPUTERIZED WORLD	2.1 Physical and function description: ways to describe the physical properties, function and parts of a device, as well as how something works. 2.2 Review of prepositions and the position of adjectives (color, origin, material, purpose). 2.3 Phrasal verbs. 2.4 Texts: The IPad, Cloud Computing, Describing a Computer and How it Works, What is a Tablet PC? / Podcasts: Engineering projects, Finding Information.
UNIT 3: ELECTRONIC & ELECTRICAL DEVICES	3.1 Making definitions: relative clauses and relative pronouns. Reduced relative clauses. Defining and non-defining relative clauses. 3.2 Structure and use of compound nouns. 3.3 Paragraph writing: LEDs. Common genres in engineering. 3.4 Texts: The Transistor, Graphene Electronics, Home Automation, What is a LED screen? Flexible Home Automation / Podcasts: Nanotechnology (video), Effective websites, The Future of English. Genres: research article, magazine article.
UNIT 4: A GREENER WORLD: RENEWABLE ENERGIES	4.1 Expressing cause and effect. 4.2 Process description and sequence markers. 4.3 Comparison and contrast. 4.4 Visual information and in-text reference. Conditional sentences to express a hypothesis. 4.5 Texts: Alternative Sources of Energy, Electricity Generation, Sources of Electricity, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Accidents, How Does a Nuclear Power Plant Work? How a Solar Cell Works / Podcasts: A Greener World; Climate Change; Hybrid Cars; Fuel from Garbage. Genres: website text.
UNIT 5: AN INTERCONNECTED CITY: MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES	5.1 Making Predictions in English. 5.2 E-mail writing and Netiquette in electronic communication. 5.3 Formal and informal language in electronic communication. Writing appropriate messages and avoiding flaming 5.4 Writing Practice on common academic situations (email writing) 5.5 Podcasts: ESL Business Writing Video - Email Tune-up (video), Lifelong Learning.
UNIT 6: ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION	6.1 Expressions used in classifications. Ways of expressing criteria and giving examples. 6.2 Review of modal verbs expressing obligation, probability, deduction. 6.3 Review of linking words: coordination, subordination, and sentence adverbials. 6.4 Texts: Robotics, Types of Robots, The Three Laws of Robotics, Robots: The Future is Now, Miniature Robotics. / Podcasts: Biologically-inspired robots (video). Genres: textbooks, newspaper article.
UNIT 7: ENGINEERING PROJECTS: ORAL PRESENTATIONS	7.1 Designing technical presentations. 7.2 Stages for the design of an oral presentation: planning, delivery, evaluation 7.3 Online Videocasts. Extensive practice on oral presentations through activities and videos. 7.4 Vocabulary and expressions used the the different parts of an oral presentation.

Atenció personalitzada

Description

During the course, instructors will be available during office hours to solve doubts or answer queries regarding "the course project" and the oral presentation.

Avaluació

Other comments and second exam session

Use of electronic devices during examinations

At the beginning of exams, students will be required to turn off completely their electronic devices (either mobile phones, laptops or tablets) and keep them either within their bags or on the instructor's desk. During the exam, it is completely forbidden to have these devices on and answer messages or calls. Failure to follow these regulations will imply that the student will be disqualified and his/her grade will be 0.

FIRST CALL is divided into:

1) Final exam (including practical texts and multiple-choice tests) 30 + 20 = 50% of the final grade

2) Course project (including both the written document in ppt format and the oral presentation): 10% written document + 20% oral presentation = 30%

3) Tasks using ICTsubmitted via Moodle= 10%

4) Attendance and active participation = 10 %

The final grade will be the result of the different percentages of the activities mentioned above: 50 + 30 + 10 + 10 = 100 %. Nevertheless, in order to be able to average all the grades earned in the course, students should obtain at least 4,5 in the final exam. Only those students who attended at least half of the sessions and followed continuous assessment (i.e. tasks, written document and oral presentation) will be allowed to take the final exam.

SECOND CALL: If students failed to pass their first call based on continuous assessment, they will have to take just an exam (with practical texts and multiple choice tests about all the contents of the course) for the second call. The result of this exam will determine the final grade of the course.

Fonts d'informació

Basic	Rueda, Carmen, Workbook of Technical English, 2017, URV Dummett, Paul , Energy English - For the Gas and Electricity Industries, 2011, Heinle ELT Brieger, Nick and Allison Pohl, Technical English - Vocabulary and Grammar , 2008, Heinle ELT

Complementary	Williams, Ivor, English for Science and Engineering, 2008, Heinle ELT Ibbotson, Mark, Cambridge English for Engineering, 2008, Cambridge University Press Ibbotson, Mark, Professional English in Use. Engineering with Answers: Technical English for Professionals, 2009, Cambridge University Press Raman, Meenakshi and Sharma, Sangeeta, Technical Communication: English Skills for Engineers, 2ª edició, 2011, Oxford University Press Cox, Martin R., What Every Student Should Know About Preparing Effective Oral Presentations, 1a edició, 2006, Allyn & Bacon Powell, M., , Presenting in English. How to Give Successful Presentations, 1996, Language Teaching Publications Bombardó, C. and M. Aguilar and C. Barahona, Technical Writing: A Guide for Effective Communication, 2007 (2ª edició 2008), Edicions UPC (Politext)

(*)The teaching guide is the document in which the URV publishes the information about all its courses. It is a public document and cannot be modified. Only in exceptional cases can it be revised by the competent agent or duly revised so that it is in line with current legislation.