Communicative Competence Development of Language B - Russian, level 4

obligatory courses

Compulsory, 2nd year, BA studies. During the second year students continue to study Russian, as the first language of students’ specialization (B) at level B2+ of CEFR at the outset of the course.

Classroom

The further study of Russian, as the first language of students’ specialization (B) at level B2+ CEFR at the outset of the course. The course consists of 180 hours in-class in the 2nd year, is divided into thematic segments and requires a considerable amount of the student’s individual self-study.

The aim of the course is to further develop and improve the students’ communicative competence in Russian at the C1 level within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. In the second year the teaching process continues to stimulate integrated development of several communicative competences, i.e.: pragmatic, sociolinguistic, intercultural and metalinguistic. The content of the course conforms to the level of language skills among students and designed for the studies at the Applied Linguistics.

A compulsory course for year 2 BA students with Russian as the first language of students’ specialization (B)

During the 2nd year of the course, students’ communicative competence in Russian continues after the 1st year at an advanced level, equivalent to level B2+ within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The aim of the course is to further develop and improve the students’ communicative competence in Russian by the end of the 2nd year at a proficient, C1 level within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

During the 2nd year the teaching process continues to stimulate integrated development of several communicative competences, such as the pragmatic competence, sociolinguistic, as well as intercultural and metalinguistic competences, with the continuous focus on the skills of speaking and pronunciation, writing, listening and reading comprehension, as well as control over vocabulary and grammar structures at the C1 level by the end of the 2nd year. The content of the course conforms to the level of language skills among students and is designed for the studies with the major in Applied Linguistics, especially to professional requirements in academic, glottodidactic and translation domains. During the 2nd year the course comprises of the following thematic components: (1) Grammar / Pragmatics, (2) Vocabulary / Speaking / Listening, (3) Writing / Reading.

These components continue to improve the students’:

- lexical competence (by further contributing to their growing control over a vast range of vocabulary contained in the 2nd year teaching programme at a C1 level CEFR);

- grammatical competence (by furhter contributing to their growing receptive and productive skills of comprehending grammatically complex texts and utterances and creating such texts and utterances in keeping with grammatical standards covered by the 2nd year teaching programme);

- phonological competence (by further contributing to the development and practice of the correct articulation in Russian, proper intonation and fluency);

- discursive competence in speech and in writing (by further contributing to their growing skills of composing logically, grammatically and stylistically consistent and complex texts and utterances at C1 level).

- functional and sociolinguistic competence (by further contributing to the development of the skill of applying the appropriate forms of expression to communicative situations and its recipients in the context of selected cultural aspects associated with Russian at a C1 level)

Contact hours (in-class): 180 hrs

Self-study/individual work:

working with assigned texts – 30 hrs

practical grammar assignments – 20 hrs

preparing oral presentations and written assignments – 40 hrs

revising and preparation for the end-of-year exam – 10 hrs

Self-study/individual work total: 100hrs

In the event of inability to conduct the traditional in-class lessons, the course’s contact hours will be conducted remotely with the use of the devices recommended by the University of Warsaw

Specified individually by particular teachers.

KNOWLEDGE:

The student:

- has the knowledge of the language at C1 level (CEFR), understands its structure and specificity (K1_W01);

- knows morphosyntactic structures, understands oral statements at C1 level, interprets written texts at C1 level, knows word definitions, synonyms and idioms, has a grounded knowledge of lexical, grammatical and phonetic issues regarding the Russian language, as indicated in the course description(K1_W01);

- understands the complexity of the Russian language at C1 level (CEFR) (K1_W03);

- knows and understands the elements of selected Russian-speaking countries’ culture, understands the role of language in intercultural and cultural communication (K1_W07, K1_W10);

- knows and understands cultural differences, constituting important factors in the process of creating multicultural societies in the modern world, has a general knowledge of the reality, socio-economic and legal conditions of selected Russian-speaking countries (K1_W11)

SKILLS

The student:

- possesses linguistic skills at C1 level (CEFR), also in typical professional situations which require the knowledge of techniques, strategies and different communication channels (K1_U05, K1_U09);

- is able to critique cultural texts, search for, analyse, evaluate and select authentic texts in Russian and develop professional skills in Russian (K1_U01);

- can identify characteristic cultural elements and correctly interpret phenomena regarding the Russian language, react properly in every communicative situation while considering the cultural context and using customary expressions (K1_U03);

- can prepare written assignments in Russian on discussed subjects (K1_U06);

- can prepare speeches in Russian, using properly selected source materials (K1_U07);

- can set priorities and plan activities in order to perform specific linguistic, communicative and professional tasks in Russian, understands the need of self-study and the necessity of continuous development of skills (K1_U12);

- can solve problems and perform linguistic tasks in Russian at C1 competence level in conditions which are not fully predictable, through assessing the situation and choosing appropriate methods and tools (K1_U13)

SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES

The student is:

- prepared to cooperate and work in a group, assume various roles and respect rules of good communication in Russian (K1_K06);

- prepared to identify and properly solve communicative dilemmas between Russian and Polish, which result from the asymmetry in linguistic systems and cultural variety (K1_K01);

- prepared to participate in cultural life in Poland and selected Russian-speaking countries, promote their cultures while using both traditional and modern forms of communication and media (K1_K03).

- prepared to take measures in inter-linguistic communication in order to preserve the cultural heritage of Poland and Russia (K1_K04)

Assessment criteria – thematic components:

Each thematic component is assessed according to the following:

- Continuous assessment (preparedness, activity in class)

- Home assignments

- graded control tests

- mid-term written tests/term papers

- mid-term oral exams

- preparation and delivery of oral presentations

Grading criteria – thematic components:

The passing percentage for graded works on all thematic components is 60%. All written tests and assignments within the components and during the course are graded according to the following criteria:

0-59% = failed (2.0)

60-67% = satisfactory (3.0)

68-75% = satisfactory plus (3.5)

76-83% = good (4.0)

84-91% = good plus (4.5)

92-98% = very good (5.0)

99-100% = very good! (5.0!)

The student is allowed one retake of every failed graded test at the time designated by the teacher. Unexcused absence during a test or a retake forfeits that attempt.

Assessment criteria – Exam:

In order to take the exam the student must receive passing grades from all the thematic components during the course. Receiving a failing grade from one or more thematic components results in negative grade in the USOS in first term, at which point the student must receive passing grades from all failed components in order to be allowed a second attempt at the exam during the retake exam session.

The exam is composed of written and oral parts. The written part consists of grammar test, lexical test and an essay in academic writing on a chosen topic.

Grading criteria – Exam:

The writing parts are graded according to the following criteria:

0-59% = failed (2.0)

60-67% = satisfactory (3.0)

68-75% = satisfactory plus (3.5)

76-83% = good (4.0)

84-91% = good plus (4.5)

92-98% = very good (5.0)

99-100% = very good! (5.0!)

The oral part of the exam assesses the communicative competence as well as the level of vocabulary, pronunciation and grammatical competence acquired during the 2nd year of the course. The assessment criteria of the oral exam are as follows:

5.0 – very good: very good linguistic competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and lexical elements acquired during the course, accompanied by the proper phonemes, accent and intonation); extensive vocabulary (uses visibly diverse vocabulary, idioms, collocations and other expressions acquired during the course, uses proper register); very good and clearly thought through structure of delivered statements with clearly identifiable introduction, supporting arguments and conclusion; frequent, fluent and correct use of logical connectors and linking phrases; clearly signalling beginning and closure of an argument; statement coherent with the topic

4.0/4.5 – good/good plus: good linguistic competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and lexical elements acquired during the course, with the use of proper phonemes, accent and intonation; sporadic mistakes in pronunciation, sporadic and isolated errors in grammar); good level of vocabulary (uses diverse vocabulary from the classes, idioms, collocations and other expressions with few and isolated mistakes and errors, and occasional errors of register); good and planned structure of delivered statements that shows clear introduction, supporting arguments and conclusion, with singular losses of fluency and diversion from the main topic; visible use of logical connectors and linking phrases clearly signalling beginning and closure of an argument; statement coherent with the topic

3.0/3.5 – satisfactory/satisfactory plus: satisfactory competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and lexical elements acquired during the course, with the use of proper phonemes, accent and intonation; infrequent or occasional mistakes in pronunciation and grammatical errors are acceptable and do not prevent successful communication); satisfactory level of vocabulary (vocabulary acquired during the classes, idioms, collocations and other expressions, lacks in diversity; visible mistakes and errors, and errors of register); satisfactory structure of delivered statements that shows visible, but not clearly discernible introduction, supporting arguments, and conclusion of the argument; visible losses of fluency and diversion from the main topic; rare or infrequent use of logical connectors and linking phrases signalling beginning and closure of an argument; satisfactory coherence with the topic

2.0 – failed: unsatisfactory linguistic competence (notorious and regular grammatical, lexical, phonetic and pronunciation mistakes); vocabulary insufficient to create coherent statements, frequent errors of register, lack or incorrect use of idioms and collocations; chaotic structure of delivered statements, without discernible introduction, development and conclusion of the argument; lack of logical connection between parts of the argument, lack or incorrect use of logical connectors and linking phrases; visible lack of fluency, jagged or incomplete sentences, clear lack of coherence with the topic

The final grade from the exam is the average from the written and oral parts of the exam. The final grade from the course in the USOS is the average of the grades from the exam (50%) and the classes (50%).

Failing one part of the exam results in a failing grade from the entire exam in the summer exam session and the need to retake the exam in the same form during the retake exam session.

Students are required to attend all the classes in a given component of the course. Students are allowed two unexcused absences in a given component per 30 contact hours. When the number of allowed absences is exceeded, the student should ask the teacher to be given additional tasks aimed at making up for the material missed from the classes by that student. If the number of absences is equal to or exceeds 50% of the component’s total number of contact hours, it will result in a negative grade from that component as well as from the entire course.