Communicative Competence Development of Language C - Polish Sign Language, level 3

obligatory courses

Compulsory, 2nd year, BA studies.

Students continue to study Polish Sign Language, as the second language of students’ specialization (C) at level B1+ of CEFR at the outset of the course at the beginning of the 2nd year.

Classroom

The aim of the course is to develop students’ communicative competence in Polish Sign Language at an intermediate level, equivalent to level B1+/B2 within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The course comprises 120 hours in-class divided into thematic segments such as: 1) grammar, 2) communication exercises, 3) visual-spatial exercises, 4) motoric-expressive exercises.

CCD classes help students acquire and develop their communicative competence in a foreign language, at an intermediate level, within what traditionally has been recognised as speaking and listening comprehension (here: production and reception of signed utterances). Unlike standard language courses, where students typically learn to do in a foreign language what they can already perform in their native tongue, CCD classes direct students’ communicational development towards the aims of undergraduate and graduate studies at the ILS in the area of their language C.

A compulsory course for year 2 BA students with Polish Sign Language as language C. The course develops students’ communicative competence in Polish Sign Language at an intermediate level, equivalent to level B1+/B2 within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages traditionally applied to spoken languages.

Communicative Competence Development comprises two levels: linguistic competence and communicative competence.

As far as the level of linguistic competence is concerned, students learn to produce and receive signed utterances; they acquire control over the more advanced and gradually expanding pool of grammatical structures and lexical items; increase their experience in understanding and producing various types of visual-spatial texts

The course comprises thematic segments such as: 1) grammar, 2) communication exercises, 3) visual-spatial exercises, 4) motoric-expressive exercises.

The aim of these components is to improve the student's linguistic competence including:

- acquiring and developing their ability to produce and receive manual and non-manual elements of Polish Sign Language

-acquiring and developing their ability to use Polish Sign Language lexical items - intermediate sign vocabulary and structures

- acquiring and developing their knowledge of and skills in creating and comprehending grammatical structures and sentences

- acquiring and developing their skills of composing coherent, logical and stylistically consistent texts and utterances in Polish Sign Language.

As far as the communicative competence is concerned, students pose questions regarding the appropriateness of linguistic forms and provide answers to them by searching for information in different sources. They understand the need of continuous development and communicational practice in Polish Sign Language, they organise their work effectively and autonomously.

Contact hours (in-class): 120 hrs

Self-study/individual work:

- working with assigned texts – 50 hrs

- practical grammar assignments – 30 hrs

- preparing oral presentations and written assignments – 40 hrs

- pronunciation practice – 15 hrs

- revising and preparation for the exam – 15 hrs

Self-study/individual work total: 150 hrs

If classroom learning is impossible, the workshop will be conducted with the help of distance communication tools, most probably Google Meet and others recommended by the University.

Specified individually by particular teachers.

On finishing the course, the student:

KNOWLEDGE

- has the knowledge of language specific at B1+/B2 level (CEFR), knows the linguistic structure as a system, understands its specificity (K1_W01);

- knows morphostyntactic structures, produces and understands utterances in Polish Sign Language at B1+/B2 level; knows word definitions, synonyms and cultural signs (K1_W01);

- has a grounded knowledge of lexical and grammar issues indicated in the course description (K1_W02)

- knows and understands elements of the Deaf culture, understands the role of language in the intercultural and cultural communication, understands cultural differences between Poland and Sweden, has a good knowledge of the Swedish reality and socioeconomic conditions in Sweden (K1_W10)

- knows and understands fundamental theories of linguistic communication and major linguistic varieties with major focus on realities of Swedish language (K_W04)

- knows and uses terminology of social sciences in covered language; knows current socio-political reality of Swedish linguistic region (S_W10/K_W04/K_W07)

- understands Swedish grammatical terminology at B1+/B2 level and has knowledge of pragmatic conditions of Swedish linguistic system (S_W08/K_W04/K_W07)

SKILLS

The student:

- Possesses linguistic skills at B1+/B2 level (CEFR), also in typical professional situations which require the knowledge of techniques, strategies and different communication channels (K1_U07, K1_U10);

- Can analyze in a critical way texts as cultural products, search for authentic texts in Swedish , prepare their analysis, evaluation and selection; develop professional skills in Swedish (K1_U01);

- is able to develop skills in the Swedish language on his/her own, according to the teacher’s indications; knows how to assess the usefulness of particular sources of information, e.g. web dictionaries, corpora, papers and articles, etc.(K1_U03);

- can translate short oral and written texts from Swedish to Polish and vice versa (K1_U04);

- can identify characteristic cultural elements and interpret in a proper way issues regarding the Swedish language, react properly in every communicative situation while considering the cultural context and using customary expressions (K1_U05);

- can identify Swedish dialects (K1_U05);

- can justify their opinion using other authors’ views and formulate individual conclusions in both written and spoken Swedish (K1_U06);

- can prepare written assignments in Swedish on discussed subjects (K1_U08);

- can compose coherent and properly construed texts in Swedish at B1+/B2 level (CEFR), stylistically adjusted for the designated recipient, expand expressed opinions and justify them by additional argument and proper exemplification (S_U04/K_U08)

- can express himself/herself spontaneously and coherently on random subjects in Swedish , while being fluent and stylistically, grammatically and phonetically correct (S_U05/K_U09);

- can identify, analyze and solve problems in Swedish contrastive linguistics at B1+/B2 level (CEFR), covering such branches as phonetics, morphemics, word-formation and syntax (S_U06/K_U04)

- can analyze and interpret processes of professional communication in Swedish , as well as influencing factors (S_U09/K_U05)

- can prepare speeches in Swedish , using properly selected source materials (K1_U09).

SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES

The student is:

- ready to cooperate and work in a group, assume various roles and respect rules of good communication in Swedish (K1_K01);

- ready to specify priorities and plan activities which serve realization of particular linguistic, communicative and professional objectives; understands the need for self-study and continuous improvement of his/her qualifications (K1_K03);

- ready to identify and properly solve communicative dilemmas between Swedish and Polish, which result from the asymmetry in linguistic systems and cultural variety (K1_K04);

- ready to participate in Polish and Swedish cultural life, promote both cultures while using both traditional and modern forms of communication and media (K1_K06).

- is ready to take action in inter-language communication aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of Polish and the Deaf communities (K1_K04)

CLASSES

Continuous assessment

- preparedness, activity in class

- home assignments

- mid-term and end-of-term oral tests

- preparation and delivery of signed presentations

Grading criteria:

All assignments 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 final grade at the end of the 1st semester of the course Communicative Competence Development is the average score from all the thematic components, which are treated equally and provide a 100% of the final grade written in the USOS. Failing one or more of the components results in a negative grade in the USOS in the first term, at which point the student is allowed a second attempt at passing the failed component (or components) during the winter retake exam session.

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.

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.

In the case of PJM, the exam is composed of oral part only.

Grading 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 exam assesses the communicative competence as well as the level of vocabulary, articulation and grammatical competence acquired during the 4th semester of the course.

The assessment criteria of the 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); 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; 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; infrequent or occasional mistakes in articulation 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 articulation 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 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. The allowed number of unexcused absences in a given component is 2 per 30 contact hours. When the number of allowed absences is exceeded, the student will be given additional tasks aimed at making up for the material missed from the classes by that student. If the number of absences exceeds 50% of the component’s total number of contact hours, it will result in a negative grade from that component as well as the entire course.