Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

Level A or equivalent. Students who have previously taken Level A Portuguese are advised not to proceed to Level B unless they have achieved at least 40% in the module. Note: Non-SML students are advised not to proceed to Level C unless they achieve at least 40% in this module.

Co Requisite Comment

None

Aims

In consonance with the overall aims of the degrees offered in the SML, this module will:

1.Focus on developing the students' written and aural/oral communicative competence in the foreign language (including fluency, grammatical and lexical accuracy and range; register and pronunciation).

2. Prepare students for the future study of the language (in reading, written and communicative skills oral/speaking and aural/listening in the target language).

3. Facilitate students' ability to establish and maintain effective social and working relations with speakers of the foreign language in written and spoken media during their intercalary year. This includes students’ ability to use and understand authentic material and produce their own written and spoken output.

This module is available to all students with Level A or equivalent in Portuguese. This is a general language module offering students the opportunity to study and practise all four language skills fully integrated (listening, reading, writing and speaking). All skills will be assessed.

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics: Students cover a variety of topics based on contemporary Lusophone society including: media, advertising, culture, politics, immigration, environment, tourism, inclusive language, consequences and tensions of colonization.

THIS COURSE WILL BE TAUGHT AND ASSESSED IN PORTUGUESE.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have had the opportunity to learn about:

- Sentence and text structure, grammatical categories and their exponents and use, lexical fields and registers and their usage.
- All areas of grammar, vocabulary and background knowledge related to the skills listed below.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Subject- Specific skills:

By the end of the course, students will have had the opportunity to learn by:

- using varied lexical and grammatical structures in spoken and written communication.
- reading for information using a range of different materials (including authentic texts) of appropriate complexity and length and responding appropriately.
- writing and/or typing in the target language (e.g. reports, essays, summaries)
- listening for information using different types of authentic sources in the foreign language and responding appropriately in written and/or oral form.
- conversing, discussing directly with target language speakers and producing and giving presentations in Portuguese by using an appropriate range of vocabulary, on agreed topics.
- using different autonomous learning strategies as well as various types of technologies (raging from VLE to collaborative tools online and/or smartphones and other gadgets).

Cognitive/intellectual skills:

Students will learn:

- to locate, make use and critically evaluate materials for this level other than those provided by the teacher.
- to select and apply different language learning technologies to develop strategies to enhance their language skills appropriate for this level and module.
- to evaluate their own performance.
- to apply a range of strategies for language learning appropriate for this level and module.
- to work independently and confidently on their own or in a group, either within or outside the classroom.
- to locate information from different authentic sources (e.g. Internet) in order to contribute their own materials and ideas to the course.
- to study grammar systematically, either autonomously or in collaboration
- to investigate and analyse grammar structures and concepts.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Teaching in the language seminars and practicals in the language labs will focus on communication skills while the grammar lectures will focus on key study skills and the formal structures of the language. All four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking are fully integrated in the language seminars and associated guided work and preparation.

Independent learning and learner autonomy are further developed through the means of grammar-related activities, online guided tasks, pair and group work, assessment preparation and completion, and self-study at home, via the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and in the Language Resource Centre. Particular initiative is expected from students at this level, e.g. course participants will be asked to contribute their own materials to the classes and activities.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

- The content of the 3-4 minute oral component (50%) will be based on 6-8 minutes of video material. This oral component will test students’ ability to listen and understand video sources (excluding written text) and to respond appropriately by producing and present their own output orally in the form of a video. This assessment provides summative information to staff and student on students’ achievement in speaking and listening in the module.

- The final written exam at the end of Semester 2 (50%) will test the students’ reading, grammar and written skills. Students may be allowed to type their own answers provided that spell check / grammar check has been disabled. This formal examination provides summative information to staff and student on student's achievement in reading / grammar and writing in the target language in this module.

General Notes

N/A