Description

This course will allow the student to develop English second language abilities and to acquire skills in the areas of listening, reading, spoken production and interaction, and writing. The student will develop these skills by using basic structures that consist of familiar expressions which are at times memorized, fixed expressions, during simple everyday situations.

Objectives

• Listen to comprehend isolated sentences and frequently used expressions connected to areas of most immediate relevancy such as family, employment, and leisure
  • Demonstrate one’s comprehension of vocabulary related to family, shopping, surrounding environment, and employment
  • Follow directions and simple instructions
  • Identify the main point of TV news items
  • Demonstrate one’s comprehension of a conversation when a person speaks slowly and clearly
  • Demonstrate one’s comprehension of clear and simple public announcements such as in a train station or airport
• Read to comprehend very simple and short texts that contain predicable information written in everyday language
  • Demonstrate a comprehension of short, personal written messages
  • Recognize essential information in leaflets, catalogues, activity
  • Demonstrate a comprehension of everyday signs and notices
  • Interpret facts described in simple news articles on familiar topics
  • Follow user’s guide or simple written directions
  • Interpret regulations when expressed in simple language
• Produce oral expressions using simple terms in order to describe people, one’s immediate environment, and daily life
  • Describe one’s family, immediate family members, and oneself
  • Describe one’s tastes and preferences, daily life activities, etc.
  • Describe past activities and personal experiences briefly
  • Explain preferences
  • Justify an opinion briefly
  • Describe projects
  • Present a clear and comprehensive presentation on a familiar
• Take part in conversational exchanges that are very short, simple, and on familiar topics
  • Communicate to greet, to address, to thank, and to ask
  • Communicate to ask and to respond to questions using the past tense
  • Exchange ideas and information
  • Express agreement and disagreement in a simple fashion
  • Communicate to obtain and to provide goods and services in everyday situations
  • Give advice regarding practical problems
  • Use polite expressions to accept or to refuse
  • Perform simple transactions
  • Express one’s inability to understand and ask for clarification
  • Communicate to give or to ask for directions referring to a map
  • Converse in a telephone conversation in order to plan an outing
• Write simple and coherent notes and messages on familiar topics
  • Write a very simple personal letter
  • Express thanks and apologies
  • Write simple sentences about one's family, living conditions, education and work
  • Describe one’s daily life and one’s environment
  • Describe events, past activities and personal experiences briefly
  • Write well wishes/greetings in a card or via e-mail
  • Fill in a personal information clearly on questionnaires or on forms
• Develop skills in linguistic aspects of written and spoken language
  • Use memorised basic structures, group of words or fixed expressions in order to communicate limited information in everyday simple situations
  • Use simple structures correctly despite basic mistakes in verb agreement and verb tense
  • Communicate with some ease even though there are reformulations, pauses and false starts
  • Demonstrate a certain coherence during interactions by linking groups of words with simple connectors like « and », « but » and « because »
  • Pronounce words and sentences clearly despite one’s foreign accent

Content Overview

• Descriptors from sub-level A2.1 of the CEFR’s framework
• Listening
  • Understand what people say to me in simple, everyday conversation, provided people speak clearly and slowly.
  • Understand questions and simple information about family, immediate environment, work and leisure activities.
  • Understand short, clear and simple messages at the airport, railway station, etc.
  • Understand key information presented in news on TV if supported by images.
  • Understand the main information in announcements if people talk clearly, for example in weather reports.
• Reading
  • Recognize main ideas covered in short, simple texts on topics that I know.
  • Understand information on schedules, ads, menus, brochures, webpages, advertisements, etc.
  • Understand the main points in short, simple, everyday stories especially if there is visual support.
  • Understand short messages from friends (emails, web chats, texts, etc.).
  • Understand short, simple texts on familiar matters of a concrete type, which consist of high frequency everyday or job-related language.
• Spoken Interaction
  • Ask or answer simple questions about a past event, for example the time and place of a party.
  • Ask for and give directions.
  • Ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics (home, work, free time, likes and dislikes, etc.).
  • Communicate in everyday situations (at the restaurant, at the bank, at the store, etc.).
  • Understand clear, standard speech on familiar matters directed at me, provided I can ask for repetition or reformulation from time to time.
  • Make, accept, and refuse invitations politely.
  • Discuss plans with other people.
  • Make and accept apologies.
• Spoken Production
  • Describe myself, my family, my home, my residence, my hobbies and my interests.
  • Describe my daily, personal or professional activities.
  • Give basic information about a topic I know well (sports team, music, etc.).
  • Express simply and comprehensibly if I like or dislike something and why.
  • Briefly describe my job and my studies using familiar vocabulary.
  • Briefly describe my plans for the weekend or for my vacations.
• Writing
  • Write a brief message to ask for information (telephone message, note of absence, etc.).
  • Write about myself using simple language (information about my family, my school, my education, my job, my hobbies, etc.).
  • Provide information on a questionnaire about my profession, my job, my interests and my areas of expertise.
  • Write short descriptions of people or events using simple language (a friend, what happened during the day, etc.).
  • Write short, simple notes, emails and text messages (to send or reply to an invitation, to confirm or change an arrangement, etc.).
  • Write a short message to friends to give them personal news or to ask them a question, e.g. a text message.

Additional Training Informations

An entrance test will determine the student’s level of English. The learning content is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The skills developed are from sub-level A2.1 of the Framework. This is the first of two preparatory courses for the A2 level exam.