English (UNICERT ? advanced prep. course 1)

Garant předmětu:

Sandra Giormani

Lecturer:

Tutor:

Sandra Giormani, Kateřina Konečná, Raquel Nogueira Rizzotto Falcäo

Supervisor:

Department of Languages

Synopsis:

CERTIFIED ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES

UNIcert® Certificate

- English for Civil Engineers and Architects, UNIcert® II (level B2)

General information

- Enhance language skills useful for professional employment

- Focus on skills: scientific writing, presentation skills, reading comprehension and Use of English

- Current professional topics in the world of civil engineering

- After completing the two-semester course, it is possible to apply for the B2 level certified exam

The B2 level course is suitable for:

- PhD students and students already in the Bachelor's degree programme

- students who are going on a internship abroad

- future researchers

- prospective employees of foreign construction companies

- if you want to deepen and improve your professional English, you can take only one semester without taking the certificate

Requirements:

necessary B1+ language level in English

Syllabus of lectures:

This course is not a lecture but practical session:

Course code: 104XA1U

Duration: 3 hours / 1 semester

For more information see Outline and Syllabus of Exercises

Syllabus of tutorials:

UNICERT II – Syllabus

This course consists of 3 parts:

1- Introduction to academic English and grammar

2- Presentation skills

3- Introduction to professional English for architects and CE

1-Introduction to academic English and grammar

0)Placement; Introduction to presentation skills; overview of the principles of academic English

1)Placement test correction; Introduction to presentation skills; overview of the principles of academic English

●GR – Placement test correction; basic principle of presentation skills; making a presentation: vocabulary

●AE – the specifics of academic English (U1);

SELF-STUDY Key nouns (U2)

●SPEAKING SKILLS: presentations: brainstorm questions; making a presentation (video)

2)The basics of formal and informal language 1+2

•GR – nominalization; using It…; There… and I, we, you, one; formal verbs, nouns, adjectives; other formal phrases and structures; Being formal review (challenge yourself)

•AE - Academic writing 1 – Academic vocabulary + IELTS vocabulary sets Academic writing 2 – Paragraphs + Organising your writing (U39)

SELF-STUDY Key verbs (U3)

Listening: the properties of materials (Mr G)

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

3)The language of argumentation and persuasion 1

•GR – Scope; thesis statement; presenting , supporting arguments and counterarguments ; expressing advantages and disadvantages; conclusions and recommendations

•AE – Academic writing 3 – Writing assignments + Sources (U23)

SELF-STUDY Key adjective (U4)

•SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

4)The language of argumentation and persuasion2

•GR – the language of argumentation review (challenge yourself)

•AE – Academic writing 4 – Argumentation + Facts, evidence and data (U24)

SELF-STUDY Key adverbs (U5)

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

5)Tense review 1

●GR – present; past

●AE – Academic writing 5 – Citation skills + reporting what others say (U32)

SELF-STUDY Phrasal verbs in AE (U6)

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

6)Tense review 2

●GR – future; review

●AE – Verbs and the words they combine with (U12)

Listening, speaking: Phrases that express speculation/hypothesis

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

7)Comparing and contrasting

●GR – comparative and superlative adj/adv; comparisons; modifying adj/adv; expressing similarity and contrast;

●AE Key quantifying expressions (U7)

SELF-STUDY Words with several meanings (U8)

Listening, speaking: What are the differences and similarities between architects and civil engineers?

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

8)Noun phrases 1

●GR – articles and quantifiers

●AE – Academic writing 6 – Essay writing + nouns and the words they combine with (U10)

SELF-STUDY Adjective and noun combinations (U11)

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

9) Noun phrases 2

●GR – ADJ+nouns; noun+noun; noun+prep. Phrases; noun+ noun clauses

●AE – nouns and prepositions (U15)

SELF-STUDY Prepositional phrases (U13)

Listening, vocab, written assignment: tackling environmental issues

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

10)Stating facts and opinions

●GR – facts and figures and giving others´/own opinions

●AE – statistics (U26)

SELF-STUDY Fixed expressions (U16)

Listening, speaking: Comparing thermosets and thermoplastics

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

11) Stating facts and opinions

●GR – facts and figures and giving opinions

●AE –graphs and diagrams (U27)

SELF-STUDY Verbs and prepositions (U14)

Paragraph matching; gap fill Design

●SPEAKING SKILLS: individual students’ presentations

2 and 3 - Presentation skills and

Introduction to professional English

2- Presentation skills and introduction to professional English

A)Sustainable Architecture and Engineering

1)Architecture and Indoor Environment

•Indoor environment quality – current problems & possible solutions

•Residential buildings sustainable design – principles & examples

2) Renewable Sources of Energy and Alternative Materials

•Renewable and alternative sources of energy

•Off-grid houses – principles, solutions & examples

•Building materials in terms of sustainability – alternative and green materials

3) Building Services

•Water management in buildings – current approaches and possibilities

•Smart solutions & technologies – possibilities & examples

4) Urban Design

•Smart cities – principles & examples

•Urban planning - heat islands, greenery and water management

•Brownfields redevelopment

B)Civil Engineering - Structures and Technology

5) Transportation Engineering

•Transportation Infrastructure – roads, railways, bridges, harbours, airports

•Use of concrete and steel in transportation engineering

•Reconstruction and maintenance of road and railway Structures

6) Hydraulic and Offshore Structures

•Dams and reservoirs – architecture, structure, materials

•Offshore structures – issues and examples (oil rigs, artificial islands, etc.)

7) Technologies and Innovations

•High rise buildings – structures, materials & construction process

•Innovative materials & technologies - 3D & 4D printing, permeable concrete, biomimetics etc.

C)Development of Architecture and Civil Engineering

8) History of Architecture

•History of masonry structures

•Most influential buildings of 19th & 20th century in terms of architectural and structural development

9) Restoration and Maintenance of Historical Buildings

•Historical buildings in the Czech Republic – renovation & maintenance, refurbishment & retrofitting

10) Modern Technologies and Approaches

•Building information modelling (BIM)

•Virtual reality and laser scanning in civil engineering

11)Into the Future

•Space architecture – space stations and space hotels, a long-term stay in space influence on human body

•Mars and Moon colonies – outer worlds colonisation related problems, architectural conceptions

Study Objective:

The aim of the course is to consolidate all the necessary skills in both academic and professional language; to promote students' ability to use the acquired knowledge in practice

Study materials:

Specific resources in the area of Civil engineering and Architecture

K. PATERSON, R. WEDGE: Oxford Grammar for EAP (English for Academic Purposes), OUP, 2013

M. MCCARTHY, F. O´DELL: Academic Vocabulary in Use, CUP, 2007

Note:

Further information:

http://departments.fsv.cvut.cz/k104/index.php/certifikat-unicert/

Time-table for winter semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans: