LA051-5-FY-CO:
Intercultural Communication and Research Skills
2024/25
Language and Linguistics
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 27 June 2025
30
02 September 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
LA069
BA Q140 Language Studies,
BA Q143 Language Studies (4 Years Including Foundation Year),
BA R900 Modern Languages,
BA R999 Modern Languages (5 Years Including Foundation Year),
BA R8T7 Modern Languages with Latin American Studies,
BA R8T9 Modern Languages with Latin American Studies (5 Years Including Foundation Year),
BA RR49 Spanish Studies and Modern Languages,
BA RT97 Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies,
BA RT99 Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies (5 Years Including Foundation Year),
MLANR990 Modern Languages (Translation),
BA R106 Language Studies with Latin American Studies,
BA R107 Language Studies with Latin American Studies (Including Foundation Year)
With this module, students will develop knowledge and skills needed for successful intercultural communication. This will involve understanding better the interrelationship between language and culture, the varieties of languages people use in different contexts, the relationship between language, power, and identity, the mechanisms at play behind communication, and how they work in different languages. Alongside intercultural awareness and socio-pragmatic skills, students will also develop research skills that will help them to prepare for studying aspects of the cultures of their foreign languages. Issues of sustainability raised by global communication will also be approached.
The aims of this module are:
- To develop the ability to understand the structure and function of language and its use in a variety of contexts.
- To develop the ability to understand and use different varieties of language.
- To develop pragmatic and socio-cultural skills.
- To develop intercultural awareness.
- To develop critical and analytical skills.
- To develop Research Skills.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Identify and appreciate varieties of register and style in different cultural contexts.
- Make language choices appropriate to particular contexts with more confidence.
- Demonstrate higher awareness of the cultures of foreign languages and the role they play in the interpretation of meaning.
- Compare and contrast different ways of viewing the world and of communicating and expressing oneself.
- Identify relevant and reliable sources of information and critically evaluate them.
- Present their findings both orally and in writing with rigorous referencing to their sources.
Materials placed on Moodle are essential to the module and should be treated like a textbook. They must be downloaded, printed and brought to classes. Materials will be added to Moodle when needed, and you are expected to check updates regularly.
This module will be delivered via:
- A combination of classes and independent study: one 2 hour class per week consisting of a lecture delivered in English followed by practical activities comparing and contrasting different languages and cultures.
Autumn term: relationship between language and culture; language vs. dialect; varieties of language (register + geographical and social differences); local identities and cultures; representation of self and others; research skills.
Spring term: perception of own and other cultures, stereotyping; adapting to other cultures: how and how far; pragmatic and socio-cultural competence; sustainability in a global world; research skills; oral vs. written presentation skills.
Summer term: student oral presentation of small research project; tutor and student feedback.
This module does not appear to have any essential texts. To see non - essential items, please refer to the module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Quiz on the content of weeks 2-10 |
|
25% |
| Coursework |
Quiz on the content of weeks 16-19 |
|
15% |
| Coursework |
Essay writing |
21/03/2025 |
40% |
| Practical |
Oral presentation |
|
20% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Ms Dounia Bissar, email: dbissar@essex.ac.uk.
Dounia Bissar and Chiara Fiori,
Dounia Bissar, email: dbissar@essex.ac.uk, number: x2213, office: 4.215
Chiara Fiori, email: chiara.fiori@essex.ac.uk, number: 4267, office: 4.206
No
No
No
Mrs Enza Siciliano Verruccio
University of Reading
Associate Professor
Mrs Laura Hedwig Anneliese Lewis
Durham University
Assistant Professor
Prof Maria Teresa Conde
University of Cambridge
University Professor
Ms Maria Isabel Moros
University of Exeter
Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies
Ms Cathy Molinaro
Cardiff University
Senior Lecturer
Available via Moodle
Of 8 hours, 8 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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