Training Course: GE02 - Award in General English - Get your Basics Here!

Course Description: The purpose of this module is to, first and foremost, review what students would have already covered at school. A revision of the basic grammatical, phonological, and orthographical rules of the English language will create confidence in the individuals undertaking this course. Secondly, as English is today’s lingua franca it will provide the learners with the tools required to continue their personal and educational development. Providing them with the tools to read, communicate, and thus better themselves, the course would be helping individuals to take responsibility for their future by taking the first steps to improve themselves and become more employable in the today’s ever-changing market.

EQF/ MQF Level: Level 2                                                   ECTS per course: 1 

Mode of Delivery: Traditional/ Face to Face                     Total Hours: 25 hours

Mode of Attendance: Part Time                                       Language: English  

Programme Duration: 1 Week

Target Audience: 16-18, 25+,

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Target Group: This course is aimed at learners 16+; it can, however, be taken by any candidate. It is beneficial to first time job seekers and all those looking to improve their English language skills especially if they have, in the past, failed to acquire any English Language Certification.

Accreditation Category: Further Education Programme

Accredited by: Malta Further & Higher Education Authority. (MFHEA).

Course Structure: This Award is designed to focus on language acquisition through the four skills of Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, aiming to provide leaners with the tools required for further studying within the Maltese framework and in view of the position English holds in an international context.

Consequently, learners will become more independent and more confident.

Knowledge

1. Ability to read/ write and identify different types of texts.

2. Recall tenses and their common usage in the English language.

3. Label the main parts of speech of the English language and know their syntactic function.

4. Describe dependent and independent clauses and their role in sentence Structure.

5. Identify different writing styles (e.g.: formal / informal).

6. Recognise and produce different genre of writing i.e., letters, narratives, arguments.

Skills

7. Applying the correct tenses when speaking and writing in English.

8. Memorise and reproduce frequently used expressions and sentences related to areas of immediate relevance.

9. Discuss and communicate with others when topic is about routine tasks.

10. Demonstrate the ability to exchange information on routine matters.

11. Recognise word forms and can formulate new words.

12. Apply stress and intonation appropriately.

Competences

13. Apply the appropriate style when writing, having an audience / purpose in mind.

14. Compose and answer questions to maintain a conversation, applying appropriate turn-taking techniques and expected social norms.

15. Describe one's feelings, other people, and places.

16. Tell or summarise a simple story including direct and indirect speech.

17. Relate past events, including giving details.

18. Discuss future including holiday plans, further studying or family plans.

19. Participate in meetings on a familiar topic.

20. Evaluate an action, or someone's performance, and express one's opinion.

21. Choose appropriate behaviour during basic business events including socialising and networking events.

Entry Requirements: Have a basic secondary education /school leaving certificate. Be able to communicate both orally and in writing in English.

Outline of Course: Most courses and training offered by educational institutes, not only in Malta but worldwide, is offered in English. Likewise, any amount of travelling,

developing oneself or sheer entertainment require a degree of English knowledge. Thus, this module aims to offer some fundamental English skills to, not only improve the learners' level of English but, as a result, provide them with the confidence required to use English productively out of the class. 

Competences:

a) apply appropriate styles in writing.

b) initiate and maintain a conversation, following social norms and pragmatics.

c) describe feelings, other people, and places.

d) relate a story or event, including relevant details.

e) discuss future plans.

f) participate in meetings on a familiar topic.

g) evaluate an event or action and express one's opinion.

h) engage in basic business events, including socialising and networking.

Knowledge

a) ability to read /write and identify different types of texts.

b) Identifying the common usage of the different Tenses in English.

c) Identifying, and writing in, different styles including letters, narrative, and argumentative writing.

d) Identifying the main parts of speech and their syntactic functions.

e) Describing dependent and independent clauses and their role within sentence structure.

Skills

Applying knowledge and understanding. The learner will be able to:

a) Apply the appropriate tenses in spoken and written English.

b) Memorise and reproduce frequently used expressions related to areas of immediate relevance.

c) Discuss and communicate freely when topic is about routine tasks.

d) Demonstrate the ability to Exchange information on routine matters.

e) Recognise word forms and can formulate new words.

f) Apply stress and intonation appropriately.

Judgment Skills and Critical Abilities

This section has been made sufficiently open to accommodate both vocational and academic orientations. Applicants can refer to Judgement Skills, or Critical Abilities (critical skills, dispositions, values, and actions), or both.

The learner will be able to:

a) reflect on, and identify, which learning techniques best fit one's personal learning style and apply these to improve the four languages skills.

b) process all gathered knowledge and information to identify language gaps which must be addressed for further studies or progress in a desired career.

c) analyse feedback given and take any necessary action to further study alone; one moves from being a mere recipient of information to becoming an active learner.

Module-Specific Learner Skills

The learner will be able to:

a) reflect on skill gaps with regards to English Grammar, Syntax and Vocabulary and become pro-active in finding ways to further one's learning.

b) reflect on preferred memorising skills and choose ways to study and memorise new vocabulary.

c) adapt to new learning techniques. 

Module-Specific Digital Skills and Competences

The learner will be able to:

a) search for English grammar rules and hints online.

b) search for online videos, especially of native English speakers, which will help improve one's level.

Learning Outcome 1: Outcome Type – Skill

Introduce oneself, including describing feelings. Express one’s opinion. Concurring or disagreeing with the opinion of others. Ask and answer common questions. Write notes for future reference.

Learning Outcome 2: Outcome Type – Knowledge

Experiment with finding reading material which is appropriate to one’s level and interests. Apply the tools learnt to speak to English language speakers and, thus, further practise the language. Assess personal strengths and areas for further personal development in view of English Language gaps. Experiment with looking up and discovering new studying methods and learning techniques which best fit his or her character.

Assessment: The assessment for this Award consists of two parts:
1) For the Formative Assessment participants are assessed on their participation in class: Speaking and Listening during simulation exercises; Reading and Writing through written classwork 
2) For the Summative Assessment a one hour written exam is set at the end of the course. The exam carries several different tasks, including a listening and a short writing task.
The maximum mark for the course is set at 100% and to be awarded a certificate, participants will be required to achieve a minimum aggregate of 50% of the maximum mark.

Hours of Total Learning – 25:

Total Contact Hours: 10

Self-Study Hours: 10

Supervised Placement and Practice Hours: 3

Assessment Hours: 2

Course Fee: Starting from €900