Study Guide

Objective

You know the basic concepts of professional forestry and are able to use them in work related written and oral communication in an appropriate genre. You can develop your knowledge of forestry by means of English literature. You can give a presentation in English.

Content

Studying and learning skills, oral practice: studies and extra-curricular activities, small talk practice, email and other written communication, basic concepts of forestry: tree species, their properties and uses, forestry in Finland.

Teaching methods

You know the basic concepts of professional forestry and are able to use them in work related written and oral communication. You can develop your knowledge of forestry by means of English literature. You can give a presentation in English.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

0= fail, 1= fair, 3= good, 5 = excellent

Assessment scale: 0-5
The performance is assessed at skills level B2 of English, in writing and speaking, adapted to the professional English courses of a university of applied sciences
(Common European Frame of Reference, CEFR).
Course assessment is based on written and spoken performance in assignments, activity in class and online, and possible exams or word tests.

Assessment criteria, fail (0)

Written performance is fail (0) if
- The competence does not meet the criteria for grade 1.
- The text is not the author's own but has been copied or produced by a translation machine.

Oral performance is fail if the competence does not meet the criteria for grade 1.  

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

Written communication
1: Developing written communicator (Satisfactory /Passed)
Writing:
The topic has been covered independently and in accordance with the assignment, but in a rather narrow and one-sided way. 
The text is sometimes illogical and sentences are disjointed.  
 There is little attention to the reader and the situation (style and expressions).  
The message is conveyed, although linguistic expressions are simple and errors occur .
Satisfactory finishing of the text (proofreading, layout, titling, references where appropriate).  
Good ability to make use of aids to support writing (dictionaries, proofreading).   
Reading: understands the main points of the text in the field. Can use reading strategies and search for academic texts satisfactorily. Finds the main points of a text, understands its purpose and can decide whether it is appropriate for the task in hand. Can use English texts satisfactorily in their own studies.

Oral communication 1: The developing oral communicator  

Can communicate and cope independently in most common situations, including work-related situations, and has a command of the basic vocabulary required in these situations.  
Gives a prepared and comprehensible presentation on a professional topic of interest, even if the speech may be unstructured and illogical. They can use self-prepared materials to support his/her speech.  
Can participate meaningfully in a discussion, although may need the support of one's interlocutors.   
Can adapt one's expression to some extent to the situation/ can take account of the requirements of the situation.   
Can pronounce intelligibly, although there may be some fumbling and some speech may not be entirely fluent.  
Uses the basic structures of the language (singular and plural distinctions, verb tenses, pronouns s/he/they), but these may be incomplete and interfere with the message. However, mistakes do not interfere with the message all the time.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

Written communication  
3: A good written communicator 


The text progresses reasonably logically, but there are minor weaknesses in coherence (paragraphing, cohesion).  
Minor stylistic errors may occur. The text is largely reader-friendly, but the level of competence of the expected reader is not always taken into account (e.g. definition of terms).
The language is fairly fluent, clear and relatively error-free. Errors may occur in the more complex structures and expressions.  Sentence structures and vocabulary are fairly adequate to convey the message. The writer also avoids excessive repetition, although some errors may still occur.
The text is well finished (proofreading, layout, titling, references where appropriate).  
Excellent use of aids to support writing and reading (dictionaries, proofreading).   

3: Good oral communicator
Can communicate well in normal work-related situations and has a good command of the vocabulary required in such situations.  
Gives a well-prepared, fluent and structured presentation on a professional topic of interest . May occasionally need to refer to self-prepared materials prepared to support the speech.  
Gets the message across well.
Can contribute meaningfully to the discussion and justify one's views.  
Is able to adapt one's expression to the situation and to take account of the requirements of the situation.   
Speaks fluently and at a normal rate. Speech stress and intonation support comprehension.  
Uses basic language structures with varying degrees of fluency. There may still be some errors in the more difficult structures.
Takes into account non-verbal means of communication.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

 5: Excellent written communicator    

The subject matter is varied, effective and skillful, and is fully in line with the assignment. 
The text is structurally very clear, logical, coherent and varied.    
The student is able to convey the message in a natural and relevant style, taking into account the target audience.
The student is able to use written sources effectively as appropriate to the situation and the task and is able to report on and use the text to support the producing one's own text.  
The student's own written output is fluent and uses aids judiciously.  
The student can refer to another writer's text (or speaker's speech) and express issues fluently in a variety of ways.
The language is very fluent and varied. There is a variety of sentence structures and an excellent command of jargon. Occasional errors may occur in the more demanding structures and expressions, but these do not lead to misunderstandings. The author avoids excessive repetition.  
The text is excellently finished (proofreading, layout, titling, references where appropriate).   
The author is able to convince the reader of his/her expertise.   

5: Excellent oral communicator
Can communicate fluently in work-related situations, including those of a more demanding nature, and has a good command of the specific vocabulary needed to communicate in the field.  
Can give a prepared, fluent and structured presentation on a professional topic. The use of any supporting material does not distract from the presentation itself.  
Is able to contribute meaningfully to a discussion and to lead and justify one's own position.  
Can fluently adapt one's expression to the situation and respond naturally to the demands of the situation.   
Speaks fluently and at a normal rate. Speech stress and intonation support comprehension.  
Body language and other non-verbal communication is effective and appropriate to the situation.
Uses language with variety, accuracy and nuance.