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Unit information: Text Response in 2023/24

Unit name Text Response
Unit code LANG00010
Credit points 30
Level of study QCA-3
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director Miss. Newton
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

IELTS: minimum 5.5 overall; minimum 5.0 in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing components or equivalent.

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

Academic Writing LANG00006

Units you may not take alongside this one

LANG00023

LANG00017

School/department Centre for Academic Language and Development
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

Text Response aims to engage you and help you to excel in academic language and literacy skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in preparation for your undergraduate pathway. During the unit you will undertake collaborative and individual tasks that will develop not only your academic skills, but also your group-working skills, both of which are invaluable for university study and your future career. On Text Response you will explore a range of contemporary topics, such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and apply these to primary and secondary research within your subject area, empowering you to analyse, evaluate and create knowledge about your own future subject discipline.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study

Text Response complements the unit Academic Writing (LANG00006). The purpose of these two units is to provide the foundations of academic language and literacy skills required for undergraduate study. Learning on these two units will be applied across your IFP subject units helping you to develop essay and report writing, presentation and seminar skills, and listening and reading strategies.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

Text Response is a 30-credit unit within the International Foundation Programme which is designed to prepare international students for undergraduate study in the UK. It is one of a number of complementary units whose overall aims are to improve the language, academic literacy and subject knowledge required to succeed at a British university.

Text Response aims to develop reading, listening and speaking skills and strategies, as well as critical questioning and academic vocabulary. Skills developed include summarising, analysing and evaluating texts, and responding critically to them in writing and orally through seminars and presentations. It complements written work done in Academic Writing to improve the students' overall academic literacy.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit

You will be introduced to global concepts through the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and use these as lenses to analyse and collect primary and secondary data on an issue within your subject area. You will unpack and critically analyse reading and listening texts and by the end of the course will be able to transfer these reading and listening strategies to your future discipline. You will also participate in discussions and presentations and will be able to transfer speaking strategies to your future discipline. You will leave the course with the skills and tools necessary to understand and respond to academic texts and to share your research and express your opinions orally. You will also be able to critically evaluate your learning on the course.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

1. Recognise, analyse and use key academic vocabulary in a range of texts.

2. Use a range of listening and reading strategies for unpacking meaning of a variety of texts.

3. Critically respond to a range of texts.

4. Prepare and deliver effective academic presentations.

5. Reflect on and evaluate learning based on a portfolio of evidence.

How you will learn

Learning is facilitated in weekly small group sessions with both individual and group-based work. In addition to a range of authentic texts, appropriate e-learning technologies will be used for self-study and self-assessment as well as work in class.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

  • Developmental portfolio consisting of a collection of written and oral classwork, homework and reflections on which you will receive peer and tutor feedback (0%, not required for credit)

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

  • Individual recorded reflection on a poster project, 10 mins (20%) [ILOs 1, 2, 4, 5]
  • Comparative critical response, 1,500 words (40%) [ILOs 1, 2, 3]
  • Oral claim of academic development based on evidence from a portfolio of academic work, 15 minutes (40%) [ILOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

When assessment does not go to plan

Any student registered on the International Foundation Programme will be offered a conditional place on an undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol. Students must meet the entry requirements to be admitted onto an undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol. Different degree programmes may have different entry requirements. The IFP Board will review the mark profiles of all students who are close to attaining the entry requirements but are outside the previously agreed near miss criteria and may agree to admit them to a degree programme. If not admitted, students may be offered a further opportunity (i.e. two attempts in total) to meet the entry requirements for their intended degree programme at the University of Bristol by re-taking a relevant assessment. Marks are not capped for this purpose. If a student is absent or their performance in assessment is significantly affected due to exceptional circumstances, they may re-take the relevant assessment at the next appropriate time, without penalty.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LANG00010).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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