This course unit aims to consolidate and develop students’ language skills to B1+ or B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), depending on the skills concerned. Learning is based on an action-oriented approach: students use English to carry out practical tasks as part of a team-based project.
Reading comprehension: students will be able to read a range of documents related to university life, teamwork and project management with a good degree of independence; identify relevant information; distinguish between facts, opinions and arguments; and summarise the key points.
Listening comprehension: students will be able to understand the main ideas in talks, interviews, meetings, presentations and audiovisual materials dealing with familiar topics or topics related to the project, including when the argument is relatively detailed or developed.
Spoken production: students will be able to clearly present a problem, an approach, a solution or a project; structure their speech; highlight key points; develop and justify an argument; and respond appropriately to questions from an audience.
Spoken interaction: students will be able to participate actively in discussions and meetings; ask questions and encourage an interlocutor to elaborate; conduct an interview; express agreement or disagreement appropriately; make suggestions; negotiate; defend a point of view; seek compromise; and contribute to collective decision-making.
Written production: students will be able to produce clear and well-structured documents related to the different stages of the project, including professional emails, interview or questionnaire questions, summaries, meeting minutes, proposal presentations, executive summaries, and other forms of writing adapted to the intended audience and purpose.
Mediation: students will be able to reformulate, summarise and convey information; make content accessible to non-specialists; and help a group develop a shared understanding by connecting the ideas and viewpoints expressed.
The priority is to enable each student, by the end of Block 2, to consolidate a B1+ or B2 level in the selected skills in line with the programme’s graduate profile, while developing their ability to use English in communication situations closely related to academic and professional contexts.
The year will be structured around a simulated entrepreneurial journey. The aim is not necessarily to create a business, but to learn how to identify a need, devise a value-creating response, work collaboratively, and gradually turn an idea into a project. The common challenge will be: “How can we improve student life on campus?”
Students will work in teams on a project of their choice, either fictional or potentially suitable for real-life implementation. The project may take the form of a service, a digital tool, an event, a campaign, a support initiative, an improvement to a campus space, or any other proposal addressing an identified need on campus.
The language skills targeted will include the ability to:
clearly present a team, a problem, an idea, a proposal, or the progress of a project;
ask relevant questions, conduct a semi-structured interview, request clarification, and practise active listening;
reformulate and summarise what an interlocutor has said or the results of a survey;
make suggestions, respond to proposals, compare several options, and justify a choice;
express agreement, disagreement, reservations, or concessions in a nuanced and appropriate way;
argue a case, persuade, negotiate, and seek compromise;
take, hold, and yield the floor, invite others to contribute, and move a discussion forward;
chair a meeting, clarify responsibilities, summarise decisions, and identify next steps;
adapt their language to the audience, particularly when presenting content to non-specialists;
use storytelling and pitching techniques to make an idea clear and convincing;
respond to questions, objections, and requests for clarification;
produce functional and professional written documents appropriate to the different stages of the project.
From a linguistic perspective, particular attention will be paid to vocabulary related to campus life, user needs, teamwork, and project management; logical and chronological connectors; the expression of cause, consequence, purpose, hypothesis, condition, concession, and contrast; modal verbs and other language used to qualify or nuance a position; as well as pronunciation, rhythm, intonation, and register awareness.
The course will offer an entrepreneurial journey structured around the challenge “How can we improve student life on campus?” Communication situations will be integrated into the different stages of the project so that language is used as a genuine tool for investigation, collaboration, reflection, and action.
The course draws on the European EntreComp framework, which defines entrepreneurship as the capacity to act upon ideas and opportunities in order to create value for others. EntreComp identifies three broad areas — Ideas & Opportunities, Resources, and Into Action — encompassing fifteen competences. The course does not aim to assess all fifteen competences comprehensively, but draws on several of them as a cross-cutting framework supporting both the project and language learning.
The entrepreneurial competences particularly emphasised will include the ability to:
spot opportunities and identify needs or problems experienced by students on campus;
use creativity to generate, develop, and compare different possible solutions;
assess the value and relevance of an idea for the people concerned;
take into account the ethical, inclusive, and sustainable dimensions of a proposal;
develop self-awareness, confidence in one’s ability to contribute, and perseverance;
mobilise others through clear and persuasive communication;
take initiative and turn an idea into concrete action;
plan, allocate tasks, set priorities, and monitor project progress;
cope with uncertainty and adapt the project in light of the information gathered;
work with others, negotiate decisions, and manage disagreements;
learn through experience, feedback, and reflection on the process.
The project journey may be organised around the following stages:
1. Explore and observe: identify aspects of student life that could be improved, gather information, observe practices and behaviours, and formulate initial hypotheses.
2. Understand needs: prepare and conduct interviews or questionnaires, ask follow-up questions, listen actively, and summarise the information gathered.
3. Define the problem: clearly formulate a need or problem to be addressed, distinguish essential information, and present the main findings from the research phase.
4. Generate and select a solution: generate several ideas, compare them, build arguments, express disagreement, negotiate, and reach a collective decision.
5. Structure the project: define a value proposition, objectives, roles, stages, and priorities; draft a project charter and organise the team’s work.
6. Test and improve: present an initial proposal or prototype, gather feedback, respond to objections, reformulate ideas, and adjust the solution.
7. Persuade and communicate: build a coherent narrative, prepare a pitch, write an executive summary, and present the project to an audience while responding to questions.
8. Review and reflect: evaluate the project and the team’s functioning, identify what has been learned, and suggest areas for improvement.
See Webcampus
POSSIBLE EXERCISES AND ASSIGNMENTS
The activities offered on WebCampus and in class will follow the different stages of the project. They may include:
presenting one’s profile and the contributions one can make to a team;
drafting and presenting a team charter or project charter;
preparing an interview guide or questionnaire on student life on campus;
conducting an interview and producing a summary of the needs identified;
presenting a problem statement and explaining the evidence supporting it;
taking part in an ideation session and defending a proposal;
simulating a team meeting involving agreement, disagreement, negotiation, and decision-making;
presenting a concept or solution to a non-specialist audience;
producing a short communication resource or teaser;
writing an executive summary;
preparing and delivering a final pitch, followed by responses to questions and objections;
writing an individual reflection on the language and entrepreneurial competences developed.
The exercises will be supported by writing modules, vocabulary resources, grammar activities, pronunciation exercises, and self-assessment tools available on WebCampus.
The teaching methods are based on five main approaches:
Entrepreneurial and project-based learning: learning activities are organised around an open-ended, real-world challenge. Students are encouraged to identify a need, propose a value-creating response, and develop their project in response to constraints, feedback, and collective decisions.
The CEFR action-oriented approach: language is used to accomplish tasks that are not purely linguistic. Reception, production, interaction, and mediation activities are integrated into communication situations related to the different stages of the project.
Collaborative learning: teamwork is considered a learning environment in its own right. Students learn to allocate roles, develop ideas together, negotiate, manage disagreements, and make decisions in English.
Differentiated learning pathways: activities and resources may be adapted to students’ linguistic needs. Self-assessment tools and feedback will help each student identify their priorities and make progress from their current level.
Combining face-to-face learning, independent preparation, and digital tools: some resources and preparatory tasks will be completed independently, while face-to-face sessions will prioritise interaction, feedback, negotiation, speaking activities, and tasks for which teacher support provides genuine added value.
Learning activities are assessed on both continuous and summative assessment during the June examination period, which will take the form of a written and an oral exam.
Continuous assessment :
Summative assessment :
For the resit exam (August), each student will retake the part(s) for which they have failed (meaning where they scored less than 10/20). It is the responsibility of the student to find out which parts they have passed or not. Students have the right to reattempt a passed part in order to improve their grade for that part, upon request to the course instructor. In this case, the August grade will replace the June grade in any case. The weighting of the different parts remains the same as in the first session.
Warning : please note that the success of this teaching unit does not lead to certification.
Michael McCarthy & Felicity O’Dell. English Vocabulary in Use – Upper-Intermediate, 4th edition. Cambridge University Press (2017).
| Training | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor in Computer Science (Evenings and Weekends Schedule) | 1 | 5 | Yes |