The latvian academy of culture

The Name of the Course An Integrated Course in Speciality Language (for students without preliminary knowledge)

The Author of the Course Ass. Prof: A. Jerjomenko, lecturers: I. Gravite, M. Mihalisina, M. Ringmars, S. Svensons, A. Vaisle.

The Objective of the Course The objective of the course is comprehension of both oral and written language at the highest level, the development of the capacity to apply it : to obtain, cognize, comprehend and exchange information in the process of cross-cultural dialogue. By acquiring and comparing the native and the foreign language and culture students are expected to enhance their awareness of the unusual and develop a critical approach towards themselves and the rest of the world. The course also encourages individual studies and collaboration in groups in order to develop social, general, emotional and evaluation abilities in the language. The Integrated Course is designed to develop all the four language skills – comprehension, reading, speaking and writing. It includes the acquisition of certain lexical, functional, grammatical and cultural aspects. During the first and the second year much attention is focused on the phonological aspects.
Preconditions for the Acquisition of the Course The acquisition of the experience and strategies of German or English as the first foreign language.

The Scope of the Course 7 terms:

Term 1 – 192 academic hours,

Term 2 – 192 academic hours,

Term 3 – 192 academic hours,

Term 4 – 160 academic hours,

Term 5 – 64 academic hours,

Term 6 – 64 academic hours,

Term 7 – 64 academic hours.

The Number of Credit Points 33 credit points
The Type of Assessment After the 1^st, 3^rd and the 5^th terms – a test, after the 2^nd, 4^th and the 6^th terms – an examination testing all the four language skills of student – writing, auding, speaking and reading comprehension. At the end of the 7^th term students take the Bachelor’s Examination.

The Contents of the Course see Appendix
Appendix

MONTH	THEMES	HOURS
	Term 1
Sep tem ber	Linguistic functions – greetings, introductions; asking and giving information; agreeing and disagreeing; gratitude; apologies. Vocabulary – nationalities; occupation; numbers from 1 to 60. Grammar – verbs to be, to have, to do; interrogative pronouns : who, which, where, how, etc.; the definite article, the indefinite article; contraction; possessive pronouns; masculine gender, feminine gender. Phonetics – alphabet; syllabic stress; syllabic emphasis in the written language; mute letters. Cultural aspects – address in the second person you in the plural and singular; professional activities.	48
Octo ber	Linguistic functions – talk about family bounds; identify and characterize objects and persons; express possession. Vocabulary – family; different objects in the classroom and at home; date; numbers from 60 to 1000. Grammar – nouns in the singular and the plural; verbs in the present; the verb to come;; negation. Phonetics – pronunciation : liaision of letters and words; falling and rising intonations. Cultural aspects – behaviour in the family; famous persons.	48
No vem ber	Linguistic functions- determining location; expressing orders, surprise, indifference, and prohibition. Vocabulary – house and home; flat; room; furniture. Grammar – the verb to be (to be situated); demonstrative pronouns, prepositions of place, verbs to take, to put in present. Phonetics – intonation in the sentence; mute letters. Cultural aspects – residence, address; invitations to pay someone a visit; announcements; door keeper.	48
De cem ber	Linguistic functions – asking and giving directions; polite requests : apologies, gratitude, offering help, advice; shopping. Vocabulary – city, buildings, shopping-places, streets; clothes and fashions. Grammar – verbs to be able to, to go, to know in the present; prepositions of place; negative answers; ordinal numerals. Phonetics – nasal vowels. Cultural aspects – blocks of flats, architectural monuments.	48
	Term 2
Feb ruary	Linguistic functions – talking about everyday life; telling the time; proposing, agreeing, refusing. Vocabulary – time, clock; describing movements. Grammar – the verb to want, modal verb to need; reflexive verbs; the perfect tense. Phonetics – central vowels; accentuated and unaccentuated forms. Cultural aspects – youth entertainment; clock, time in the world; advertisements.	48
March	Linguistic functions – expressing opinions, feelings, needs; telling the amount of things, desire and possibilities. Vocabulary – foodstuffs; a journey. Grammar – the article; the future; the direct object, the indirect object. Phonetics – consonants, their characterisation. Cultural aspects – traditional dishes; journeys.	48
April	Linguistic functions – expressing prolongation, discussing and commenting on topical events. Vocabulary – the cinema, television and professions. Grammar – time references, interrogative inversion, verbs to know, to be acquainted; interrogative pronouns; the past. Phonetics – phonetic and vocal reduction. Cultural aspects – famous actors, film festival.	48
May	Linguistic functions – asking for and giving opinions; making comparisons; agreeing, refusing proposal; expressing wish and persuading. Vocabulary – fashions; ecology. Grammar – adjectives, their position in the sentence; degrees of comparison; the subjunctive mood; the infinitive. Phonetics – language styles. Cultural aspects – fashion designers; nature protection.	48
	Term 3
Sep tem ber	Linguistic functions – speaking about one’s taste, likes and dislikes; agreeing and disagreeing with opinions; giving judgement. Vocabulary – the press and mass media; communication and information sectors. Grammar – first year review : the indicative mood, the present, the perfect, the past, the future; adjectives, adverbs, degrees of comparison, comparison of amount and action. Phonetics – listening exercises : vowels. Cultural aspects – information on television, social and professional relations.	48
Octo ber	Linguistic functions – expressing one’s desire and will; expressing judgement, accusation, and forgiveness. Vocabulary – social events, economy; animals; a sense of humour, lies and the truth. Grammar – interrogation and negation, direct objects and indirect objects, their position in sentence. Phonetics – listening exercise : consonants. Cultural aspects – national features, psychological analysis; the third world countries.	48
No vem ber	Linguistic functions – expressing demand, necessity, reproach; apologies, giving a reason; giving an account of the recent events; opening a debate. Vocabulary – sports; everyday activities and duties. Grammar – the passive form and the past participle; the present participle; the subjunctive mood; pronouns. Phonetics – the general characteristic of speech sounds; vowels and consonants. Cultural aspects – everyday life in the family; political, economic and cultural life in the province; institutions of local and national importance.	48
De cember	Linguistic functions – expressing confidence and distrust, agreement and disagreement; expressing one’s emotions and feelings, sympathy. Vocabulary – cultural life, the theatre, the cinema, music, songs; feelings and emotions. Grammar – relative, interrogative, demonstrative and possessive pronouns; impersonal forms. Phonetics – intonation of functional importance. Cultural aspects – aspects of cultural activities.	48
	Term 4
Feb ruary	Linguistic functions – advice; explanations; complaints. Vocabulary – character and individuality; travelling and tourism; the sea and mountains. Grammar – the past perfect; structures of time limitation; actions in the past; the future in the past. Phonetics – sentence stress; intonation as a means of expressing a linguistic function. Cultural aspects – regions, departments; tourism objects and sightseeing; architectural monuments.	40
March	Linguistic functions – expressing doubt, fear, indifference and suspicion. Vocabulary – feelings and sentiments; means of transport; description of different objects. Grammar – indefinite pronouns; prepositions of time and adverbs; structures of condition and consequences. Phonetics – pause in the sentence. Cultural aspects – situations concerning tourism.	40
April	Linguistic functions –discussion of a past event; presumption and supposition. Vocabulary – historical event; school and education. Grammar – the structural development and frequency of action; the formation of nouns. Phonetics – parenthesis; onomatopoeia. Cultural aspects – historical events; the system of education.	40
May	Linguistic functions – reproach; giving explanations. Vocabulary – philosophy and religion; science and technology; books and literature. Grammar – localization of time; relative pronouns in subordinate clauses. Phonetics – poetic language, intonation, alliteration, poetic character. Cultural aspects – scientific discoveries; literature : prose and poetry.	40
	Term 5
Sep tem ber	Linguistic functions – telling and interpreting one’s reminiscences. Vocabulary – memory and past experiences. Grammar – tenses in narration : the past simple and the past perfect; anteriority and posteriority; simultaneity of action. Cultural aspects – biography; famous poets or writers.	4
Oc tober	Linguistic functions – requests; satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Vocabulary – characters, attitude, behaviour. Grammar – the subjunctive mood. Cultural aspects – an enterprise, the principles of its activities.	4
Novem ber	Linguistic functions – asking and giving information about an administrative or social organization. Vocabulary – the place of residence and urbanization; customs and traditions. Grammar – complex sentences; interrogative sentences. Cultural aspects – administrative and political life.	4
Decem ber	Linguistic functions – future plans, promises. Vocabulary – family life, career. Grammar – the future; conditional sentences. Cultural aspects – the latest technologies.	4
	Term 6
Feb ruary	Linguistic functions – expressing surprise or indifference, fear and encouragement. Vocabulary – mysteries and legends; religions. Grammar – supposition; causes and consequences. Cultural aspects – scientific explanations.	4
March	Linguistic functions – situations of choice : proposal, doubt, decisions; agreement, gratitude. Vocabulary – exhibitions, art, cultural events. Grammar – characteristics of nouns; the object, participial clauses. Cultural aspects – cultural activities.	4
April	Linguistic functions – actions and consequences; affirmation, negation. Vocabulary – adventures, moral values, virtues. Grammar – the process of an action, duration. Cultural aspects – moral aspects.	4
May	Linguistic functions – formation of argumentation. Vocabulary – social issues and problems. Grammar – causes and consequences. Cultural aspects – contradictions in society.	4
	Term 7
Sep tem ber	Linguistic functions – the communicative functions of language, conversational languages; participation in debates (asking the floor, etc.). Vocabulary – the mentality of a nation, educational aspects, immigration. Grammar – the conditional mood. Cultural aspects – levels of national development.	4
Octo ber	Linguistic functions – permission and prohibition. Vocabulary – standards of behaviour and social bans. Grammar – the passive voice; reflexive forms. Cultural aspects – private correspondence.	4
Novem ber	Linguistic functions – making purchase; work in an office or a bank. Vocabulary – social and psychological types. Grammar – characterization of an action, the use of adverbs and participial phrases. Cultural aspects – tendencies of consumption; currency.	4
Decem ber	Linguistic functions – presentation of information. Vocabulary – meetings. Grammar – expression of identity, comparison, difference and resemblance. Cultural aspects – co-operation, collaboration; festivities.	4

The Name of the Course Close Reading, Text Interpretation, and Discussion: The Dawn of the 21st Century--Current Events, U.S. Presidential Elections, and the Search for a "New Britain"
The Author of the Course Fabian Hilfrich, M.A.
The Objective of the Course Thematically, this course seeks to acquaint the students with important current events, particularly in Great Britain and in the United States. In this context, it concentrates on the process and on this year's issues in the American presidential elections as well as on Tony Blair's efforts to promote a new image of Great Britain abroad. The course focuses on politics and culture. In one important respect, its focus is also a logical extension of the course taught in the last semester: Whereas the latter concentrated on the rights of the individual, this course puts groups, group thinking, and group identity (e.g. nations) at the center of its attention. From a methodological point of view, the seminar teaches the students to read texts closely and carefully, to distinguish different text formats, and to analyze texts in their appropriate contexts. Furthermore, it seeks to enhance their capacity for informed and structured discussion in their specialty language. Finally, the students are encouraged to seek information on their own and to familiarize themselves with the available resource centers and libraries in Riga.

Preconditions for the Acquisitions of the Course The acquisition of the language courses of Term 1, Year 1.

The Scope of the Course 1 term, 32 hours of practical classes, two academic hours a week, delivered in Term 2, Year I.

The Number of Credit Points 2 points

The Type of Assessment A final exam in written form at the end of the term, preceded by a take-home midterm test and an oral presentation in class.

The Contents of the Course see Appendix

Appendix

No.	THEMES	HOURS
1.	Introduction: The meaning and the uses of stereotypes	2
2.	Theoretical Preparation: reading, summarizing, and analyzing texts	2
3.	Current Events: Foreign reactions to the new government in Austria	2
4.	The Millennium: What is the significance of a millennium? Why the media hype?	2
5.	"New Britain I:" Advertising a country and an identity	2
6.	"New Britain II:" The Millennium Dome in London as a symbol	2
7.	"New Britain III:" Criticism of the Millennium Dome	2
8.	"American Intermission I:" The process of American presidential elections	2
9.	"American Intermission II:" The substance of this year's elections	2
10.	"American Intermission III:" The Senate candidacy of Hillary Clinton	2
11.	"New Britain IV:" Has New Labour discovered a "Third Way?"	2
12.	"New Britain V:" The crisis of New Labour	2
13.	"New Britain VI:" Multiculturalism and political correctness	2
14.	"New Britain VII:" Is there a persistence of racism in Great Britain? Is it part of the "old" or the "new" Britain	2
15.	"New Britain VIII:" Should homosexual marriages be legalized?	2
16.	Summary of the main themes and course evaluation	2

Literature

1. Rosencranz, A.; Chapin, J. B., et al. 1979. American Government. New York, Toronto, et al.: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

2. Barnet, S., Bedau, H. 1993. Current Issues and Enduring Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument. Boston: Bedford Books.

3. Periodical and newspaper articles from the USIS Information Center, copied with the kind permission of the USIS.

4. Periodical and newspaper articles from the British Council Library, copied with the kind permission of the British Council.

5. Newspaper articles and other information material through the Internet.