PACIFIC TECHNICAL AND FURTHER EDUCATION

LLF15 FOUNDATION ENGLISH B

COURSE OUTLINE

Course Introduction

Welcome to LLF15 Foundation English B!!

LLF15 is a compulsory Foundation English course. It is designed to help you to increase your proficiency
in various study skills and aspects of communication in preparation for studies at post-foundation levels.

Topics include intensive and extensive reading, effective use of the library, critical examinations of
written texts, note taking, summary, paragraph structure, essay writing, comprehension, grammar usage
and oral expression.

Course Learning Outcomes

After completing this course you should be able to:

1. Apply communication skills.

2. Improve on various methods of reading texts.

3. Demonstrate different note taking skills.

4. Produce a piece of academic writing using the course-prescribed process.

 USP Graduate Outcomes

The USP graduate outcomes are as follows:

1. Academic Excellence

 Extensive knowledge of and relevant skills in a particular discipline or professional area

 Capacity for critical thinking and independent self-directed life-long learning
 Advanced information and communication technology knowledge and skills , and
 Research skills

2. Intellectual curiosity and integrity

 Deep respect for truth and intellectual integrity and for the ethnics of scholarship
 Intellectual curiosity and creativity openness to new ideas
 Commitment to inter-disciplinary understanding and skills and
 Respect for the principles , values and ethics of a chosen profession

3. Capacity for leadership and working with others

 Effective interpersonal communication skills

 Leadership, organizational teamwork and time management abilities and
 Personal maturity and self –confidence.

4. Appreciation of the cultures of the Pacific

 Knowledge and appreciation of the unity and diversity of Pacific island cultures
 Understanding of the diverse economies and environments of the Pacific Islands ;and
 Commitment to the maintenance and strengthening of the societies of the Pacific

5. Cross- cultural Competencies

 Understanding and appreciation of social, cultural and linguistic diversity

 Respect for human rights and dignity in a global context
 Commitment to accountability ethnical practice and social responsibility and
 Demonstrated oral and written proficiency in the English language.

Programme Graduate Outcomes

This programme is designed to prepare students for degree studies in Arts and other related
undergraduate programmes.

1. Students will learn about Pacific societies, their cultures, politics and histories.

2. They will develop research skills, learn to become critical thinkers as well as build on oral and written
communication skills.

3. This programme provides opportunities for students to be creative, work collaboratively and use
technology as a learning tool.
 Course structure and content

The course is organised into 5 units. A brief outline of the main topics in each unit is given below.

Unit One Learning to Speak and Listen

Unit Two Academic Reading
Unit Three Summary Writing
Unit Four Essay Writing
Unit Five Report Writing

Learning Materials

You should have already received the following materials a week before semester starts:

1. The Introduction and Assessments Guide which you are reading now includes:

The suggested weekly study schedule; assessment activities and instructions; and other general
administrative information that you need to know.

2. The Course Book which contains 5 units covering different topics of study.

At the beginning of the Course book you will find a general introduction to the course and advice on
how to use your course book most effectively.

Contact your USP Campus or Centre immediately if you are missing any of the materials mentioned in 1
and 2 above.

3. LLF15 MOODLE page:

You are encouraged to visit our Moodle page regularly as your Course Coordinator will be posting course
news and announcements on the news forum. This is where you can also communicate with your
Coordinator and fellow students. Useful resources will also be available on Moodle to help you with
your studies in this course.

4. Recommended Text book:

There is no prescribed text book for LLF15. Below is a recommended text and you don’t need to buy it as
copies will be made available in your local campus library

Oxford Practice Grammar Intermediate with answers, 5th edition by John Eastwood (ISBN: 978 0 19
430911 0)

Supplementary Materials

These will be provided in Moodle so it is important that you visit our Moodle page regularly and make
use of these extra resources.
 Learning Support

Local Tutorials

To assist you with your studies, regular face-to-face sessions may be held with a tutor. You should check
with your Pacific TAFE Campus Coordinator or Centre at the start of semester to see if face-to-face
tutorials will be held for your course.

Study Groups

Most people find it easier to study in a group or with a friend, at least for part of the time. Working with
others helps to motivate us. It provides a shared goal and reduces feelings of isolation or boredom. Your
local Campus or Centre will be able to put you in touch with students doing this course and may help
you get organised.

Library Services

Making good use of the library and its resources is vital for you to be a successful student. Learn about
library support and services and the importance of information literacy at your Campus or Centre
library.

The Learning Support Services offers Learning Support and Work Skills (LSWS) through a number of
ways:

a) Direct web link: https://elearn.usp.ac.fj/course/view.php?id=2064

b) Learning Support Moodle Page provides material that you may use to assist you with reading writing

c) Downloading the Learning Support App on your phone which provides you with tips on a range of
essential study skills

d) Attend sessions organized by the USP Student Learning Support (SLS) in your campuses (Vanuatu,
Samoa, Lautoka, Labasa, Tonga, Solomon Islands) e) Attend the session organized by the Pacific TAFE
LSWS Coordinator and Assistant Facilitator in Laucala.

Online Learning

Moodle is USP’s learning management system and will be used to support learning in some of your
courses.

Your REACT session

Apart from local tutorials, USP uses a system known as REACT which allows you to hear and see your
course coordinator or tutor as well as your fellow students who are located in the various campuses in
the USP region. You may get presentations and notes in addition to your scheduled session. These are
commonly known as satellite tutorials. You are encouraged to attend the scheduled sessions in the
weeks shown in your study schedule.
 Semester Calendar

Calendar for Semester 1, 2023

Week 1 13-17February

Beginning of semester 1

13 February : Lectures commence

Week 2 20-24 February

Deadline for late registration;

24 February : Deadline for adding of courses for

those who registered within the registration
period (no fee charged for this cohort);

Week 3 27 February -03 March

3 March : Deadline for payment of semester 1

fees for all campuses

Week 4 06-10 March

Week 5 13-17 March

Week 6 20-24 March

Week 7 27- 31 March

Mid-Semester Break 1- 10 April

Week 8 11 –14 April

Week 9 17 –21 April

Week 10 24 –28 April

Week 11 01 –05 May

Week 12 08 –12 May

Week 13 15 –19 May

Week 14 22- 26 May [Last day of Lectures May 26 ]

26 May-Deadline for students to withdraw from

courses they do not wish to be assessed in

Week 15 STUDY WEEK 27 May -4 June

Weeks 16 & 17 EXAMINATIONS 5-16 June

*If you are considering withdrawal from your course, contact your lecturer, local USP Campus or
Centre first to see if they can help.
 Study Schedule

Planning your work

To help you keep up with the course, we suggest you allocate at least two hours a day to study. Plan
your time using this study schedule.
Week no. and date Unit Assessment(s) and tutorial(s)
Week 1 Unit 1: Learning to Listen Virtual tutorial: 17 February 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
13- 17 February and Speak
Week 2 Virtual tutorial: 24 February 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
20-24 February
Week 3 Unit 2: Academic Reading Virtual tutorial: 10 February 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
27 February -03 March
Week 4 Virtual tutorial: 10 March 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
06 -10 March
Week 5 Unit 3: Summary Writing Test 1: (7.5%) (Online opens 13 March and closes 17 March)
13-17 March (Confirm date, time & venue with your local campus)
Virtual tutorial: 17 March 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
Week 6 Virtual tutorial: 24 March 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
20-24 March
Week 7 Unit 4: Essay Writing Assessment 1 (15%) due: 31 March, 2023 before
27- 31 March 23.55hours Fiji Time (in Assessment 1 drop box on Moodle).
Virtual tutorial: 31 March 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
1-10 April MID-SEMESTER BREAK
Week 8 Virtual tutorial: 14 April 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
11 – 14 April
Week 9 Virtual tutorial: 21 April 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
17- 21 April
Week 10 Assessment 2 (20%) due: 28 April, 2023 before 23.55hours
24-28 April Fiji Time (in Assessment 2 drop box on Moodle).
Virtual tutorial: 28 April 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am
Week 11 Unit 5: Report Writing Virtual tutorial: 05 May 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
01-05 May
Week 12 Test 2 (7.5%) (Online opens 8 May and closes 12 May )
08-12 May (Confirm date, time & venue with your local campus)
Virtual tutorial: 12 May 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
Week 13 Virtual tutorial: 19 May 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
15 – 19 May
Week 14 Revision Virtual tutorial: 26 May 2023 (10:00am – 11:00am)
22 May – 26 May
Week 15 STUDY BREAK
27 May- 4 June
Weeks 16 & 17 FINAL EXAMINATIONS
5-16 June Check with your local USP Campus or Centre for the exact time, date and venue of
your final examination.
 Course Assessment

This course is assessed in two ways:

Continuous assessment 50%

Final examination 50%

Total value 100%

Continuous Assessment

Continuous assessment makes up 50% of the final score and includes 4 assessment tasks.

It is weighted in the following way:

Assessment 1 (Study, Plan and Collect Information for an Essay) 15% -31 March 2023 (Week 7)

Assessment 2 (Academic Essay Writing) 20%- 28 April 2023 (Week 10)

Test 1 (Grammar & Comprehension) 7.5%- (Online 13-17 March 2023 (Week 5)

Test 2 (Grammar & Comprehension) 7.5 %- (Online 8-12 May 2023 (Week 12)

Total value 50%

Assessments:

You are required to submit 2 written assessments. These will help you and your coordinator/ tutors to
see how you are progressing with the course. They allow you to demonstrate that you are actively
studying and learning, and the extent to which you have understood the materials. The feedback you
receive from your assessments will set you in the right direction if you are experiencing difficulties, and
encourage you to continue if you are on the right track. Assessment questions will be changed every
semester.

Tests (replace final examination)

You are required to sit 3 tests for this course. Tests 1 &2 are worth 15% each accounting to 30% of your
final grade and Test 3 is worth 20%. Each test will last 1 hour.

Test 1: 30 marks Test 2: 30 marks

(10% of final grade)
2 Sections:
A. Grammar (15 marks)
Multiple choice/ Fill in the blanks
B. Reading Comprehension (15
marks)
Multiple choice; True or false.
(10% of final grade)
2 Sections:
A. Grammar (15 marks)
Multiple choice/ Fill in the blanks
B. Reading Comprehension (15
marks)
Multiple choice; True or false.
Note: To pass the course, you must score at least 40% of the Tests (these replace the Final exam –results
will not be available to students)

In other words, you must score the equivalent of 20/50 or more for the Tests

Final Examination
The final examination will consist of a 3 hour paper at the end of your course. This will account for 50%
of your final grade. Please confirm the date and time with your Campus or Student Administrative
Services. Note: To pass the course, you must also score at least 40% for the examination.

N.B. With the present pandemic (COVID=19), if there is an emergency lock down of USP campuses or
other emergencies then there may be no final exam and this will be replaced by Final Exam Online which
is worth 50% of the course work. This will be updated onto Moodle and done online.

Grading System

Assessments

Moodle
All students in Laucala and the regional campuses must submit all assessments online through the
Course Moodle page by the dates given in the study schedule or on Moodle. Please upload your
assignments in the correct assessment drop box provided on our course Moodle page.
Hard copy
Only students in school based programmes and outer Island centres will submit their assessments as
hard copies. These will be handed in by the dates given on the study schedule. Please submit them in
the correct order and address the envelope to the Course Coordinator. For each assessment, you should
fill out a yellow assessment cover form which you collect from Student Academic Services (SAS). If you
do not have assessment covers, contact your USP Campus.
It is very important that you keep to the study schedule and complete the assessments so that you get
regular feedback on your progress throughout this course.

Correct labelling of assessments

Please be very careful to correctly label your assessments and fill in your assignment cover. On each
assessment that you send in for marking, you should write or type:

 the full name you used to enrol in this course;

 your student identification number;
 the correct course code and title; and
 the assessment number.

Correct labelling will help ensure that the marker receives your assessment on time, and that you get the
credit for the work that you do.
To enable us to comment on particular parts of your assignment, only write on one side of the sheet and
leave a 2 inches margin on the left side of each page. If you have access to a computer and a printer, you
may submit your assessments in word-processed form.
Late Assessments
If you expect to be over two weeks late in submitting an assessment, write to your course coordinator.
You should explain why you are late and suggest a revised schedule that will allow you to complete the
remaining assessments on time.

Your course coordinator may mark a late assessment if there is a good reason for its delay. In deciding
whether to mark late assessments, your course coordinator will give greater consideration to students in
remote areas with little or no access to their USP Campus, Centre or tutorial help.

USP reserves the right to decide whether or not to mark late assessments. It is in your interest to send in
your assessments on time. The assessment schedule gives your course coordinator time to provide you
with regular feedback on your progress, before it is too late for you to use this information constructively
in your studies.

Your course coordinator will not mark any assessment received after Week 14

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the copying of another person’s creative work and using it as one’s own – without explicitly
giving credit to the original creator. Work copied without acknowledgement from a book, from another
student’s work, from the internet or from any other source is plagiarism.

Plagiarism includes the following:

a) Copying of the published or unpublished words of another writer without acknowledging the
source using acceptable reference citation methods. Thus, to; 'cut and paste' from internet
sources or 'lift' sentences, ideas and sections from a textual source qualifies as plagiarism.
b) Lifting or cutting and pasting extracts without quotation marks or appropriate acknowledgement
of sources.
c) Paraphrasing of content and ideas without proper acknowledgement of the source.
 d) The use of images, diagrams, photographs and material from blogs and social networks, without
acknowledgement.
e) Copying part or all, of another student’s assessment. In this instance, ‘student assessment’ refers
to a piece of academic work submitted for assessment purposes for any course, in past or
current years at any educational institutional including USP or any other university.

i) Collusion

Collusion means working with someone else to deceive or mislead to gain an unfair academic advantage.
It includes;

a) Submission of a paper that has been written by an author other than the author credited for
that piece of writing. This includes the use of paid services of a student, or any other person that
has been solicited for that purpose.

b) Facilitating or enabling another student to plagiarise in any way.

ii) Cheating

Cheating involves acting in any way that directly contradicts the explicit rules and guiding principles of
that form of assessment. It applies in any form of examination including short tests, quizzes and final
examinations.

Cheating includes (inter alia):

a) Doing anything to gain an unfair or illicit academic advantage in an examination;

b) Possessing, referring to or having access to any material, or to access the internet ‘crib’ notes or
device containing information directly or indirectly related to the subject matter under
examination other than what is explicitly approved for examination purposes;
c) Using a cell phone to communicate with any other student or person inside or outside the
examination venue;

d) Copying from another student in a test or examination; enabling another student to cheat in a
test or examination;

e) Soliciting a person to sit a test or final examination in place of the student enrolled; sitting a test
or final examination in the place of another student;

f) Manipulation of scores in tests or examination or in any other form of assessment; and

g) Enabling another student in any or a combination of any of the above.

[Extracted from 2013 Handbook & Calendar, pp 457-458]

~ALL THE BEST ~