English 4C

Course guide
Semester 2 – Year 2

Program: BA. TEFL

Course title: English 4C
Course code: ENG4032
Course status: Core
Semester: 2
Weekly class hour: 5 periods (4 in-class training + 1 instructional learning)
Prerequisite: English language proficiency level B2+ (CEFR)
Co-requisites: English 4A, 4B

1. General course information

English 4C is a course of practical language skills. The course focuses on important learning strategies and areas of the
English language that are helpful for students who will take high-stakes language tests in the future. The course is particularly
targeted to learners of English as a foreign language at B2+ and C1 levels in the Common European Framework of Reference.

2. Course objectives
The course aims at familiarizing students with types of tasks common in high-stakes language tests and introducing students
to effective test-taking strategies. More specifically, after the course, students should be able to:
[in terms of linguistic competence]
O1- select appropriate language from a broad range to express themselves clearly with high degree of accuracy, without having to
restrict what they want to say (lexical and grammatical range);
O2- show a clear, natural pronunciation, and vary intonation and place sentence stress correctly in order to express finer shades of
meaning (phonological control);
O3- layout, paragraph, and punctuate their writing consistently to promote effective communication (orthographic control);
[in terms of sociolinguistic competence]
O4- recognize a wide range of idiomatic expressions, colloquialisms and register shifts;
[in terms of pragmatic competence]
O5- adjust what they say and the means of expressing it to the situation and the recipient and adopt a level of formality appropriate
to the circumstances (flexibility);
O6- produce clear, smoothly flowing, well-structured speech, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors, and
cohesive devices.
O7- qualify opinions and statements precisely in relation to degrees of, for example, certainty, belief, likelihood, etc.
[in terms of test-taking strategies]
O8- show familiarity with and confidence in handling a variety of language tasks present in different high-stakes language tests.
O9- effectively apply strategies to enhance their exam performance, including time management, previewing questions and
reviewing answers, using contexts to make predictions, and paraphrasing.

3. Learning resources
3.1 Required resources
- English 4C Course profile & Course book
- At least ONE reliable English-English dictionary, either paperback or online (such as those published by Oxford,
Cambridge, Longman, and Collins)
3.2 Recommended resources
- Authentic input (both written and recorded texts)
- Official guides to the latest versions of international English language tests (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge First and
Cambridge Advanced, TOEIC…)
- A range of exam preparation materials published by trusted publishers (such as Oxford, Cambridge, Collins, and
Longman, etc).

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4. Course schedule:
Weeks Macro skills Focus
Introduction to the course
Speaking Ice-breaking activities
Reading Unit 1: Details
1-2
Listening Unit 1: Short monologues
Speaking Unit 1: Multiple choice speaking tasks
Writing Unit 1: Introduction to essay exams; Paragraphs revisited
Reading Unit 2: Key ideas and text organization
Listening Unit 2: Short monologues & dialogues (colloquial vocabulary)
3-4
Speaking Unit 2: Mind-map speaking tasks
Writing Unit 2: Essays to discuss advantages & disadvantages
Reading Unit 3: Implied meaning
Listening Unit 3: Extended dialogues
5-6
Speaking Unit 3: Exam practice 1
Writing Unit 3: Essays to discuss different viewpoints
7 Reading Unit 4: Exam practice 1
Listening Unit 4: Exam practice 1
Writing Unit 4: Exam practice 1
8 Mid-term revision; Speaking Unit 4: Exam practice 2
9 Mid-term test (no speaking component)
Reading Unit 5: Attitudinal meaning
Listening Unit 5: Extended monologues
10-11
Speaking Unit 5: Discussion speaking tasks
Writing Unit 5: Essays to argue for or against a viewpoint
Reading Unit 6: Exam practice 2
Listening Unit 6: Exam practice 2
12-13
Speaking Unit 6: Exam practice 3
Writing Unit 6: Essay to analyze problems-cause-effects & suggest solutions
Reading Unit 7: Exam practice 3
Listening Unit 7: Exam practice 3
14-15
Speaking Unit 7: Exam practice 4
Writing Unit 7: Exam practice 2

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5. Assessment
Students must complete all of the following assessment items to be able to pass the course.

Activity Description Weighting Due

- This is a speaking activity running through the semester.

Mock interview - Students are divided into pairs. Each pair is expected to perform 10% After week 2
two mock interviews in class. The pair who are interviewers in
Round 1 will be interviewees in Round 2 and vice versa.

- This is a written test of Listening, Reading, and Writing that covers

all the contents of weeks 1 to 8. Week 9.
30% Students are to
- Successful test-takers are expected to perform at the B2+ and C1
Mid-term test (each skill = be informed of
level (CEFR). 10%) the exact date &
- A more detailed description of the test will be provided for students venues later.
before the test.

- (1) This is a written test of Listening, Reading, and Writing that

covers all the contents of the whole semester.
After week 15.
- (2) There is also a separate speaking test that covers all the
60% Students are to
contents of the speaking lessons in weeks 1 to 15.
End-term test (L, R, W, S be informed of
- Successful test-takers are expected to perform at the C1 level each = 15%) the exact dates
(CEFR). & venues later.
- A more detailed description of the test will be provided for students
before the test.

6. Policies & Guidelines

- Completion of all assessment items is a requirement for passing the course.
- Attendance in class is expected. Students who are absent from more than 20% of the lessons (~3 lessons or more) are
not eligible for the end-term test, and thus cannot pass the course.
- Students are encouraged to use as much English in their learning activities as possible.
- Any forms of cheating during tests will receive serious penalty and can result in the students’ failure in the course.

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 GUIDELINE ON THE PROJECT “MOCK INTERVIEW”
1. Description
- This is a speaking activity running throughout the semester.
- Students are divided into pairs. Each pair is expected to perform the role of both interviewers and interviewees in 2
rounds.
ROUND 1:
Half of the number of pairs will be interviewers. Each pair will collect/ adapt/ compile one speaking test following
the format of 4C speaking test (Appendix 1 & 2). References must be cited and all speaking tests need to be approved
by the teacher before being used in in-class mock interviews.
The other half of the class will be interviewees. They are supposed to have a mock interview in class and their
performance will be assessed by the teacher.
ROUND 2:
Students swap their roles, which means interviewers will become interviewees and vice versa.
Note: Suggested topics can be found in Appendix 3
2. Timeline

Week Activity Learning evidence

1 - Introduction to the project Pair formation
- Students form pairs and choose topics.
2 Interviewers (half of the number of pairs) submit their speaking tests in Speaking tests
soft copy for teacher’s feedback.
3 Interviewers revise, send the final draft of their speaking tests to the Speaking tests (revised)
whole class & submit their speaking tests in hard copy.
4 Interviewees prepare.
5 Interviewees prepare.
6 Interviewees prepare.
7 Mock Interviews Day
8 Interviewers (half of the number of pairs) submit their speaking tests in Speaking tests
soft copy for teacher’s feedback.
10 Interviewers revise, send the final draft of their speaking tests to the Speaking tests (revised)
whole class & submit their speaking tests in hard copy.
11 Interviewees prepare.
12 Interviewees prepare.
13 Interviewees prepare.
14 Mock Interviews Day
3. Project assessment

Students will be assessed through their performance in mock interview (when they play the role of the interviewees).
Assessment criteria can be found in Appendix 4.
Note: No submission of package of speaking tests means mark 0 for the project. Late submission of package of speaking tests
will be penalized (minus 1 mark for each day).
APPENDIX 1: SPEAKING TEST SPECIFICATIONS
Duration: 10 minutes, taken in pairs
Part 1: Each student answer 1-2 questions on a familiar topic
Part 2: Both students have 1 minute to read their task card (in form of a mind-map with one topic in the
centre and 3 suggested points)
They then take turns to deliver a short speech which may last up to 2 minutes. After a student (A) has finished,
his/ her partner (B) will be asked 1-2 abstract questions related to A’s topic.
Assessment criteria: Fluency and coherence, Lexical resources, Grammatical range and accuracy,
Pronunciation

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 APPENDIX 2: SPEAKING TEST SAMPLE
Part 1. Interview (3’)

Part 2. Individual long turn (7’)

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 APPENDIX 3. SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR MOCK INTERVIEW

TOPICS FOR ROUND 1

1 Family 11 Study/ work 21 Hobbies

2 Childhood 12 School 22 Sports
3 Accommodation 13 Subjects 23 Free time activities
4 Transport 14 Books 24 Going out
5 Hometown 15 Colleagues 25 Travelling
6 Weather 16 Friends 26 TV programs
7 Holidays 17 Teachers 27 Photography
8 Weekends 18 Daily activities 28 Films
9 Flowers 19 Foreign languages 29 Foods & drinks
10 Colors 20 Indoor and outdoor games 30 Fruits
Others

TOPICS FOR ROUND 2

1 Accommodation 11 Computers 21 Art

2 Transport 12 Fitness 22 Dating
3 Holidays 13 Online shopping 23 Environment
4 Travelling 14 Traditional village 24 Tradition
5 Reading 15 Places of interests 25 Sport
6 Learning languages 16 Neighborhood 26 Health
7 Social networking sites 17 Newspapers/ magazines 27 Body language
8 Mobile phones 18 Celebrities 28 Making friends
9 Personalities 19 The Internet 29 Exams
10 Music 20 Parties 30 Interview
Others

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Ban Fluency & coherence
d
10 ● speak fluently with only rare repetition or
self- correction, and no hesitation
● speak coherently with fully
appropriate cohesive features
● develops topics fully and appropriately
9 ● speak fluently with rare repetition or
self- correction; any hesitation is
content-related rather than to find words
or grammar
● speak coherently with appropriate
cohesive features
● develops topics fully and appropriately
8 ● speak fluently with occasional repetition
or self-correction; hesitation is usually
content- related and only rarely to search
for language
● develops topics coherently and
appropriately
7 ● speaks at length without noticeable
effort or loss of coherence
● may demonstrate language-related
hesitation at times, or some repetition
and/or self- correction
● uses a range of connectives and
discourse markers with some
flexibility
6 ● is willing to speak at length, though may
lose
coherence at times due to occasional
repetition, self-correction or hesitation
● uses a range of connectives and
discourse markers but not always
appropriately
APPENDIX 4. SPEAKING MARKING RUBRIC
Lexical resource
● uses vocabulary with full flexibility
and precision in all topics
● uses idiomatic language naturally
and accurately
● uses a wide vocabulary resource
readily and flexibly to convey precise
meaning
● uses less common and idiomatic
vocabulary skillfully
● uses paraphrase effectively as
required
● uses a wide vocabulary resource
flexibly to discuss unfamiliar topic
with ease
● uses less common and idiomatic
vocabulary skillfully, with
occasional inaccuracies
● uses paraphrase effectively as required
● uses vocabulary resource flexibly
to discuss a variety of topics
● uses some less common and idiomatic
vocabulary and shows some awareness
of style and collocation, with some
inappropriate choices
● uses paraphrase effectively
● has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss
topics at length and make meaning clear in structures,
spite of inappropriacies
● generally paraphrases successfully
Grammatical range & accuracy
● uses a full range of structures
naturally and appropriately
● produces consistently accurate
structures apart from ‘slips’
characteristic of native speaker speech
● uses a wide range of structures
naturally and appropriately
● produces a majority of error-free
sentences with only very occasional
inappropriacies or basic/ non-
systematic errors
● uses a wide range of structures flexibly
● produces a majority of error-free
sentences with occasional
inappropriacies or basic/ non-
systematic errors
● uses a range of complex structures
with some flexibility
● frequently produces error-free
sentences, though some
grammatical mistakes persist
● uses a mix of simple and complex
but with limited flexibility
● may make frequent mistakes with
complex structures, though these
rarely cause comprehension
problems
7
Pronunciation
● uses a full range of pronunciation
features with precision and
subtlety
● sustains flexible use of
features throughout
● is effortless to understand
● shows all the positive features of Band 8
and some, but not all, of the positive
features of Band 10
● uses a wide range of
pronunciation features
● sustains flexible use of features,
with only occasional lapses
● is easy to understand throughout; L1
accent has minimal effect on
intelligibility
● shows all the positive features of Band
6 and some, but not all, of the positive
features of Band 8
● uses a range of pronunciation features
with mixed control
● shows some effective use of
features but this is not sustained
● can generally be understood
throughout, though mispronunciation
of individual
words or sounds reduces clarity at times
5 ● usually maintains flow of speech but uses
repetition, self-correction and/or slow
speech to keep going
● may over-use certain connectives
and discourse markers
● produces simple speech fluently, but
more complex communication causes
fluency problems
4 ● cannot respond without noticeable pauses
and
may speak slowly, with frequent
repetition and self-correction
● links basic sentences but with repetitious
use
of simple connectives and some
breakdowns in coherence
3 ● speaks with long pauses
● has limited ability to link simple sentences
● gives only simple responses and is
frequently unable to convey basic
message
2 ● pauses lengthily before most words
● little communication possible
1 ● no communication possible
● no rateable language
● manages to talk about familiar and
unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary
with limited flexibility
● attempts to use paraphrase but with
mixed success
● is able to talk about familiar topics but can ● produces basic sentence forms and some ● uses a limited range of pronunciation
only convey basic meaning on
unfamiliar topics and makes frequent
errors in word choice
● rarely attempts paraphrase
● uses simple vocabulary to convey personal ● attempts basic sentence forms but with
information
● has insufficient vocabulary for less
familiar topics
● only produces isolated words or
memorized utterances
8
● produces basic sentence
forms with reasonable
accuracy
● uses a limited range of more complex
structures, but these usually contain
errors and may cause some
comprehension problems
correct simple sentences but subordinate
structures are rare
● errors are frequent and may lead to
misunderstanding
limited
success, or relies on apparently
memorized utterances
● makes numerous errors except in
memorized
expressions
● cannot produce basic sentence forms
● shows all the positive features of Band
4 and some, but not all, of the positive
features of Band 6
features
● attempts to control features but
lapses are frequent
● mispronunciations are frequent
and cause some difficulty for the
listener
● shows some of the features of Band 2
and some, but not all, of the
positive features of Band 4
● speech is often unintelligible
 APPENDIX 5. ESSAY MARKING RUBRIC
Band Task Response
10 • fully addresses all parts of the task
• presents a fully developed position in
answer to the question with relevant,
fully extended and well supported ideas
9 • sufficiently addresses all parts of the
task
• presents a well-developed response to
the question with
relevant, extended and supported ideas
8 • addresses all parts of the task
• presents a clear position throughout the
response
• presents, extends and supports main
ideas, but there may
be a tendency to over-generalise and/or
supporting ideas
may lack focus
7 • addresses all parts of the task although
some parts may be more fully covered
than others
• presents a relevant position although
the conclusions may become unclear or
repetitive
• presents relevant main ideas but
some may be inadequately
developed/unclear
6 • addresses the task only partially;
the format may be
inappropriate in places
• expresses a position but the
development is not always clear and
there may be no conclusions drawn
• presents some main ideas but these are
limited and not sufficiently developed;
Coherence & Cohesion
• uses cohesion in such a way that it
attracts no attention
• skilfully manages paragraphing
• sequences information and ideas
logically
• manages all aspects of cohesion
well
• uses paragraphing sufficiently and
appropriately
• logically organises information
and ideas; there is clear progression
throughout
• uses a range of cohesive devices
appropriately although
there may be some under-/over-use
• presents a clear central topic within
each paragraph
• arranges information and ideas
coherently and there is a clear
overall progression
• uses cohesive devices effectively,
but cohesion within and/or between
sentences may be faulty or
mechanical
• may not always use referencing
clearly or appropriately
• uses paragraphing, but not always
logically
• presents information with some
organisation but there may be a lack
of overall progression
• makes inadequate, inaccurate or
over-use of cohesive devices
• may be repetitive because of lack
of referencing and substitution
• may not write in paragraphs, or
9
Lexical Resource
• uses a wide range of vocabulary with
very natural and sophisticated control
of lexical features; rare minor errors
occur only as ‘slips’
• uses a wide range of vocabulary
fluently and flexibly to convey precise
meanings
• skilfully uses uncommon lexical items
but there may be occasional
inaccuracies in word choice and
collocation
• produces rare errors in spelling and/or
word formation
• uses a sufficient range of vocabulary
to allow some
flexibility and precision
• uses less common lexical items with
some awareness of style and
collocation
• may produce occasional errors in
word choice, spelling
and/or word formation
• uses an adequate range of
vocabulary for the task
• attempts to use less common
vocabulary but with some inaccuracy
• makes some errors in spelling and/or
word formation, but
they do not impede communication
• uses a limited range of
vocabulary, but this is
minimally adequate for the
task
• may make noticeable errors in
spelling and/or word formation that
may cause some difficulty for the
reader
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
• uses a wide range of structures with
full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor
errors occur only as ‘slips’

uses a wide range of structures,
the majority of sentences are error-free
• makes only very occasional errors or
inappropriacies
• uses a variety of complex structures
• produces frequent error-free
sentences
• has good control of grammar and
punctuation but may make a few errors
• uses a mix of simple and complex
sentence forms
• makes some errors in grammar and
punctuation but they
rarely reduce communication
• uses only a limited range of structures
• attempts complex sentences but these
tend to be less accurate than simple
sentences
• may make frequent grammatical
errors and punctuation may be faulty;
errors can cause some difficulty for the
reader
 there may be irrelevant detail
5 • addresses the task only partially; the
format may be inappropriate in
places
• expresses a position but the
development is not always clear and
there may be no conclusions drawn
• presents some main ideas but these are
difficult to identify
4 • responds to the task only in a
minimal way or the answer is
tangential; the format may be
inappropriate
• presents a position but this is unclear
• presents some main ideas but these are
difficult to identify and may be
repetitive, irrelevant or not well
supported
3 • does not adequately address any part of
the task
• does not express a clear position
• presents few ideas, which are largely
undeveloped or
irrelevant
2 • barely responds to the task
• does not express a position
1 • answer is completely unrelated to
the task
0 • does not attempt the task in any way
• writes a totally memorised response
• commit plagiarism
paragraphing may be inadequate
• makes inadequate, inaccurate or
over-use of cohesive devices
• may be repetitive because of lack
of referencing and
substitution
• may not write in paragraphs, or
paragraphing may be inadequate
• presents information and ideas but
these are not arranged coherently and
there is no clear progression in the
response
• uses some basic cohesive devices
but these may be
inaccurate or repetitive
• may not write in paragraphs or
their use may be confusing
• does not organise ideas logically
• may use a very limited range of
cohesive devices, and those used
may not indicate a logical
relationship between ideas
• may attempt to present one or
two ideas but there is no
development
• has very little control of
organisational features
• fail to communicate any message
10
• uses only basic vocabulary which
may be used repetitively or which may
be inappropriate for the task
• may make noticeable errors in
spelling and/or word formation that
may cause some difficulty for the
reader
• uses only basic vocabulary which may
be used repetitively or which may be
inappropriate for the task
• has limited control of word formation
and/or spelling; errors may cause strain
for the reader
• uses only a very limited range of
words and expressions
with very limited control of word
formation and/or spelling
• errors may severely distort the
message
• uses an extremely limited
range of vocabulary; essentially
• no control of word formation
and/or spelling
• can only use a few isolated words
• uses only a limited range of structures
• attempts complex sentences but these
tend to be less accurate than simple
sentences
• repetitive grammar errors that can
cause difficulties to the reader
• uses only a very limited range of
structures with only rare
use of subordinate clauses
• some structures are accurate but
errors predominate, and
punctuation is often faulty
• attempts sentence forms but
errors in grammar and
punctuation predominate and
distort the meaning
• cannot use sentence forms except in
memorised phrases
• cannot use sentence forms at all