Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia

Vice President for Academic Issues and Research

Course presentation English III, Code 900004

Dear student,
Welcome to our English course.
Would you like to apply the basics of the English B1+ Course in your
profession and you don't know how?
So, read this information!
Course information
The English B1+ course, identified with the code 900004, belongs to the
Virtual Institute of Languages - INVIL and is transversal to several
programs offered by the university. The course will grant the student
three academic credits which are developed through three academic
units.

Academic purpose
The course´s academic purpose is to strengthen communication skills in
English language so the student is able to employ an intermediate -
advanced language on general topics in order to manage situations in
different contexts where the use of the foreign language is required. To
achieve this purpose, synchronous and asynchronous learning activities
have been arranged where everyday situations arise and students are
able to apply and reinforce their knowledge, productive and receptive
skills.

Academic units
The course takes place in three units:
The first unit is Express polite opinions and the topics covered are:
Manage interactions. Develop active listening skills. Ask for and give
advice.
The second unit is State a position and the topics covered are: Critique
and review different kind of texts. Listen to and respond to arguments.
The third unit is Relate present and future and the topics covered are:
Describe hope and plans. Talk about abstract themes. Relate present with
future.
Semaforized agenda
The semaforized agenda is the schedule of the course that allows to
visualize the moments of evaluation with the respective academic
activities; their typology (individual or collaborative), opening and closing
date, evaluative weights and deadlines established for the tutor to inform
the student about the feedback. It is called “semaforized” because it emits
time indicators for the delivery of the activities through the colors.

Course tasks
The tasks are carried out in different moments of the learning strategy:
In the initial evaluation, the Pre-Knowledge is an individual online task.
In the midterm evaluation 5 tasks are performed: Task 2 and task 5 will
be developed collaboratively, Task 4 is performed individually and Tasks
3 and 5 are automatic online individual tasks.
In the final evaluation, the national exam is developed, which in the case
of the course is a closed objective test and must be solved individually.

Evaluation moments
The evaluation of the course is carried out in three moments:
Initial evaluation: related to the online task prior to thematic
development.
Intermediate evaluation: the course units are evaluated by means of
proposed tasks.
The initial and intermediate evaluation make up 75% of the course.
Final evaluation: a Closed Objective Test of the knowledge acquired
during the development of the thematic contents is performed. It is
equivalent to 25% of the course.

Course objective
In recent years, English has acquired a greater preeminence, as it is
considered as the language of business, science and technology, which is
spoken more among non-native speakers than native ones in relation to
their professional goals or in everyday life (Pica, 1992: 8).
Therefore, this course aims to develop communicative skills in English in
order to apply this knowledge in different work and everyday life contexts.

Course contribution
This course contributes significantly to the English language proficiency
so that UNAD professionals can participate in cultural exchanges, enable
access to education, and facilitate social, political and economic relations,
among others.
Similarly, the importance of learning English is supported by the general
Colombian Education law, which highlights the ability to express oneself
in a foreign language from the first years of study.

Professional profile
The UNAD professional who successfully studies English in our courses is
characterized by mastering the foreign language within the four
communication skills in different daily scenarios and work contexts.
Therefore, we invite you to actively participate in the development of each
of the tasks proposed in the course in order to achieve your academic
goals. Welcome to the course!

Bibliographic references
1. Evaluaciones de políticas nacionales de Educación. La Educación
superior en Colombia 2012© OCDE y el Banco Internacional de
Reconstrucción y Fomento/el Banco Mundial.
2. Proyecto Académico Unadista Pedagógico-PAP´s. Universidad
Nacional Abierta y a Distancia. Versión 3.0. Ediciones
hispanoamericanas Ltda.