Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia

Vicerrectoría Académica y de Investigación

English B1+ Course presentation, 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!

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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 4 will be
developed collaboratively, Task 5 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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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!

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.

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas

Yenny Parrado
Course director
Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia – UNAD
2020