Syllabus Information

1.1. Introduction

Short presentation of the course

For a Nutrition student, the knowledge of the English language plays an important role as this language is, nowadays, the global language of of scientific communication. Therefore, its use is indispensable in bibliographical, new technologies and communication research, among others.

Passing this course, English Applied to Dietetics and Nutrition, will result in the validation of the course English B1, as the level achieved by the student

El aprobado de esta asignatura, Inglés para Dietética y Nutrición, conllevará la convalidación de la asignatura del Inglés B1, ya que el nivel demostrado por el estudiante en el examen corresponde a un B1.

1.2. Recommendations to take this course

Students are reminded that the course is given in Egnlish and thus, it is recommended that they have a B1 level, of the European model.

1.3. Context and importance of this course in the degree

It is an optative course in which linguistic formation is offered, more specifically, specific English for students of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.

1.4. Activities and key dates

The activities calendar, exam dates and other important dates will be published on the Moodle platform webpage for this course.

2.1. Learning goals

The student, to pass this course, will have to show the following results...

The student knows the characteristics of scientific English, a language which will be essential in the development of this future professional functions.

The student possesses the abilities of general reading comprehension, to understand and interpret scientific texts, as well as specific writing.

The student is able to deliver a basic oral presentation

The student knows specific vocabulary related to his English studies

2.2. Importance of learning goals

The learning outcomes offer the student the possibility of counting on a tool, the English language, which will let them widen their knowledge about the content of other courses of the degree.

Thanks to these outcomes, the student will be able to give a formative continuity to their studies, not only in the univeristy student stage, but also in their professional activity, as most specialised literature is published in English, and international congresses are numerous.

The student will count on an important help to continue being trained throughout their career.

3.1. Aims of the course

The course and its expected outcomes respond to the following approaches and objectives

The acquisition of the basic tools to manage succesfully in the most common communicative situations, linked with the Nutrition field, as well as to handle and produce specific materials for this discipline, in the English language.

3.2. Competences

When passing the course, the student will be more competent to...

Improve his knowledge and use of a second language, in this case, English.

Apply theoretical knowledge to performance.

Recognize the need to plan and mangage time, and to do it efficiently.

Work in the abilities of management of information (skill to search, analyze and choose information from different sources), and be able to transmit and present the knowledge acquired after investigation.

Work in an international context.

Work in a team.

4.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)

The student will demonstrate that they have reached the expected learning outcomes by means of the following assessment activities.

1. A final written exam, on the appointed date for each call, which will include the following parts:

a) Reading comprehension, intensive and extensive: 20%

b) Listening compression: 20%

c) Morphosyntaxis and vocabulary: 20%

d) Writing: 20%

2. Oral presentation, in class, of a group work, or final oral interview, depending on the professor's considerations. (at the appointed dates during the term, which will be published on the Moodle webpage): 20%

In the exam, students will have to demonstrate the knowledge acquired throughout the course:

Morphosyntaxis and vocabulary.  Students will solve exercises that will be similar to those done during the term, in which the grammatical correction in structures, which may be used in a “dietician-patient” context, will be valued, as well as the precise use of technical words relation to Nutrition, or definition of concepts.

Writing comprehension. It will include at least a text about an aspect of the syllabus. Student will answer global comprehension questions, or specific data or information that will be deductible from the text.

Listening comprehension. Student will prepare a presentation about a topic of the specialisation, by pairs or individually, which will be assessed individually. The presentation will take place in the classroom, following the norms which will be previously explained. In these presentations, students will use a PowerPoint document, which will be handed in to the professor, together with any written material used for the preparation of the presentation. The dates for the presentations will be decided during the term and will be published on Moodle.

Writing. Students will elaborate a composition about a topic related to the course. In this section, not adapting to the task or the topic is a criteria for evaluation, being able to obtain a 0 in the qualification of this skill.

Assessment criteria

In the evaluation activities the following aspects will be valued:

Oral expression /interaction: fluency, phonetic correction, message clarity, lexical, grammatical, pragmatical and communicative adequacy (use of strategies not to resort to the mother tongue)

Written expression: message relevance and adequacy of ideas to the proposed topic: communicative capacity, organization, clarity and coherence, morphosyntactic, lexical and orthographic adequacy; stylistic adequacy.

Oral comprehension: understanding of the global idea, recognition of the most important details of the recordings.

Written comprehension: understanding of the main ideas of a text, location of specific information, formulation of inferences, usage of contextual components, and knowledge about word formation to infer the meaning of unknown words or expressions.

DISTANCE LEARNING

If a student did not attend seminars and did not deliver an oral presentation, they will have to speak, before the exam, to the teacher to fix a date and place for the oral part of the exam.

SECOND CALL

Students who have not passed the exam, or did not take the exam, (either the oral or the written part) in the first call will be able to take the part of the exam failed, or both sections, on the date appointed by the centre, for the second call.

Assessment system

The student must obtain a 50% of the total to obtain a pass qualification.

According to the current legislation, the qualifications will be the following:

From 50% to 69% pass C, from 70% to 89% outstanding B, from 90% excellent A. The grade "with honours" will be given with an excellent A grade, according to the professor's criteria.

5.1. Methodological overview

The learning process that has been designed for this course is based on the following:

Theory class

The teacher explains the theoretical basis, with the support of various resources.

The student takes notes, asks doubts, comments on the new elements that are introduced in the explanations.

Group directed work

The teacher presents the objectives, assesses about the realization of the work, supervises its development, if necessary.

The student works in a group and presents the result to the whole class.

Personalised tutored hours

The teacher advises and solves suggested questions.

The student proposes difficulties and receives guidance.

5.2. Learning tasks

The programme that is offered to the student to help him achieve the expected outcomes includes the following activities...

Individual, pair and group work, during the term, related to grammar, vocabulary, written and oral expression, written and oral comprehension.

Oral presentation of a group work.

5.3. Syllabus

COURSE SYLLABUS:

1 Being a dietitan / nutritionist

Nutrition-related jobs. Jobs at the hospital. Present continous, present simple. Body parts (formal and informal). Occupational video. Special spellings. Writing a CV.

2 Digestion

The digestive system. Present perfect and past simple. Body waste. Disorders of the digestive system. Will and going to. Writing e-mails.

3 Food

Food types. Drink vocabulary. In the Kitchen.Cooking vocabulary. Cooking utensils and household devices. Famous chefs. Jamie Oliver's video Sugar Rush.  Countable and uncountable nouns. Some, any, much, many, few little. Food festival listening. Conference and Seminar Language and Discussion.

4 The food guide pyramid

History of Nutritional Guides in the US and in the UK (MyPlate, Pyramids). Comparatives. What's on your Plate? Smart shoppting. Smart eating. Smart exercising. Healthy eating Listening.

5 Nutrition-related conditions

Taking a patient's history. Explaining diagnosis. Discussing Treatment. Article "the". Modals for advice and obligation. Eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia. Diet Listening.

5.4. Course planning and calendar

Calendar of classroom sessions and presentations

The schedule and classroom of the course will be determined in each term

The official exam dates will be published on the webpage od he Department of Health Sciences and Sports.

The professor will indicate the calendar for the oral presentations.

Planning of sessions. Example:

-Theoretical group sessions: 0,5-1 hours per week

-Practical sessions 2,5-3 0,5-1 hour per week

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, cop. 2004 (imp. 2011)