Lifelong Learning

The students are expected to:

• have read the minimum of 10 works related to the periods covered (see course assignments);
• are able to identify chief/specific issues, motifs, features contained in them;
• have understood their historical, cultural and literary contexts and underpinnings;
• are capable of making connections and producing a consistent view, argument or perspective;
• are able to think of broader educational potential their readings contain in terms of topics, issues, attitudes etc.;
• are able to produce and maintain a clearly organized, logically structured portfolio as both a study tool and evidence of their learning progress;
• are able to sustain an intellectually stimulating, topic-related discourse in fluent English.

Final examination procedures:

Prior to the examination, students will review their portfolios and prepare a list of their extensive reading assigned in and related to the class content. They will bring the portfolio with their reading list for the examination.

At the examination, the student will be given a topic selected by the examiner on the basis of the student's reading list and portfolio content. The student will then be allotted approx. 15 minutes for preparation, during which they may refer to their portfolios as needed.

The list of topics for the final examination:

British literature, culture and history

1. Settling the island and the Old English period
2. Middle English Period
3. Renaissance period
4. The 17th and 18th centuries and the rise of the novel
5. English Romanticism
6. Development of the novel and the Victorian period
7. English Modernism and Britain around the time of the world wars
8. Post-war Britain and postmodernism
   
   American literature, culture and history
9. Colonial Beginnings
10. Revolution and Enlightenment
11. Ante-bellum America and romanticism
12. Immigration, Industrialization and Realism
13. Breaking the Tradition and Modernism
14. Postmodern Age and Multiculturalism

The examination proper will consist of an interview with the examiner and, potentially, the other members of the committee, discussing the reading and topics related to it, using their background knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary period in question.

Topics:

1. Language learner – individual differences, learner autonomy
2. Second language acquisition
3. Methods and approaches in ELT
4. Listening skills in theory and practice
5. Speaking skills in theory and practice
6. Reading skills in theory and practice
7. Writing skills in theory and practice
8. Teaching and learning vocabulary
9. Teaching and learning pronunciation
10. Teaching and learning grammar
11. Language teacher – roles, professional development
12. Teaching materials
13. Course design and lesson planning
14. Modern approaches to assessment and evaluation
15. Language learning and cultural awareness
16. Mother tongue in ELT
17. Literature in ELT
18. Error correction in accuracy and fluency activities
19. Modern technologies in the language classroom and e-learning
20. Teaching English to heterogeneous classes
21. Teaching learners with SLD

Recommended literature:

• Ur, P. A Course in Language Teaching : Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
• Harmer, J. The Practice of English Language Teaching. 7th Edition. Essex: Longman Group UK Limited, 1994.
• Harmer, J. How to Teach English. Essex: Longman Group UK Limited, 1998.
• Scrivener, J. Learning Teaching. Oxford: Macmillan, 2005.

Note that for the final exam (methodology part) every student must study at least one of the recommended titles thoroughly.

Topics:

1. Variation according to the user and according to the use. Varieties of English.
2. The inventory of English phonemes from the teacher’s perspective.
3. Rhythm and stress in English. Strong and weak syllables, strong and weak forms.
4. Forms and functions of intonation. Basic functions of individual tones.
5. Aspects of connected speech from the teacher’s perspective.
6. Sentence types and discourse functions.
7. The structure of the English sentence.
8. The compound sentence and coordination.
9. The complex sentence and subordinate clauses in English.
10. Modality in English.
11. Cohesion. Substitution and ellipsis.
12. Word order in English. Fronting.
13. Postponement of clause elements.
14. Clefts and existential structures.
15. Meaning of words: conceptual and associative meanings.
16. Word-formation processes in English.
17. Sense relations.
18. The origins of the English vocabulary. Polysemy and homonymy.
19. Spoken and written language. Language of conversation.
20. The style of official documents. Writing formal letters. Legal English.
21. The language of the media. Characteristic features of news reports.
22. Characteristic features of the English scientific prose style.