English is the most important language for international communication. If you have a good command of written and spoken English, you will have an advantage on the job market and elsewhere. English is also the dominant language on the Internet and in movies, TV, music and computer games. Studying English at university level is therefore a good idea , whether you want to take a BA in English or just want to add a semester of English to your other studies.

English level 1 is the first and most basic English course at university level. However, since English B/English 6 from Gymnasieskolan is a requirement, you can understand that the level is considerably higher than that at Gymnasieskolan, so we expect all students to be well prepared, highly motivated, and ready to work hard.

Most of the modules are available for exchange students with the right academic background, but the modules that presuppose good knowledge of Swedish (Vocabulary and the translation part of Grammar and Translation) and are only available to students who are proficient in Swedish.

The contents of the course

The main focus of the course is on increasing proficiency and communicative skills (reading, speaking, listening, writing). You do not need to choose between literature and linguistics, and you should not expect the academic level of the course to be very high. Instead, the course will prepare you for further academic studies in the field of English

English level 1 consists of a number of modules. It is important that you realise from the start that these modules sometimes run in parallel, just like you are used to from school.

These are the modules:

• Phonetics
• Grammar and Translation
• Written Proficiency
• History and Culture
• Literature
• Vocabulary

The phonetics module explores the sounds in English and how they are produced and described. You learn how to read and write phonetic script and get a better understanding of pronunciation differences between English and Swedish.

Grammar and Translation deals with general grammar and Swedish grammar. You learn some of the terminology needed to understand what is written in grammar books and discuss grammar with others. You also focus on the grammatical differences between English and Swedish, knowledge that's extra useful when translating from one language into the other.

Written Proficiency is an academic writing course which teaches you what you need to know to produce a basic, academic essay. You learn how to work with sources and refer to them. We view writting as a process so you will hand in several versions of your essay and both give and receive feedback.

History and Culture is about the history and culture of the British isles and how this knowledge can be used to better understand the present-day situation (language,culture, society, etc.).

In the module called Literature you study a number of literary works in order to learn more about society, culture and language in the English-speaking world.

In the Vocabulary model, finally, you broaden your vocabulary while learning about how to expand your vocabulary more efficiently.   

After the course

When you finish this course, you will be eligible for the continuation course (ENGA21). We believe that the more English you know and the more English you study at university, the more competitive you will be on the job market. One semester of English is good, but not always good enough. To go on to be an English teacher or a translator, you normally need at least 90 credits of English (three semesters).

 

English level 1 is also offered as a part-time course (50% = appr. 15 credits per semester). The modules are distributed as follows for the half-time students: In Term 1, the half-time students finish 0704 Written Proficiency (5 credits), 0705 Literature (6 credits), 0706 History and Culture (3 credits) and in Term 2, they finish 0701 Phonetics (4 credits), Grammar (6 credits), 0703 Translation (3 credits), 0707 Vocabulary (3 credits). Please note that in the case of Vocabulary, the teaching and the small exams take place the same term as the Literature module, i.e. in Term 1, while the final exam is at the end of Term 2. It is important to follow the schedule for the right term. Please note that from the spring of 2016 and onwards, the half-time courses will have their own course codes, so that English 1-15 credits is ENGH01 and English 16-30 credits is ENGH02. However, those of you who have already started taking ENGA01 at half-speed should continue to do so.