Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - Barcelona

English for Nursing I

• code 09826
• course 4
• term Semester 1
• type op
• credits 6

Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish

Head instructor

Dra. Monica CLUA - mclua@uic.es

Office hours

12pm to 1pm Wednesdays.

Date of renovation of the Teaching Guide: May 2012

This course is designed to equip nurses interested in working in an international setting with both the language skills and cultural awareness to form a proactive part of any healthcare team.  Drawing on the learner’s knowledge and experience, the course is highly functional with a task-based learning approach to language using clinical and academic settings to set the context for skills and content that are transferrable to any other international arena.   This is a dynamic course where student engagement is fundamental to the individual’s success as the course focuses on effective communication. 

The program contains 3 elements that include teacher-led sessions, tutorials and autonomous learning.  The teacher-led component places equal emphasis on student interaction in acquiring listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.  Tutorials will focus on student development and interpersonal skills and will include an evaluated group project.  The autonomous learning component focuses on developing reading, writing and listening skills, consolidating grammar, specific lexis and increasing the autonomy of the learner when learning a foreign language.

The course will take into account the different English level between students by applying some differentiated instruction.

Preferred minimum global level is that of a B1 before the start of the course.

To equip nurses with a working knowledge of professional English for the international nursing context by focusing on the nursing role and embedding the most relevant language and communication skills by:

-          Creating a lexical basis related to healthcare.

-          Developing listening comprehension skills through audio clips and simulated interactions between nurses, their colleagues and patients.

-          Developing speaking skills through role play, simulation, problem solving and presentations.

-          Improving fluency, pronunciation and intelligibility.

-          Extending understanding of idiomatic and colloquial language.

-          Developing writing skills for clinical communications and academic purposes.

-          Fostering critical thinking and reflective practices through simulation and feedback sessions.

-          Developing a proactive attitude in discussions and decision-making.

-          Developing skills that demonstrate an awareness of cultural variance.

-          Developing autonomous learning skills.

• 21. B - Oral and written communication.
• 22. G - Use and management of information and research
• 23. B - Ability to analyze and synthesize.
• 24. G - Ability to work autonomously.
• 29. B - Know the scientific terminology in another language (English).

Students will in English:

-          Demonstrate autonomous learning through the completion of tasks.

-          Identify and demonstrate a working knowledge of healthcare vocabulary.

-          Draw on spoken and written information and apply it to tasks.

-          Construct grammatically and functionally correct structures in spoken and written communication.

-          Demonstrate a proactive attitude in knowledge acquisition.

Topics:

Topics covered include anatomy, physiology and disease, and those related to the nursing process, networking, and issues of current interest in nursing.

Language knowledge:

It is expected that students taking this course will have a good working knowledge of English grammar, therefore gaps in grammatical knowledge will be dealt with as they arise on an individual or group basis as necessary.

There will be teacher-led sessions using a task-based learning approach to engage students in interactive activities involving problem-solving, simulation and role play, with equal emphasis placed on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

Students will discuss course contents in collaborative tasks. They will give presentations as well as produce some writing assignments. Listening activities will comprise listening for general and specific information given in simulated situations and in presentations by other students.

The Internet will serve as a source for language tools and material which students can apply throughout their overall learning process. These materials will further form an integral part of the students’ autonomous learning, thus equipping and motivating students for the life-long learning of English related to their field.

The teacher-led component will constitute 40% of the course load (2.4 ECTS) and be based on the linguistic competencies outlined in the nursing degree program.

The tutorial projects will represent 20% of the course load (1.2 ECTS) and will consist of 3 oral presentations involving researched information.

The autonomous learning component 40% 2.4 ECTS) will include a range of guided activities for students to pursue and complete outside of class, with the aim of increasing students’ autonomy with respect to language learning.

This subject does not include a final exam in the evaluation, therefore students are reminded that participation in class and continuous evaluation are fundamental to passing the course. Participation will be evaluated by progress tests, cooperative learning activities, and group projects for which attendance is essential.

The second sitting will only be worth 30% of the total grade. 

E: exam date | R: revision date | 1: first session | 2: second session:

• E1 18/01/2013 08:00h
• R1 04/02/2013 10:00h
• R1 04/02/2013 15:00h
• E2 05/07/2013 12:00h
• R2 18/07/2013 11:00h