General information


Subject type: Basic

Coordinator: Maddalena Fedele

Trimester: Second term

Credits: 6

Teaching staff: 

Juan Garcia Ramirez
I was looking at Giné Vinaixa 

Skills


Transversal competences
  • T1_That students know a third language, which will be preferably English, with an adequate level of oral and written form, in accordance with the needs of the graduates of each degree

Description


As English is the international shared language in most technological and scientific areas, the field of Media studies relies on it as an essential communication tool to all professionals and scholars who want to develop their career in the many and varied media sectors. Audiovisual media students need to improve their English abilities in order to fully perform media-related tasks in international contexts. Therefore, this subject is focused on developing the four languages ​​and communication skills in the key areas of the media: film, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and advertising, based on authentic teaching materials. Students are thus provided with plenty of practice on the language and situations of the media world that help them prepare for real working life.

Learning outcomes


In general terms, this subject contributes to the learning outcomes (LO) specific of the subject matter it belongs to (English):

  • Students must be able to give information, communicate ideas, identify problems and provide solutions to both specialized and non-specialized people
  • Students must have competence in a third language, preferably English, at a level suitable to speak and write according to the needs graduate will have in the course

At a more specific level, at the end of the course, students must be able to improve communication skills and English language knowledge in key areas of the Media. In order to achieve this, the following outcomes will have to be achieved:

  • (LO1) Writing a logline and a film review
  • (LO2) Pitching successfully
  • (LO3) Understanding the language of TV production, filming and editing
  • (LO4) Planning, writing and recording a radio interview
  • (LO5) Understanding the language of radio presenters and the production process
  • (LO6) Practicing interview skills
  • (LO7) Writing headlines and analyzing newspaper articles
  • (LO8) Planning and writing a newspaper article or a true-life story
  • (LO9) Composing magazine covers and planning the contents of a magazine
  • (LO10) Creating and presenting a print advert
  • (LO11) Making effective oral presentations

Working methodology


Teaching Methodology

 

Classroom activities will focus on the development of communication skills and specific English language knowledge for media students. A variety of listening, speaking, reading and writing activities based on authentic teaching materials (newspaper articles, magazine covers, adapted film scripts and blogs) will give students plenty of practice of the language of the media industry and help them prepare for real working life. .

Tasks, exercises and activities will be done individually or in small groups (either in the classroom or as homework) and will have to be handed in to the teacher for assessment on the assigned date (Late or emailed homework will not be accepted).

Contents


Content 1: Film: Writing a logline and a film review

  1. Making a film glossary. Understanding and using the technical vocabulary of filming
  2. Understanding the features of a written dialogue: incomplete sentences, missing subjects, repetition, short sentences, simple linking words, use of shared knowledge to leave things unsaid
  3. Writing the logline of a movie you have seen recently. Practicing noun phrases for the description of films. Identifying film genres.
  4. Writing a film review. Understanding the language of film reviews. Using plugins. Asking questions about the plot: Who is involved in the scene? Where and when does it take place? What is happening? How do the protagonists feel?
  5. Pitching a movie idea successfully.

Related Activities:

  • Film vocabulary quizzes, word webs and glossaries
  • Exercises with noun phrases and connective devices
  • Write a logline
  • Pitch a movie idea
  • Write a film review
  • Listening: A pitching session, a pre-filming meeting

Content 2: TV: The language of TV production, filming and editing

  1. Understanding the pre-production process: understanding and using the language of TV production. Building a word web: collocations and job titles. Expressing modality: possibility, ability, giving advice / recommendation, necessity / lack of necessity
  2. Organizing a filming schedule. Understanding and using the vocabulary of filming procedures and equipment. Thinking of documentary topics: Length, number of crew members, fixers, GVs
  3. TV documentary editing. Understanding and using the vocabulary of editing a television documentary

Related Activities:

  • Vocabulary quizzes, word webs and gapped dictations: the language of TV production, filming procedures and TV documentary editing
  • Exercises with modal verbs
  • Listening: pplanning the agenda of a news broadcast, planning the making of a TV documentary, filming on location, editing a TV documentary
  • Reading: a filming schedule and editing instructions

 

Content 3: Radio: Planning, writing and recording a radio interview

  1. Understanding the Language of Radio Presenters: using the appropriate verbal tenses in the presentation of a radio program. Identifying radio genres. Analyzing a radio commissioning brief
  2. Understanding the Production Process: learning and using the vocabulary of radio production. Giving instructions in the 
  3. newsroom. Using phrases followed by nouns, infinitives or gerunds
  4. Practicing Interview Skills: researching the topic and planning the interview. Practicing question forms (open questions, closed questions, negative questions and echo questions). Arranging, preparing and recording an interview
  5. Giving Post-Production Feedback: useful phrases for giving feedback. Practicing phrasal verbs (transitive and intransitive, transitive separable or transitive inseparable)

Related Activities:

  • Exercises with phrases followed by nouns, infinitives and gerunds
  • Vocabulary quiz and word websites
  • Plan, write and record a radio interview
  • Produce a brief oral presentation on the process of making the radio interview
  • Phrasal verbs exercises
  • Listening: Answering comprehension questions about a radio interview and about a briefing over the phone
  • Reading: Radio commissioning brief, 24-hour schedule of a radio producer, a news list, post-production feedback email

Content 4: Newspapers: planning and writing newspaper headlines and articles

  1. Writing headlines: understanding English headlines and subheads. Turning sentences into headlines. Creating eye-catching headlines: language devices (puns, loaded language, cultural references, alliteration, homophones and rhyme, emphasis, limited use of punctuation)
  2. Analyzing newspaper articles: identifying slant and bias in texts. Newspaper writing techniques: cohesive devices and passive voice
  3. Planning and writing a newspaper article: writing introductions and conclusions

Related Activities:

  • Write 5 to 10 headlines
  • Use cohesive devices to put jumbled articles back in the right order.
  • Plan and write a newspaper article
  • Reading: Headlines, articles and plans for writing a newspaper article

Content 5: Magazines: Planning and writing a true-life story

  1. Composing a magazine cover: understanding the language and layout of magazine covers. Identifying target readers. Analyzing cover line features. Stylistic devices. Writing cover lines. Designing a magazine cover
  2. Planning the contents of a magazine. Using future forms (will, going to, present continuous, simple present) at editorial meetings: presenting ideas, making and justifying a proposal, making objections and dealing with them
  3. Planning and writing a true-life story: analyzing a true-life story: setting, problem, solution and moral. Using narrative tenses: simple past, past continuous, past perfect. Reporting true-life stories. Writing a true-life article for a magazine
  4. Choosing the photos to illustrate a true-life story and write the photo captions.

Related Activities: 

  • Write 5-10 cover lines
  • Magazine cover design
  • Exercises with future tenses, narrative tenses and reported speech
  • Write a true-life article for a magazine
  • Choose the photos to illustrate a true-life story and write the photo captions

Content 6: Advertising: Creating a Print Advert

  1. Selling products / services to a potential customer: using the right words: Ad, advert, advertise, advertisement. Identifying the different types of advertising. Reassuring and convincing a prospective client
  2. Creating a print advert: identifying advertising techniques. Writing a slogan: Language devices. Choosing a product and writing a print ad
  3. Presenting a finished advertisement: the language for presenting an ad to a client: Useful phrases.

Related Activities:

  • Write a print ad
  • Listening: A meeting with a prospective client, a presentation of an advertising campaign

Learning activities


Aiming to gather evidence of the achievement of learning outcomes (LO), the following activities will be carried out (related to the common competencies):

Activity 1: Film. Writing a logline and a film review (Content 1) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, and LO11)

Understanding the features of a film script: its technical vocabulary and style features. Presenting a logline or a brief summary of the film plot. Writing a film review on a selected film. Understanding the elements of a pitching session

Assignments:

  • CA1: Writing a “logline” and a film review.

(5% of the final mark)

  • CA2: Pitching a screenplay to film executives, producers, studios, etc.

(5% of the final mark)

Specific goals:

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

  • Use the technical vocabulary of cinema
  • Write a logline or summary of a film plot
  • Write a film review
  • Produces an effective oral presentation
  • Understand the elements of a pitching session
  • Ask questions on the plot of a film

Activity 2: TV: The language of TV production, recording and editing (Content 2) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO3)

Understanding and using the language of TV production, filming and editing.

Assignments: 

  • CA3: Listening Activity (to be done in class).

(5% of the final mark)

Specific goals:

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

  • Understand the language of TV production, filming and editing.
  • Express modality: possibility, ability, recommendation, necessity
  • Ask for and make suggestions, give orders, etc.

Activity 3: Radio: Planning, writing and recording a radio interview (Content 3) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO4, LO5, and LO6)

Understanding the lexicon employed on the radio and the production process of radio programs. Planning an interview that has to be recorded for a 30-minute radio program.

Assignments:

CA4: Planning, preparing and recording a radio interview (in pairs)

(10% of the final mark)

Specific goals:

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

 

  • Understand the language of radio presenters and the production process
  • Learn and use the phrasal verbs connected with the presentation and hosting of a radio program.
  • Plan, prepare and record a radio interview.
  • Give feedback during the post-production process

Activity 4: Newspapers: planning and writing newspaper headlines and articles (Content 4) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO7 and LO8)

Understanding and writing newspaper headlines and sub-headlines. Analysis of newspaper articles. Planning and writing a newspaper article.

Assignments:

  • CA5: Writing 5 to 10 headlines; turning sentences into headlines

(4% of the final mark)

Specific goals:

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

  • Write newspaper headlines
  • Analyze newspaper articles
  • Plan and write a newspaper article

Activity 5: Magazines. Planning and writing a true-life story (Content 5) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO9)

Composing a magazine cover using the most suitable type of language and style.

Planning the key contents of a magazine. Planning and writing a true-life story.

Assignments:

  • CA6: Writing an article for a magazine about a true-life story. Choosing the photos to illustrate it and writing the photo captions

(7% of the final mark)

Specific goals:

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

  • Design an eye-catching magazine cover
  • Write a true-life story, choose the photos to illustrate it and write the photo captions

Activity 6: Creating an advertisement (Content 6) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO10 and LO11)

Using the adequate vocabulary and style to sell products / services to a potential client and convince them that they are the best. Making an advertisement by using the most suitable techniques and an eye-catching slogan.

Assignments:

  • CA7: Writing an advertisement

(4% of the final mark)

Specific goals:

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

  • Sell ​​products / services to a potential customer
  • Create and present a print advertisement
  • Create an eye-catching slogan

Activity 7: Final project: design, write and present a magazine (Contents 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO1, LO4, LO6, LO7, LO8, LO9, LO10, and LO11)

  1. INSTRUCTIONS: the assignment will be done in groups of 4 students. Students will be assessed as a group for the written part of the assignment, but individually on their oral presentation. The project will be worth 25% of the final grade
  2. PURPOSE: creating a magazine that has useful information on subjects related to Media Technology. Demonstrating the ability to use the language and structures covered during the course. Demonstrating the ability to write and edit a variety of documents (magazine cover, articles, advertisements, film reviews, etc.) for a target audience. Giving an effective oral presentation of the project
  3. FORMAT: FORMAT: students can incorporate the texts they have produced for the different assignments and use the computer program of their choice to create and edit the magazine (InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, etc). Optionally, the magazine can also be edited online. It must look professional
  4. STEPS IN COMPLETING THE ASSIGNMENT: choose an interesting topic from one of the audiovisual classes. Write a 2000-3000 word magazine script on the chosen subject. Includes a cover, articles, advertisements, interviews, film reviews, images and diagrams. Edit the script so that it is free of grammar / spelling errors and has an appropriate style. Create a magazine using the chosen documents and images. Hand in the magazine script. Print the magazine and prepare a good presentation of the project to show it to the class. It must take from 5 to 10 minutes.

Assignments:

A printed or online magazine (15% of the final mark; assessed as a group activity)

An oral presentation of the project (10% of the final mark; assessed individually)

Specific goals:

 

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

  • Write news headlines
  • Plan and write down the transcripts of an interview
  • Compose the magazine cover and plan its contents
  • Magazine design
  • Write a news article and a true-life story
  • Write a film review
  • Create an advert
  • Make an effective oral presentation

 

Activity 8: Exam (Contents 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) (Evidence of Learning Outcomes LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6, LO7, LO8, LO9, and LO10)

The written exam will include exercises based on contents 1 to 6 of the module

This is 30% of the final mark

Specific goals:
 

At the end of the activity, students must be able to:

Demonstrate that they have acquired the skills and knowledge learned both in the classroom and outside the classroom

 

 

Evaluation system


Assessment Methodology

  1.  The subject requires active involvement, with written exercises and practical works to be prepared at home, as well as both written and oral exercises to be done in class. This part covers basically all the exercises from activities 1 to 7: 40%
  2. Class participation and attendance: 5%
  3.  The submission of any of the CAs will prevent students from obtaining the qualification "absent" as a final mark.
  4.  Students will also have to write, print or publish online a magazine on a chosen audiovisual media subject and then present it. The printed or online magazine will be assessed as a group activity (15% of the final mark) and the oral presentation of will be assessed individually (10% of the final mark). Students who FAIL or DO NOT deliver the assignment WILL NOT pass the subject.
  5. Final Exams: 30% (4 (out of 10) is the minimum grade required for the final exam to be considered for the average final mark)  
  6. Only the students who do not pass the continuous assessment will be allowed to attend a resit examination for the remaining 30% (point 5) (A minimum mark of 4 (out of 10) in the resit exam is required to pass the module)

Rules for Carrying out Activities

If one of the activities, tests or exercises is not delivered in two time by the student, it will be considered as a 0. Students will not be allowed to use notes, dossier, or dictionaries in the exam (s).

VERY IMPORTANT: Partial or total plagiarism will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarised exercise. PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources -whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text- with the intention of passing it off as the student’s own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student's own text. Plagiarism is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors' intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.

REFERENCES


Basic

Ceramella, Nick, and Elizabeth Lee. Cambridge English for the Media. Cambridge [etc.: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print.

Complementary

Flinders, Steve, and Steve Flinders. Test Your Professional English: Business: General. Harlow, Essex, Eng: Pearson Education, 2002. Print.

Chandler, Daniel, and Rod Munday. A Dictionary of Media and Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.

Other learning resources:

Radio

Websites available to host home-made audio and video content: http://blip.tv/ and http://www.ning.com/es/

Other learning resources:

Magazines

Selection of current covers http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/

Other learning resources:

Television

An internet search for abbreviations such as TX date and PTC will help you find plenty of filming schedules http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist/GranadaClips/2008/01/26/2716465/?s=Worthing

Other learning resources:

Movie

Film reviews http://www.theguardian.com/film/film+tone/reviews

Other learning resources:

advertising

Online newspaper ads http://www.newspaperadsonline.co.uk/

Other learning resources:

Newspapers

Latest headlines from the US and around the worldhttp://www.1stheadlines.com/index.htm