ENGLISH C1.

1 – TP1
Fall 2024
Syllabus

Instructor

Rui Vitorino Azevedo

Email: [email protected]

Classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays (Room C138.A): 12:30-2:00pm

Course description

This course focuses on reading and discussing contemporary American literary texts across
different genres, with a particular emphasis on the theme of identity. We will critically
examine the concepts of race, gender, class, media, sexuality, psychoanalysis, and approaches
to the self, reflecting on how identity is formed. Some of the key questions to be addressed
include:
• How do we invent our own identities?
• How are identity and gender constructed in these specific literary texts?
• What are the meanings of masculinity and femininity?
• What role do race, class and gender play in these texts?
• Which factors influence our identity formation and how do human interactions and
relationships transform a person’s identity?
Our primary focus will be on analyzing short stories to develop your critical thinking and ability
to interpret themes, characters and plots. This will enhance your capacity to analyze complex
texts and assess different perspectives and interpretations, thus improving your evaluative
skills. By understanding the subtleties and deeper meanings in these texts you will also be
exposed to varied language and stylistic choices which will enrich your vocabulary. Also, by
allowing you to reflect on these different narrative techniques, you will be inspired to write
more creatively.
You will be asked to read two novels for separate writing projects. Barbara Neely’s Blanche
Cleans Up will be used for a creative writing assignment where you will be asked to write a
short story following specific guidelines. The other novel is Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake
which you will analyze, research and write an academic essay on.
In addition to these readings, we will also look at different articles, topics, podcasts, and films
to stimulate class debate, meaning that it is expected that everyone participate actively in class
discussion.
Given that this is an advanced language class, we will cover some specific language aspects
including noun and verb phrases, determiners, articles, word order, perfect and continuous
tenses, prepositions and sentence patterns, position of adverbs, subject-verb agreement,
special uses of tenses, adjective order, complex passive and participle clauses. The aim is to
perfect any language areas that may still prove to be problematic.

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 Additionally, students will be required to give a nine-minute presentation in the form of a TED
talk. Students must submit their presentation titles for approval within the first two weeks of
classes. I will then put the presentations calendar on Moodle so that students can organize
themselves.
Overall, this course entails a variety of demanding tasks. Therefore, you should be prepared to
think critically and work hard.
Learning outcomes

The aim of this C1.1 English class is to develop students’ reading, writing and oral expression
skills in several scenarios. Thus, the objectives and competencies to be acquired are: understand
extended speech and factual or literary texts; speak fluently and effectively; and write clear,
well-structured texts including the academic essay. To achieve these objectives, the focus will
be on reviewing some of the fundamentals of language at the advanced level in order for
students to obtain more accuracy. Particular emphasis will also be given to developing analytical
reading and writing skills, along with vocabulary acquisition.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics.
• interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with
native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
• produce clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects.

Grading and Assessment

Grades are determined primarily by student performance on one written test (based on
grammar, vocabulary and short stories), one oral presentation (TED Talk), a creative writing
project, and an essay. In order to successfully complete the course, students must complete all
of these assessments.
Several written/homework assignments will be given throughout the semester. However, you
will not be graded on these. They will simply serve as extra practice for you to improve and
develop your writing skills.
For borderline grades, your active participation in class discussion and attendance will also be
considered. As you are aware, attendance is mandatory. If you cannot attend a class, you must
contact me as soon as possible. Students who have more than six unjustified absences will fail
the continuous assessment and will need to take the exam at the end of the semester.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
Written assignments must be handed in ON TIME. Otherwise, they will be marked as ‘Late’
and I will deduct one point for each day that they are late. After five days late you will be given
a zero.

GRADE PERCENTAGES
Written test: 25%
Oral presentation: 25%
Creative writing project: 25%
Essay: 25%
Written assignments/Homework: 0%

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Moodle/Required and Recommended Readings

All required course materials will be provided for you and uploaded on Moodle. The page will
be divided into topics such as “Short Stories”, “Presentations”, “Grammar”, etc. If for any reason
you are unable to access or download the materials you must get in touch with the e-Learning
Lab/IT department and try to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Under no circumstances will
the materials be sent directly to your email, so you must use Moodle on a regular basis.

To enroll in the course on Moodle follow this link: Course: Inglês C1.1 - TP1 [24/25] (ulisboa.pt)
The key is: GrammarGuru#101

*Required and Recommended Readings

Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference. 9th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018.

*Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesame. Mariner books, 2004.

Lee, Min Jin. Best American Short Stories 2023 (The Best American Series ®). Mariner books,
2023.
Lester, Mark. Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced English Grammar for ESL Learners, Second
Edition. 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.
*Neely, Barbara. Blanche Cleans Up. St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
Wilson, Wendy, and James Barlow. Advanced English Grammar: The Superior English Grammar
Guide Packed With Easy to Understand Examples, Practice Exercises and Brain Challenges
(SMART ENGLISH). Independently published, 2021.

Tentative class meeting calendar / Important dates

Week 1

Sept 16 / 18

• Students receive and review the syllabus.

• Screening and discussion of a short film.

Week 2

Sept 23 / 25

• Grammar review: Noun phrases and adjectives.

• Reading and discussion of short story #1.

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Week 3

Sept 30 / Oct 2

• Reading and discussion of short stories #2, #3, and #4.

Week 4

Oct 7 / 9

• Discussion of the novel Blanche Cleans Up (Oct 7).

• Creative assignment reviewed.

• Grammar review: Verb forms (present, past, and future tenses).

Week 5

Oct 14 / 16

• Reading and discussion of short story #5.

• TED Talk and vocabulary.

Week 6

Oct 21 / 23

• First set of TED Talk presentations (Oct 21).

• Grammar review: Countable vs. uncountable nouns and subject-verb agreement.

Week 7

Oct 28 / 30

• Creative writing assignment due (Oct 28).

• Podcast and second set of TED Talk presentations (Oct 30).

Week 8

Nov 4 / 6

• Discussion of film (to be selected) and the novel The Namesake (Nov 6).

Week 9

Nov 11 / 13

• Essay guidelines reviewed.

• Vocabulary building.

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Week 10

Nov 18 / 20

• Third set of TED Talk presentations (Nov 20).

• Grammar review: Adverbs.

Week 11

Nov 25 / 27

• Reading and discussion of short story #6.

• Fourth set of TED Talk presentations (Nov 27).

Week 12

Dec 2 / 4

• Reading and discussion of short story #7.

• Fifth set of TED Talk presentations (Dec 4).

Week 13

Dec 9 / 11

• Reading and discussion of short stories #8 and 9.

• Essay due (Dec 9).

Week 14

Dec 16 / 18

• Grammar review: Passive and participle clauses.

• Reading and discussion of short story #10.

Week 15

Jan 6 / 8

• Test.

• Revision and final grades.