VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
------------------------

Course Guide
LANGUAGE AND MEDIA

1. COURSE DESCRIPTION
Course title : Language and Media
Course code : ENG3055
Semester :7
Number of credits :3
Hours of work/week :3 credit hours/week
Required Level : C1 (According to the Common European Framework of
Reference)

3. COURSE OBJECTIVES
Adopting a task-based and content-based approach, the Language and Media course gives
students the exposure to different media genres such as advertisements, news, interviews and
reports, from which they not only gain in-depth knowledge about the linguistic features used in
the media, but also sharpen their critical textual analytical skills. With the updated content and
detailed analysis, the course is a stepping stone for those who want to explore and exploit the
limitless resources of language in the media, as well as taking media-related jobs in the future.

4. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

 ST Course objectives Cod Bloom’s Programme
T e taxonomy ILO

1. Knowledge 1

1.1. Understand complicated texts with 1.1. 1;2. 4

implied meanings at different lengths at C1
level (CEFR)

1.2. Understand key concepts in different 1.2. 1;2 2

media genres, including TV news,
advertisements, newspaper report and
interviews

1.3. Distinguish between the linguistic 1.3 1;2;3;4 3

features of different media genres

1.4. Acquire up-to-date knowledge about 1.4 1,2,3,6

current events globally

1.5. Analyse and evaluate the language aspects of 1.5 4;5 3,5
various media types using textual analysis and
critical thinking skills.

1.6. Create detailed, clear, well structured 1;2;3;4;5;6.

language products in various types of media.

2 Skills 2

2.1. Enhance English language speaking and 2.1. 1,2,3,4 4

writing competence at level C1 in the area of
media.

2.2. Implement active learning methods based on 2.2. 1,2,3,4 3

media materials, such as in team working and

1|Page
 presenting tasks.

2.3. Develop critical thinking skills and 2.3. 3,4,5 3,5

analytical thinking ability

2.4. Develop digital literacy and computer 2.4 1,2,3 3

literacy

3 Attitude 3

3.1. Demonstrate autonomy, accountability, 3.1. 3 10,11,12

initiative, and cooperation in group work
activities

3.2. Show respects to peers and acknowledge 3.2. 3 13,14

their opinions

5. COURSE MATERIALS

Required materials:
• Duong, T.M et al (2014). Language and Media (2014) – compiled materials for internal
use. Vietnam National University: ULIS-FELTE
• Durant, A., Lambrou, M. (2009), Language and Media, Routledge.
• McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press

Supplementary materials:
• Griffin, E., (2011). A first look at communication theory - 8th edition. McGraw Hill.
• Baran,S., Davis, D. (2011). Mass communication theory - 6th edition. Cengage
learning.
• Marshall , J., Werndy, A.(2002). The language of television. Routledge.
• Meskill, C. (2002). Teaching and learning in real time: Media, technology and language
acquisition. Houston, TX: Athelstan

2|Page
 7. COURSE SYLLABUS
SB: students’ book; TB: teachers’ book
Week Objectives Content and in-class activities Materials Homework
1 - Introducing the course - Teacher introduces the course SB Lesson 1 Required
- Understand fundamental - Lead-in activities: individuals, whole class or pairs TB - reading lesson
concepts in Language and Media (hand-out, youtube videos) Teachers’ 2
- Have an overview of the popular
- Teachers’ lecture on media definitions, features, handout Group 1 and 2
genres of media
- Have an overview of the classifications, media language, and critical media lesson 1 to prepare for
discourse analysis skills analysis Powerpoint the
necessary for this course - Students work in pairs or groups to complete the lesson 1 presentation on
- Understand the (language) exercises of lesson 1 Assignment 1
learning strategies involved in + matching key definitions in media
this course + classifying media types
-
+ creating media analysis form
- Group formation for assignment 1 and 2
2 - Understand the features of SB Lesson 2 Exercises of
- Teacher provides relevant practicing exercises:
advertisements in general. Teacher corrects the exercises of Lesson 2 TB: Lesson 2 (SB)
Teachers’ Assigment 2
- Be able to analyse linguistics - Students work in group of 4 or 5 to discuss and create
features of advertisement in hand-outs
a commercial for an imaginary products applying Power Point
terms of phonological, lexical,
grammatical and semantic linguistic features of advertisement. lesson 2
aspects. - Student hand in a detailed analysis of features they
- Apply advertising language have used for their commercials.
features to create advertisement
- - Groups present their commercial in front of the
texts at C1 level – CEFR
class. Other class members give comments on the
- Creat an advertisement with the commercials, based on the analysis form (SB lesson
focus on language.
2).
3 - Read long complicated texts SB lesson 2 Required
- Student groups give presentation on Assignment 1
- Work in groups TB handout readings for
- Teacher and class members listen to the presentations lesson 2 lesson 3
and discuss on the analysis of the presenters, basing Power point Group 3 and 4
on the required readings of lesson 2. lesson 2 prepare for
- Teacher sums up linguistics features of presentation of
advertisements. Assignment 1
- Students analyse some commercials chosen by
teacher (hand-out), basing on the summed up
linguistics features that teacher has provided
4 - Understand the features of TV news SB Lesson 3 Exercises of
Teacher explains key concepts in the lecture and
in terms of content, structure, and introduces the linguistic features of TV news. Powerpoint Lesson 3
language. lesson 3 Assignment 2:
More practice TB handouts Writing the
- Understand long complex texts
Exercise 1: lesson 3 scripts
- Apply discourse analysis skills in
-Students work individually to revise the given sentences CD Lesson 3
analyzing TV news with a focus on
topics, plots, language elements. to make them more appropriate for TV news based on the
proposed principles.
- Produce scripts for TV news at
level C1 CEFR Exercise 2:
- Students work in pairs
- Practice team work and presentation
1.Watch the TV news, note down the topics covered in
skills
the news report and explain which description(s) of
newsworthiness the topics match.
2.Look at the provided script, choose on piece of the
news report, analyze its structure and language features
using the form below.
Exercise 3:
- - Students work in groups to write TV news scripts

1|Page
 based on the provided Vietnamese news pieces in e-
newspapers (Handout 1, 2, 3, 4) that were released on
30 April 2014. Then, do role-play as newscasters for
your own scripts.
5 - Groups present Assignment 1 SB Lesson 3 Required
- Teacher and class comment before teacher’s lecture Powerpoint readings of
to correct (if necessary) and reinforce students’ lesson 3 exercise 4
knowledge of the language features of TV news. Teachers’ Group 5
+ news worthiness hand-outs prepare for the
lesson 3 presentation on
+ plot and information density Assignment 1
+ pronunciation
+ structure
+ word choice
Students work in pairs to do TV news sample analysis

6 Interviews SB Lesson 4 Exercise for

Teacher explains key concepts in the lecture and
introduces the linguistic features of Interviews. CD Lesson 4 Lesson 4
- Understand basic requirements,
techniques, and languages for Assignment 2:
interview Acting out the
Exercise 1 – Identify good or bad interview questions scripts
- Analyze the language used for an
interview, focusing on questions for Students do this exercise individually
interviews.
Exercise 2: Identify good or bad interview
- Apply appropriate techniques and
complicated language to conduct an Students watch two job interview videos, listen, take
interview . notes and identify which interview is good or bad.

2|Page
 Exercise 3: Discuss more characteristics of a good
interview

Students watch part of an interview of David Beckham

on Ellen Show and in pairs use the list from exercise 2 to
identify whether it is a good interview.

Students discuss what characteristics of this interview

make it good or bad interview.

Exercise 4 – Role play

Students work in pairs, create a list of 10 interview

questions for Monica, an international graduate student
based on her biography.

Monica’s biography is provided (students’ book)

Exercise 5 – Practice

- Students conduct interviews in the class using a

provided interview format
7 - Group in charge presents Assignment 1 SB lesson 4 Required
- Teacher and class comment before teacher delivers a TB teachers’ readings for
lecture to correct (if necessary) and reinforce hand-outs Lesson 5
students’ knowledge of the language features of lesson 4
interviews.
+ types of interviews CD lesson 4

+ types of questions
+ qualities of good questions

3|Page
 + techniques for interviews
Students work in pairs to do TV news sample analysis

8 CONSOLIDATION
Students revise lessons and key concepts.
Students do online quizzes for revision.
9 MID-TERM TEST
Group 6 and 7 prepare for the presentation on Assignment 1
10 Report SB lesson 5 Exercises for
Teacher explains key concepts in the lecture and
- Understand newspaper reports TB lesson 5 Lesson 5 (SB)
and the language of newspaper introduces the linguistic features of TV news. CD - Assignment 2
reports - Teacher assigns tasks for students to work
individually or in pairs with language practice, Power Point
- Analyze the content and
linguistic features of a newspaper discourse features and production. lesson 5
report + Exercise 1: Match the headline with the news story
- Apply appropriate techniques and + Exercise 2: Match the headline with the lead
English language at C1 level
+ Exercise 3: Find synonyms used in the report
(CEFR) to write a newspaper
report + Exercise 4: Write headlines for the news story
+ Exercise 5: Find synonyms and verbs in passive
voice
+ Exercise 6: Understand the structure of a news
report
+ Exercise 7: Report a story using reporting verbs
+ Exercise 8: Understand the formal language in a
newspaper report
- Students work in group of 4 or 5 to write a news report
with a detailed analysis of features they have used for it
(Exercise 9)
- Groups in turn give the copies of their reports to class
members who will give comments using peer evaluation

4|Page
 check list provided by teacher.
- Teacher wraps up and gives the final comment
11 - Student groups present on Assignment 1. Preparation for
presenting
- Teacher and class members listen to the presentation Assignment 2:
and discuss the analysis of the presenters, based on Analysing and
the knowledge from Required Readings. evaluating the
- Teacher sums up linguistics features of newspaper products
reports + headlines.

+ paragraph structure

+ complexity of lexical choices

+ sentence types/structures

+ cohesive devices (both intra-paragraph/sentence

and inter-paragraph/sentence)

Students analyse the sample reports chosen by teacher,

based on the analysis form (SB Lesson 5).
12 ONLINE CONSULTATION
Groups present proposed outline for final presentations
Teachers give feedback for each group.
13 Presentations Students’ group presentation of Assignment 2
14
15 SHOWCASE Groups show final products on social media. TB

5|Page
8. COURSE POLICY AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF THE LECTURERS
Students are required to participate in 80% of the class hours. One or two assignments of
the students who are absent from more than 20% of the class hours will not be graded.
Students are allowed to do the second assignment on the condition that they complete the
first assignment and the mid-term test on the required dates.
9. TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
Assessment Weighting Objectives Description
forms
Ongoing 20% This assignment aims to Task:
assessment: help students: -In groups, students collect one or
ASSIGNMENT • Understand the two products (articles/ recordings/
1: characteristics of types video clips) of the media type they
CRITICALLY of Media, especially the are in charge of (it must be one of the
EVALUATING language characteristic; types introduced in the course) then
MEDIA • Understand and analyze produce a critique on the strengths
PRODUCTS the language of types of & weaknesses of the sample.
media; Students can base their analysis on
• Develop independent the characteristics of each media type
thinking and critical suggested in the course book as well
thinking skills (by self- as their own background knowledge.
studying, analyzing and
evaluating the examples -Students present the samples and
of media language); their critique in class in the

• Practicing writing and scheduled week and then make

presenting in English corrections according to the feedback
about the language of of the lecturer. The time limitation
media. for each presentation will be 40
minutes.
Submissions to the lecturer:
• Examples of the chosen media
 type (soft copies)
• Version 1 of the critique (without
the lecturer’s feedback);
• Powerpoint presentation used in
class
• Version 2 of the critique (with
adjustments to Version 1
according to the lecturer’s
feedback);
• Assignment assessment scale
(Copied from Part 4 as
undermentioned)
Deadline for submission:
A week before the presentation: the
collected examples and the first
version of the analysis (Except for
Group 1. This group will submit their
work 3 days prior to their
presentation.)
One week after the presentation: the
rest of the assignment
Ongoing 20% • Understand the Students answer to short questions
assessment: characteristics of types about the characteristics of the media
MID-TERM of media language about which they have
TEST • Analyse a type of learnt.
media; Students write an analysis about a
• Using English writing piece of news or an interview.
skills to analyse media
language.
Summative 60% This assignment aims to Task: In groups of 3-4, students

1|Page
assessment: help students: choose a type of media in the course
ASSIGNMENT • Review the (different from the one chosen for
2: characteristics of types Assignment 1) to produce a written
PRODUCING of media; or spoken pr. Students present their
A MEDIA • Produce and evaluate work in class.
TEXT media language Submissions to the lecturer:
• Use the skills of writing 1. A full script of the media
and presenting in genre, using special media
English in the area of language:
media • Hard copies as for written
• Boost teamwork skills texts;
and self-evaluation skill. • Soft copies and scripts in
CD/VCD as for spoken texts
• If the printed advertisement
form is selected, the written
text should be at least 300
words long. If TV news and
interviews are adopted, the
length should be 5 minutes.
Reports should range from
300-700 word
2. An analysis on the
characteristics of the media
language produced, based on
the corresponding analysis
form
3. Self-evaluation on the
strengths and weaknesses of
the work based on the
assessment criteria for
Assignment 2

2|Page
 4. Powerpoint presentations
Deadline for submission:
1. Week 12: a detailed
Powperpoint outline of the
presentation
2. All products: week 13 and 14
3. Week 15: A revised package
based on the teacher and class
comments

4. ASSESSMENT SCALE FOR ASSIGNMENT 1

The assessment scale is designed as a 4-point Likert-type scale from 1-4 with the
following assessment criteria:
1. Critique on the strengths and weaknesses of the samples based on the characteristics of
the media type (60%)
The critique should show students’ critical evaluation of the samples’ strengths and
weaknesses
2. Presentation (40%)
The presentation content is sufficient and meets the requirements
The organization of the presentation is clearly and coherently presented.
The English language used in th presentation is well used (equivalent to Level C1)
• Vocabulary is complex enough and always precise.
• Sentence structures and phrases are flexible, accurate and complex.
• Basic syllables in English are pronounced accurately.
• Good intonation
• Audios and visual aids are used to illustrate the presentation.

3|Page
 3. ASSESSMENT SCALE FOR ASSIGNMENT 2
The assessment scale is a 4-point Likert-type scale from 1-4 with the following
criteria and weighting.
1. Format 5%
Including enough components as mentioned
The components do not violate regulations about plagiarism and
format.
2. Content of language products created 15%
The content of the work deals with the chosen topic.
The issue presented in the product is helpful for the target audience
3. Media language products created 30%
+ have the linguistic characteristics of the chosen media type
+ The accuracy of the language (English language in general and media
language in particular): Students do not make mistakes in vocabulary and
structures, there might be some unintentional mistakes.
+ The complexity of vocabulary and structures : Level C1
4. Analysis of the media language product created 20%
+ Presenting the most important characteristics about the discourse of
the chosen media type in the group work.
+ The analytical points are supported by many arguments and
examples.
5. Presenting the work 30%
The presentation content and the analysis of the characteristics of Media
language are fully presented in the complete work.
Various evidence supporting the analysis is provided.
The organization of the presentation is logical and easily understandable.
Using language at level C1 while presenting the work (sufficiently complex
and accurate vocabulary and sentence structures)

4|Page
5|Page