LINGUA INGLESE A - F

Passing the examination  should prove that the students have the language skills to live and work independently in an English-speaking country, study on courses taught in English and understand and produce biomedical and pharmaceutical language. Getting these skills means that the students have gone through the logical steps in their language-learning journey between B1+ and B2.

Aims:

At the B2 level, students should be able to understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialization. They should interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Not all the students will get these skills completely at the end of the course and that means further extra work on their own to get the right results.

Course methodology and structure.

A communicative methodological approach will be employed in order to develop all the communicative skills especially the ability of “speaking”. Particular attention is paid to new vocabulary especially the one required for pharmacy –related studies and professions. There will be an entry test at the beginning of the course as a diagnostic test to help the teacher check the overall level of the students. For weak students the teacher will give them extra work as homework. Different and varied practice exercises will be given such as reading, writing and listening activities.  As for listening, this skill will be practiced widely during the class. Videos on grammar and on the specialized language will be watched followed by questions, oral and written reports and vocabulary exercises

Prerequisites

In order to get the B2 level of the CEFR, (Common European Framework of Reference) students should at least be an independent user of the B1+ in all language abilities that is:

 1) Reception (listening and reading);

2) Interaction (spoken interaction and written interaction);

3) Production (spoken production and written production).

Attendance to the course

The course will go through 35 hour lessons. Each lesson consists 3 hours each except for the last one, which is made up of just two. As stated by the course is divided in two parts:

1)    15 hour  grammar-language lessons;

2)    20 hour lessons related to pharmacy studies and professions.

The minimum attendance required is 70% of the course as a whole.

The course aims to revise and develop students's grammar skills of the B2 level and the vocabulary and language functions of scientific and academic English. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand a wide range of English texts and be able to use the language flexibly and effectively in academic and professional contexts, particularly in the field medical science and health.  The course will be divided into two parts: the first part will cover aspects of English functions, grammar and syntax; the second part will deal with scientific texts and topics in English. 

1 st  part: Grammar.

Contents (15 hours)

Grammar: Review of:

1) Present and past. 

1) Present simple, present continuous, present simple vs present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, How long, for, since, when, just, already, yet,…, past perfect and past perfect continuous, used to vs would, be used to, get used to.

2 Future tenses: will, be going to, future continuous and perfect, quantifiers;

3) Comparatives and superlatives, expressions using comparison. Have /get

something done;

4) Defining relative clauses, non defining relative clauses, -ing form vs infinitive, verb+ ing form and infinitive , question tags;

5) Modals: suggestions, speculation and deductions, possibility, certainty, ability, obligation, necessity and advice;

6) The passive voice, first, second, third  and mixed conditionals, the gerund and the infinitive, like, would rather, had better, reported statements, questions, reporting verbs;

2 nd  Part  Contents

 Specialized language for Pharmacy.

Contents 20 hours

1) Pharmacy and Pharmacists,

 2) Pharmacology,

 3) Types of drugs,

 4) Terminology of drug action,

 5) Before using medicines,

 6) OTC pain relievers, NSAID’s, Aspirin, Paracetamol.

 7) Branded versus generic medicines,

 8 Most common forms of medicines,

9) Types of medicines,

10) Most important drugs: Corticosteroids: mineralocorticoid, glucocorticoid,

11) Antibiotics and bacteria,

12) Hypertension: Amias-Candsartan, Angiotensin receptor blockers, Ace

Inhibitors.

13) Viruses and Covid 19 and vaccines.

Books in use:

    Any grammar book referring to B2 of the Common European Framework of reference for languages. 

 English Grammar in use Third Edition Rymond Murphy. Cambridge University

Press.  

  A self-study reference and practice book for    intermediate of English, with

answers. 

  Grammar reference book : Grammar files Gold, Edward Jordan -Patricia

Fiocchi  Publishing House  Trinity Whitebridge.

Identity Upper intermediate  B2 O.U.P:2)

English for Pharmacy

2)   “English for the pharmacy students, di Luisa Benigni, società  editrice 

“Esculapio”

Tests and assessment

The course is made up of 35-hour lessons as a whole. The first part consists of 15-hour grammar lessons while the second part is made up of 20 hours about pharmacy-related studies.

The course includes an entry test, an ongoing test and a final written one on both grammar and on  topics related to pharmacy studies based. The results of the ongoing test and all the final written test will determine whether students have passed or not their final examination. The students that for any reason will not attend the language course and the students of the previous courses  will take a written test  both on grammar and on topics related to the studies and professions of “ Pharmacy and Pharmacology”.

Example of  questions of a written  test. ( only five  questions and not more than seven lines)

1. How can people make a difference in helping the environmental problems in

   the world of today?

2. What does DNA consist of ?

3. What do you know  about antibiotics?

4. What is the difference between Gram positive and Gram negative?

6. What is the difference between Pharmacy and Pharmacology?

7) What do you know about OTC pain relievers?

8) Branded vs generic medicines.

9) What are the main drugs to treat Stroke and heart attacks ?

 10) What do you know about NSAIDs?

11) What is the difference between DNA and mRNA?

 12) What do you know about Covid 19 vaccines?

13) What does aldosterone do in the body?

14) What do you know about corticosteroids?

Esempio di test di grammatica

Choose the correct alternative:

Will you say/tell us what is wrong?

What is the journalist saying/ telling?

The have made/done their beds

Are you making /doing  a living as a flexibly  worker? 

Translate the following sentences:

Se fossi una farfalla volerei alto nel cielo. 

Magari vincessi la lotteria

Complete the sentences

If I had .......................the lottery, I would .........................a new house.

This person,....................son is an actor, lives in Hollywood.