English for Social Services (3 cr)

Objectives (course unit)

Students:
- have cultural awareness and sensitivity so that they can mediate between own and foreign cultures
- master the key terminology of social and health care so that they can make use of professional English literature in their work and professional growth
-can present a social work unit or project and describe the work of a Bachelor of Social Services
- can explain the principles of Finnish social services and income security
- can explain their education
- can write work related texts in neutral and formal style (e.g. e-mail, CV)
- can maintain, develop and assess their own language skills

Content (course unit)

Content
- face- to- face situations and appropriate language and register
the work and clientele of a Bachelor of Social Services
- Finnish social services and income security
Education
visits to social work units and presentations
authentic professional texts and key terminology of social and health care
business letter, cv and e-mail
- business calls

Exam schedules

Writing exams will carry 30% of the total points, oral presentations 25% (this includes continuous participation in class activities), written assignment 10% Job application documentation (CV cover letter etc) 10% and group discussions 25%

Assessment methods and criteria

This course is English for Social Services and the evaluation is based on 0-5 grading scale where 0 is fail and 5 is excellent. Active participation in class and online collaborative platforms are required. To get a minimum pass, student need to attend and participate in class activities, produce required documents, exercises and presentations,

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

Collaborative learning coupled with online exercises, Reading and analyzing cases, role play, producing writing documents, oral presentation

Learning materials

The main material for this course is Saarinen, K. Saarinen J. 2014. Way to Welfare. English for Social Services. Otava. Supplementary materials would be provided in Tabula

Content scheduling

Oral communication, (on the phone, dealing with clients, meetings etc.) written communication (emails reports etc.)

Completion alternatives

to be discussed with the teacher

International connections

There might be a possibility to have a joint intercultural communication project with Hungary, Estonia, Spain etc..

Further information

Avoin myös kv-vaihto-opiskelijoille.

Assessment criteria - fail (0) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

FAIL: One or more of the compulsory assignments fails to meet specified criteria

Assessment criteria - satisfactory (1-2) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Satisfactory (1-2): The student communicates in comprehensible English on the whole and shows some awareness of the norms for different situations; can communicate both orally and in written form. Requirements regarding participation, meeting deadlines etc. are minimally fulfilled

Assessment criteria - good (3-4) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Good: (3-4)
Students’ English is mainly clear and appropriate. Written work meets norms for different types of text, Emails and job application documents. Oral communication is professional. Requirements regarding participation, meeting deadlines etc. are mainly fulfilled.

Assessment criteria - excellent (5) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Excellent (5)
Students’ written English is formal and accurate and displays appropriate variation in style; reports meet norms for different types of text; students show ability to act appropriately in different situations; can understand complex text and is able to produce documents with no mistakes. Requirements regarding participation, meeting deadlines etc. are consistently fulfilled.