Universität Wien

340032 UE Text and oral communication English (2024W)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 34 - Translationswissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 14.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 21.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 28.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 04.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 11.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 18.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 02.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 09.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 16.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 13.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG
  • Monday 20.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 4 ZfT Gymnasiumstraße 50 3.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

"There's a blaze of light in every word | It doesn't matter which you heard | The holy or the broken." (L. Cohen)

Transcultural communication is about cooperation, compromise, tolerance.

This course focusses on the performed text. We will listen to the spoken word, identify (and mimic) patterns—and break with patterns. We will mostly work with voice and body (here and now), sometimes with pen and paper. And mind you, understanding accents is about exposure and patience. Not being in a hurry, and not getting upset.

The difference between PRINTED and PERFORMED text? Mosaic and kaleidoscope!

A performed text (spoken, embodied, enacted; f2f)—even when recorded—always appears to be volatile (moving, vanishing?) when we reach out to touch and hold on to it.

We will research, plan, design, rehearse and deliver presentations on a bunch of topics, sequencing selected content and multimodal elements for accuracy and their impact on the audience.

We will use (amongst other sources) the BBC Sounds radio app to listen live in class (or on the go) to vibrant and varied symphonies of (new) sounds and voices. Then we will retell, reenact in class what we have heard. We will also play BROKEN TELEPHONE: Some of you will have to leave the room while the others are listening; then you will be told about it by one of your classmates (immediately afterwards, but still outside); finally, you will have to perform in class what you have heard in the secondhand account …

As we often work in highly asymmetric communicative settings, we will not only determine the purpose of a given assignment but also reflect upon the concept of PURPOSE in general: Whose purpose, really? To whose benefit?

You will also learn to deal with circumstances when comprehension is not possible (e.g. dialect; articulation/enunciation, volume ... background noise). What if somebody is incoherent, or when someone often digresses, adding aside after aside, and 'footnote' after 'footnote' (and perhaps even a footnote to the aside) …? How to deal with stats and figures, (unheard of) names, a series of proper nouns, a list of items?

In this course, you will experience a collaborative and supportive environment.
We will embrace our accents (i.e., part of what we are)–nothing to get rid of–and broaden our repertoire.–––Do we dare bring all our own Englishes into the classroom?

Learning objectives:
(i) to improve listening comprehension and broaden performance repertoire;
(ii) to hone performance skills with a focus on the communication situation and text organization.

Live performances and peer-reviewed out-of-class recordings.
Individual, pair and group work.

So, let’s hit the ground running …

Assessment and permitted materials

- assignments (in class and homework)
(The use of AI must be disclosed.)

- mid-term test
- final test
(No materials or electronic devices permitted for the tests.)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Make-up of the final grade:
mid-term test: 30%
final test: 30%
assignments: 20%
active participation in class: 20%

Grading scale: 90-100%: 1 // 80-89%: 2 // 70-79%: 3 // 60-69%: 4 // < 60%: 5

Students must complete all assignments.
Attendance is mandatory—two absences allowed.

You will have to attain a passing score (60% or more) on at least one of the tests.

Examination topics

Both tests will be based on the assignments and our work in class.

Reading list

Abeywickrama, Priyanvada. 2013. "Why Not Non-native Varieties of English as Listening Comprehension Test Input?" RELC Journal 44(1): 59-74.
Allen, Joseph A. & Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale & Rogelberg Stephen G. 2015. The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science. Cambridge: CUP.
British Library. [regularly updated]. British Accents and Dialects. https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects
Cabaniss, Deborah, L., & Cherry, Sabrina & Douglas, Caroly & Schwartz, Anna & Hardman, Emilia. 2012: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy - A Clinical Manual. Hoboken [NJ]: Wiley ------ Chapters 13, 14, 16 and 17: Empathic Listening/Looking for Meaning/Learning to Listen/Learning to Reflect.
dialect blog. [regularly updated]. Accents. http://dialectblog.com/
Ferrari, Bernard. 2012. Power Listening: Mastering the Most Critical Business Skill of All. New York: Portfolio.
Gendlin, Eugene T. 1978. Focusing. New York: Bantam Books.
Goh, Christine C. M. 2018. Academic Listening. Hoboken [NJ]: Wiley.
IDEA—International Dialects of English Archive. [regularly updated]. Dialects & Accents. https://www.dialectsarchive.com/
Katz, Neil & McNulty, Kevin. 1994. Reflective Listening. https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedfiles/parcc/cmc/reflective%20listening%20nk.pdf [01/02/2023].
Lebrun, Jean-Luc. 2010. When the Scientist Presents. An Audio & Video Guide to Science Talks. Singapore: World Scientific.
Lindsey, Geoff. 2019. English After RP. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
McNeill, David. 1992. Hand and Mind. What Gestures Reveal About Thought. Chicago (IL): CUP.
Mesthrie, Rajend & Rakesh M. Bhatt. 2008. World Englishes: The Study of new linguistic varieties. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Miller, George A. 1956. The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information. Psychological Review 63(2): 81–97.
Navarro, Joe. 2018. The Dictionary of Body Language: A Field Guide to Human Behavior. New York: William Morrow.
Pease, Allen & Pease, Barbara. 2004. The Definitive Book of Body Language: How to Read Others' Attitudes by Their Gestures. London: Orion.
Rogers, Carl R. & Farson, Richard E. 2015/1957. Active Listening. New York: Martino.
Schneider, Edgar W. & Bernd Kortmann (eds.). 2008. Varieties of English. 4 Volumes. Berlin & Boston: De Gruyter.
Thomas, Jaquie Mary. 2008. Presentations in English. Freiburg: Haufe.
Warren, Richard M. 1970. "Perceptual Restoration of Missing Speech Sounds". Science 167 (3917): 392–3.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Th 23.01.2025 10:26