VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

COURSE SYLLABUS
I. General information
1. Course title LISTENING - SPEAKING B2

2. Course code NVA189

3. Type of course (compulsory, optional) Compulsory

4. Level of course Bachelor

5. Year of study (if applicable) 1

6. Semester when the course is delivered 2

7. Number of course credits allocated 3 (2 theoretical credits + 1 practical credit)

Independent study: 90 hours
8. Name of lecturer(s) N/A

9. Mode of delivery (face-to-face, distance Face-to-face

learning)

10. Prerequisites Students are expected to have completed Listening –

Speaking B1.
11. Language of instruction English

12. Work placement(s) N/A

II. Course overview

This course is designed to provide participants with:
● Opportunities to sharpen their listening skills via lectures, presentations, panel discussions,
and authentic TED Talks.
● Opportunities to practice speaking about academic topics, with pair and group work, to
prepare for future academic discussions.
● Opportunities to acquire and improve soft skills.

III. Course learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. apply listening skills (note-taking, locating main ideas and details, etc.) to understand spoken texts at
B2 level
2. apply speaking skills to produce spoken texts at B2 level
3. apply acquired language and skills to generate individual and interactive discussions about topics
covered in the textbook
4. select ICT applications for learning and research

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 5. demonstrate communication and teamwork skills
6. show positive responses to cultural diversity
IV. Recommended or required readings
Required Texts and Materials
● Lee, C. (2017). 21st Century Communication 3: Listening, speaking, and critical thinking. Boston:
Cengage Learning.
Reference Materials
● Hamlin, D., & Koza, L. (2016). Inside: Listening and speaking 3. Oxford: Oxford University
Press
● Boyle, M., & Kisslinger, E. (2012). Skillful 3: Listening and speaking. Macmillan.

V. Course contents and schedules

Planned learning
Required
Sessions Course contents activities and teaching
readings
methods

Course Introduction Lecture

1.
Mock test

Unit 1 Group 1’s project

Bringing Dreams to Life Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
2. Practice
Listening & Speaking Practice 2-21
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice
Unit 2 Group 2’s project
Say It Your Way Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
3. Practice
Listening & Speaking Practice 22-41
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice
Lecture
Review Units 1 & 2 Discussion
4.
Further listening and speaking Practice
Group practice
Unit 3 Group 3’s project
To the Rescue! Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
5. Practice
Listening & Speaking Practice 42-61
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice
Unit 4 Group 4’s project
Beyond Limits Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
6. Practice
Listening & Speaking Practice 62-81
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice

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 Unit 5 Group 5’s project
Stress: Friend or Foe? Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
7. Practice
Listening & Speaking Practice 82-101
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice
Lecture
Review Units 3, 4 & 5
Discussion
8. Further listening and speaking
Practice
Listening test - midterm
Group practice
Unit 6 Group 6’s project
Treasured Places Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
9. Practice
Listening & Speaking Practice 102-121
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice
Unit 7 Group 7’s project
Live and Learn Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
10.
Listening & Speaking Practice 122-141 Practice
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice
Unit 8 Group 8’s project
DIY: Do It Yourself Lecture
Listening vocabulary tasks Lee (2017), pp. Discussion
11.
Listening & Speaking Practice 142-161 Practice
TED talks: Communicate & Presentation skill Group practice
Practice
Lecture
Review Units 6, 7 & 8
Discussion
12. Further listening and speaking
Practice
Mock test
Group practice
TBA Final exams (A3 + A4)
TED Talk recommendations
1. How to achieve your most ambitious goals by Stephen Duneier
2. Where do new words come from? by Marcel Danesi
3. Why incompetent people think they’re amazing by David Duning
4. How to stay calm under pressure by Noa Kageyama and Pen-pen Chen
5. What makes a hero? by Matthew Winkler
6. The power creative constraints by Brandon Rodriguez
7. How stress affects your brain by Madhumita Murgia
8. Why do we have museums? by J. V. Maranto
9. How to practice effectively… for just about anything? by Annie Bosler and Don Greene
10. Easy DIY projects for kid engineers by Fawn Qiu
N.B.: The schedule was planned with 15 four-period meetings and thus should be amended by
Instructors to fit 12 five-period meetings.

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VI. Assessment scheme
Assessment tasks Points Percent Scores Weighting Note
A1. Participation 10pts 40% Midterm 30% To be computed by
the
A2. Speaking Project* 10pts 60% University
Admission Office
Final Exams Final 70%
A3. Speaking
A4. Listening
100% (Passing Grade: 5/10)
Students who fail to take the final exams on one sub-skill (either Listening or Speaking) will not be qualified
to pass this course.

(See detailed rubrics attached.)

VII. Course alignment matrix

Course learning outcomes (CLOs) Programme Teaching and Assessment tasks
learning outcomes learning
(PLOs) activities
CLO1 – apply listening skills (note-taking, PLO1 – L2 L + D + P + GP A2 + A3 + A4
locating main ideas and details, etc.) to
understand spoken texts at B2 level
CLO2 – apply speaking skills to produce PLO1 – L2 L + D + P + GP A2 + A3 + A4
spoken texts at B2 level
CLO3 – apply acquired language and skills PLO1 – L2 L + D + P + GP A2 + A3 + A4
to generate individual and interactive
discussions about topics covered in the
textbook
CLO4 – select ICT applications for learning PLO3 – L1 D + P + GP A2
and research
CLO5 – demonstrate communication and PLO3 – L1 D + P + GP A1
teamwork skills
CLO6 – show positive responses to cultural PLO6 – L2 L + D + P + GP A1 + A2 + A3 +
diversity A4
(Note: L = Lecture, D = Discussion, P = practice, GP = Group practice)

VIII. Course policies A. Grades

Grade Policy: All grades are public and transparent to all students. Instructors are required to inform
students of their midterm scores during course time. Any queries about their midterm scores should be
raised and answered TWO WEEKS prior to the instructor’s submission of the scores to the Faculty
Academic Office.
Group Work Policy: All group members are required to take part in a group oral presentation and/or
written project and thus receive the same score(s) based on the whole group’s performance. Once formed,
groups cannot be changed except for cases of students’ extended hospitalization.

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 B. Technology and Media
Students are encouraged to contact instructors via email after class hours if they have any queries about the
course contents, lessons, etc. The instructor’s email address should be provided in the first meeting of the
course.

C. Student Expectations
1. Attendance in all sessions is strongly recommended. Participants are required to give advance notice of
their absence in case of illness or any other situations. However, 80% is the minimum attendance
required for a student to take the final test.
2. The use of mobile phones and/or laptops for personal purposes without instructors’ permission is
forbidden during class time.
3. Participants are expected to be well prepared and take an active role in class discussions and work
collaboratively with their peers.
4. Forms of plagiarism and cheating will lead to a failing grade or zero on the assignment or test.

Date of approval: January 2021

Approved by Designed by
Department of English Language Skills

Nguyen Dang Nguyen, Ph.D.

Dean, Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature