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Professional English in Agriculture I

Course developer

Course abstract

The study course is aimed at the development of students’ foreign language (English) knowledge and skills necessary for comprehending, interpreting and evaluating professional information, explaining and comparing processes, participating in discussions, giving presentations in professional and academic environments as well as for communication with foreign students, specialists and academic staff. The focus is on the terminology related to agriculture. The English language proficiency level corresponds at least to level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for foreign languages.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Knowledge and understanding terminology of field.
Students know terms from the field of:
- university education, soil: structure of the soil, soil formation, processes of soil degradation, soil preservation, soil tillage (Test No 1);
- plant, its parts and their functions; fertilizer, plant protection, weed control (Test No 2);
- branches of agriculture: plant cultivation, field-crop cultivation, cereal cultivation, horticulture, crops (Test No 3).
Skills:
students are able to define terms, select professional information, think critically, participate in discussions applying professional terminology and communication skills: in written form - writing descriptions, summaries, business letters; orally - in discussions, dialogues, giving a presentation.
Competence of professional and academic English language in order to apply it creatively in spoken and written communication for student mobility, professional and academic activities in international environment.

Course Content(Calendar)

1. Introduction in speciality. Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. Development of terminology vocabulary on every theme.2h
2. University studies. Faculty of Agriculture.2h
3. Terminology dictionaries, glossaries of the sector. The main branches of agriculture.2h
4. Soil. Structure of the soil.2h
5. Processes of soil degradation. Soil tillage.2h
6. Test 1. Soil. Plant, its parts and their functions. Defining terms.2h
7. Plant nutrition elements. Fertilizer. 2h
8. Plant diseases and pests. Plant protection.2h
9. Weeds. Weed control. Herbicides.2h
10. Test 2. Plants and plant protection. Plant cultivation. The main branches of plant cultivation. Field-crop cultivation.2h
11. Cereal cultivation. Processes, tendencies, directions.2h
12. Horticulture. Fruit-tree growing. Growing fruits and berries. Floriculture.2h
13. Vegetable gardening. Growing vegetables. Description of the cultivation process of a crop.2h
14. Test 3. Plant cultivation. Basic principles of a successful presentation.2h
15. Farmer`s activities on a farm during all seasons.2h
16. Students` presentation of individual work.2h

Requirements for awarding credit points

Assessment: Formal test.
It is made up of cumulative assessment.
Successfully written 3 tests, the glossary of terms for each topic, timely completed home works, completed individual work (reading of professional texts, presentation on a selected topic, the glossary of terms). Tests and home works are with a positive evaluation. The number of the missed classes shall not exceed 20%.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Individual work:
1. Reading of the independently chosen professional texts (the amount: 20 000 characters);
2. A written summary (the amount – 2000 characters);
3. Prepared PPoint presentation and oral presentation (5-10 minutes) in front of the class;
4. Submitted glossary of terms (30 translations, 20 definitions).

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

The cumulative assessment is composed of the grades in 3 tests and a presentation of the individual work.The grade in tests is successful if at least 70% of the answers are correct. All home works should receive a successful grade.

Compulsory reading

1. Blum Winfried E. H. Essentials of soil science: soil formation, functions, use and classification Stuttgart: Borntraeger Science Publishers, 2018. 171p. SBN 9783443010904
2. Natural Resource Management: Ecological Perspectives / Rajinder Peshin, Ashok K. Dhawan, editors. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2019. 276p. ISBN 9783319997674
3. Sullivan N. O., Libbin J. D. Career Paths: Agriculture. Books 1-3. Express Publishing, 2013. ISBN 978-1-78098-378-3
4. Akadēmiskā terminu datu bāze. [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 25.03.2020.]. Pieejams: http://termini.lza.lv/term.php

Further reading

1. Angļu-latviešu lauksaimniecības terminu vārdnīca. English-Latvian Glossary of Agricultural Terms. TTC, ES Phare programma. Rīga: Jāņa sēta, 2000. 238 lpp. ISBN 9984-657-03-5
2. Dawe J. “Up, Down and All Around” A Simple Way to Understand Fertilizers [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 25.03.2020.]. Pieejams: https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/up-down-and-all-around-a-simple-way-to-understand-fertilizers/
3.Kārkliņš A. Zeme, augsne, mēslojums: terminu skaidrojošā vārdnīca. Soil Science: Glossary of terms. Jelgava: LLU, 2012. 477 lpp. ISBN 978-984-48-077-0

Periodicals and other sources

1. Garden Pests and Disease Resources [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 25.03.2020.]. Pieejams: https://www.gardeners.com/how-to?folder=articles-about-pests-diseases
2. The Journal of Agricultural Science [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 25.03.2020.] Pieejams: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-agricultural-science ISSN: 1469-5146
3. Vegetable Resources [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 25.03.2020.]. Pieejams: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/

Notes

The study course is included in the compulsory part of the professional Bachelor’s degree programme Agriculture.