Languages, communication and knowledge transfer

Experience knowledge transfer in common European university spaces, particularly in the context of the French language and Francophone cultures

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CIVIS focus area
Society, culture, heritage
Open to
  • Bachelor's
  • Master's
Field of studies
  • Social Science and humanities
Tipo
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
6 March - 12 April 2024

The "Languages, Communication and Knowledge Transfer" programme brings together society, culture, multilingualism, communication and digital tools in order to create common European university spaces where knowledge transfer is present, particularly in the context of the French language and Francophone cultures.

This course is an European space developed between the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM, Spain), the University of Tübingen (UT, Germany), the University of Bucharest (UB, Romania) and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA, Greece). Its purpose is to promote and establish a plural, civic and democratic university, where teachers and students find an academic space for the exchange of opinions and the transfer of knowledge.

The aim of this course is the advanced study of communication from a multidisciplinary and international civic and humanist perspective. It is a course adapted to the new academic and professional requirements of the European Higher Education Area and to the new multilingual and international or transnational intercultural working contexts.

The program is bilingual, with French and English as languages of instruction, enabling students to acquire more diverse linguistic and communicative skills. This course is part of the Languages in Communicative Contexts subject (French; 6 ECTS) in the BA in Modern Languages, Culture and Communication (240 ECTS) at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. 

The objective is to consolidate the knowledge on which contemporary French linguistics in general and semantics and pragmatics in particular are based, on the basis of historical linguistic studies. We will be paying particular attention to factors of a polyphonic and argumentative nature, from the perspective of the complex statement. In this context, we wish to highlight the importance of languages and also of communication in the European space and within the framework of a civic university. The aim is to pool sharing principles, and to shape a new, plural European space, with a civic purpose. 

Main topics addressed

The programme presented here consists of three main parts which will be taught according to the timetable. It should be noted that each section, being closely related to the rest of the sections in each part, will be treated as a whole in general reflection and practice, as well as in theory. Although, for methodological reasons, they will constitute independent points in the programme and in their written verbal exposition:

1. Contemporary French semantics and pragmatics: theory and practice

  • Assumptions and characteristics
  • Currents 

2. The theoretical tools of French semantics

  • Argumentation in language 
  • Enunciative polyphony in language

3. Corpus and transfer of communicative knowledge

  • Corpus, corpus managers and text analysis software 
  • Automatic processing of argumentation and enunciative polyphony in language 

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the students are expected to: 

  • know how to apply linguistic analysis techniques to the chosen language, in particular aspects relating to multilingual communication and contrasts between languages;
  • be able to reflect on issues of a social, economic, historical, artistic, or scientific nature in the cultural environment of the chosen language;
  • be able to convey information, ideas, problems, and solutions in a critical and reasoned way in the chosen language;
  • have gained language awareness;
  • have found new tools for analysing, describing, learning, and using the language.
Dates: 6 March - 12 April 2024 Total workload: 75 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 3*
Location: Madrid, Spain Language: English (B2), French (B2) 
Contact: aranzazu.gil@uam.es  

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university

The activities included in the course are of two types: face-to-face and non-face-to-face. In terms of ECTS credits, this 3 ECTS course comprises 75 hours divided between the various training activities:

  • 27 hours of theoretical-practical lessons (12 hours in a virtual classroom on Zoom and 15 hours during the mobility week in Madrid, Spain),
  • 4 hours of seminars during the mobility week,
  • 6 hours of group tutoring (5 hours during the mobility week),
  • 3 hours of assessment activities,
  • 30 hours of non-presential activities dedicated to individual student work and study (18 hours in a virtual classroom, 12 hours during the mobility week) and
  • 5 hours of linguistic-cultural activities (during the mobility week).

Physical mobility

The sessions of the physical component of the programme will be divided into courses, seminars, groups tutoring and individual study regarding:

  • Enunciative polyphony in language
  • Corpus and communicative knowledge transfer
  • Corpus, corpus managers and textual analysis software 
  • Automatic processing of argumentation and enunciative polyphony in language

The classes will be held between 8 - 12 April 2024 from 9:00-14:00 CET (Monday and Wednesday) and from 9:00-17:00 CET (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). 

The physical week will end with an evaluation test and a final assessment of the course. Afterwards, we will have a socio-linguistic-communicative immersion in the city of Madrid and at the Reina Sofía Museum.

Virtual part

The virtual session will be held between 6 March - 4 April 2024, every Wednesday (10:00- 12:00 CET) and Thursday (9:00 - 10:00 CET) and it will the following aspects:

1. Contemporary French Semantics and Pragmatics: Theory and Practice

  • Assumptions and characteristics
  • Currents 

2. The theoretical tools of French semantics

  • Argumentation in language

Requirements

This course is open to Bachelor's and Master's students at CIVIS member universities with a high interest in Linguistics, Languages, Communication and Digital humanities. 

The sessions will be taught in French and English, therefore a minimum level (B2) in French and English is needed so the students can follow the training and read the reference bibliography.

Knowledge of Spanish is also desirable in order to be able to interact with the members of the academic community of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the citizens of the city of Madrid (services, transport, accommodation, restaurants etc.). 

Other desired skills are: language awareness, effective communication, intercultural competence, critical thinking and digital humanities.

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

Students from CIVIS’ strategic partner universities in Africa cannot apply for participation in this course.

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 7 November 2023, including:

  • CV

  • Motivation Letter

  • Level of english (According to CEFR)

All applications will be evaluatedd based on their CV, level of French and English, level of academic achievement and suitability of academic background.

Apply now

Assessment

The teaching staff involved will follow the activities in theory-practice sessions, which will consist of readings, reflections, applications, and practical exercises of the theory according to the methodology and approaches proposed.

Each teacher will supervise the activities corresponding to his/ her session, which will be shared in a continuous final assessment. In addition, at the end of the course, each student will have to complete an assessment questionnaire, covering the content studied in the BIP course. The questions will be multiple choice, short answer, and essay (in-depth reflection of the theories and studied concepts). 

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

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Dr. Marta Tordesillas is a senior professor of French linguistics, a specialist in language sciences, in semantics, pragmatics and discourse analysis, as well as in theories of argumentation and enunciative polyphony. Her research has focused on the theoretical and practical development of an argumentative and enunciative semantic theory and its applications in the description of language, literary criticism, language teaching or in automatic treatment. She is interested in innovation and the transfer of knowledge from semantics to health and social well-being. She is the author of more than 100 publications and has participated in 30 research and innovation projects, being director of doctoral theses and responsible for different university positions.

Dr. Aránzazu Gil Casadomet is Assistant Professor of French language and linguistics at the Department of French Philology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Her teaching areas are French language and linguistics, computational and corpus linguistics and computer product localization. She develops her research works in French linguistics, argumentative semantics, applied linguistics, lexicography, computational linguistics, corpus linguistics and teaching-learning of the FLE and the FOS.

Dr. Nicolas Heslault is Senior Lecturer for French Language and Cultural Studies at the Department of Roman Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tübingen, Germany. His fields of teaching are Academic and Creative Writing (A2-C2 CEFRL), Applied Grammar, Translation and Francophone Cultures of the Global South, with focus on Overseas France and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Former research fellow of the ENS Fontenay/ Saint-Cloud and Ph.D. in Language Sciences from the University of Paris XIII, Marina-Oltea Păunescu is an associate professor at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Her research areas include pragmatics and discourse analysis, but she is equally interested in argumentation semantics and the philosophy of fiction.

Dr. Eleni Tziafa is Associate Professor at the Department of French Language and Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She holds a PhD in Translation and Computational Linguistics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her research interests focus on translation, technology and education, machine or computer-assisted translation, corpus linguistics and its applications in lexicography, natural language processing, critical discourse analysis, language teaching and technology. Her recent research focuses on the use of tools and methods of corpus linguistics in issues related to translation, discourse analysis and language learning, audio-visual translation, and the training of translators via new technologies.

Dr. Rania Voskaki is Assistant Professor at the Department of French Language and Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She holds a PhD in Computational Linguistics from the Marne-la-Vallée University in Paris. Her research interests focus on applied linguistics, computer-assisted language learning, corpus linguistics and computational linguistics.