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5.12. Technical and professional English II (Mandatory)

5.12.1. Justification ↑ Back to top

Building on foundational English skills, this course develops the student's ability to communicate in technical and scientific contexts with greater fluency. Grammar structures are practiced through reading and producing descriptions of technological systems, scientific phenomena, and engineering processes. Students gain vocabulary relevant to computing, data, and the physical sciences.

5.12.2. Generales Goals ↑ Back to top

1. Develop fluency in English applied to technical and scientific communication.
2. Expand vocabulary in computing, data, and engineering domains.

5.12.3. Contribution to Outcomes ↑ Back to top

AG-C04) Communication: Communicates effectively in complex computing activities. (Usage)

AG-C03) Individual and Team Work: Performs effectively as an individual and as a member or leader in diverse teams. (Familiarity)

5.12.4. Content ↑ Back to top

5.12.4.1. Breakthroughs and Discoveries (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Simple Past Review: Affirmative and Negative in scientific contexts.
2. Time expressions with 'ago': When technologies were invented or released.
3. Conjunctions: and, so, but, because — structuring technical explanations.
4. Vocabulary: Scientific milestones, inventions, and discoveries.

Learning Outcomes

1. By the end of the unit, students narrate past technological breakthroughs and connect cause-and-effect relationships using simple past and conjunctions (e.g., "Scientists discovered X, so engineers developed Y").

5.12.4.2. Data and Variables (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Countable and Uncountable nouns in computing: files, data, code, memory.
2. Use of some, any, a lot of in quantifying technical resources.
3. Expressions of quantity: a little memory, a few errors, too many processes.
4. Vocabulary: Data types, variables, constants, and storage units.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students correctly use countable and uncountable noun structures to describe data, resources, and system states in technical contexts.

5.12.4.3. Future of Technology (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Future plans: Verb + to + infinitive in project planning.
2. Use of 'Will' vs 'Going to' for predictions and scheduled releases.
3. Auxiliary verbs in forecasting: AI trends, cloud computing, quantum computing.
4. Vocabulary: Emerging technologies and career pathways in computing.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students express technological intentions and project plans, as well as make evidence-based predictions about computing and engineering trends.

5.12.4.4. Comparing Technologies (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Comparative and superlative adjectives applied to hardware and software.
2. Comparing programming languages, operating systems, and algorithms.
3. Synonyms and antonyms in technical vocabulary.
4. Reading: Short technology comparison articles and benchmark reports.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students make detailed technical comparisons between systems, languages, and tools, using comparative and superlative structures accurately.

5.12.4.5. Running Processes (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Present Continuous to describe active and ongoing technical processes.
2. Current use: "The server is processing requests."
3. Future use with Present Continuous: scheduled deployments and experiments.
4. Writing: Status updates and progress reports in technical projects.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students describe active computing processes, ongoing experiments, and scheduled technical activities using the present continuous form.

5.12.4.6. Software Milestones (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Introduction to Present Perfect to describe achievements with current relevance.
2. Keywords: ever, never, yet, just — applied to software releases and research.
3. Vocabulary: Version history, patches, upgrades, published papers.
4. Reading: Technology news and software changelogs.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students communicate technical achievements and software milestones with present relevance, without specifying an exact time, using the present perfect.

5.12.4.7. Technical Challenges (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Adjectives ending in -ed and -ing to describe technical experiences and processes.
2. Modal verbs of obligation: must, have to — applied to engineering requirements.
3. Vocabulary: Engineering challenges, constraints, trade-offs, and standards.
4. Writing: Short technical problem statements.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students describe the emotional and technical aspects of engineering challenges and express obligations and constraints using specialized vocabulary.

5.12.4.8. English for Technology II (12 hours) [Skills AG-C03,AG-C04] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Soars and John, 2002a; Cambridge, 2006; MacGrew, 1999)

Topics

1. Technical terminology: Input/output devices, storage, and peripherals.
2. Reading and following software installation and configuration instructions.
3. Communication in technical support: Describing symptoms and solutions.
4. Presentation: Describing a computing system to a non-specialist audience.

Learning Outcomes

1. By the end of the course, students interpret technical instructions, describe hardware components, and communicate basic computing concepts to diverse audiences in English.

5.12.5. Bibliography ↑ Back to top

Soars, L. and John (2002a). American Headway N 1 Student Book. Editorial Oxford.

Cambridge (2006). Diccionario Inglés-Espanol Cambridge. Editorial Oxford.

MacGrew, J. (1999). Focus on Grammar Basic. Editorial Oxford.