Study materials and computing requirements

What's included

The book and a dedicated website with additional online resources, activities and online audio recordings are included.

As a registered language student you have access to an online forum, where you can communicate with fellow students.

You will need

A headset with a microphone and headphones to talk to your tutor and other students online during some of the study activities, and the facility to play audio CDs (optional).

Computing requirements

You will need a device with internet access to study this module as a web browser is used to access learning materials and activities.

Any other computer-based activities you will need to carry out, such as word processing, using spreadsheets, taking part in online forums, and submitting files to the university for assessment, are specified in the module materials.

If any additional software is needed for these tasks it will either be provided or is freely available. You may need administrative privileges to install the software.

Suitable devices are:

• A Windows desktop or laptop running Windows 7 or later operating system
• A Macintosh desktop or laptop running OS X 10.8 or later operating system.

Some software will not run on Linux, iOS or Android devices.

A netbook, tablet, smartphone or Linux computer that supports one of the browsers listed below may be suitable. However, these devices may not be suitable for some activities. If you intend to use one of these devices please ensure you have access to a suitable desktop or laptop device that uses the Windows or OS X operating system in case you are unable to carry out all activities on your mobile device.

Recent versions of the following browsers are suitable for carrying out web-based activities, or Internet Explorer 9 and above:

• Safari
• Chrome
• Firefox
• Edge

Using a browser upgraded to the latest version will maximise security when accessing the internet.

Using company or library computers may prevent you accessing some internet materials or installing additional software.

To be able to talk and listen in our online discussions you will need both a microphone and speakers/headphones.

Devices with small screens may make it difficult to view the material provided and carry out the activities. However, a device that has a resolution of at least 1024 pixels horizontally and also at least 768 pixels vertically should be adequate.

See our Skills for OU study website for further information about computing skills for study.