MODULE OVERVIEW

Course title

Academic English Writing Skills

Module overview

An overview of appropriate English expressions for signposting effective presentations; an overview of the English sound system (in particular vowels and consonants) for effective pronunciation; an overview of key grammar structures for effective self-expression in academic writing and speech (in particular accurate use of nouns, articles, tenses and modal verbs); an overview of the rules of English punctuation, spelling and sentence structure as aids to effective writing; an overview of effective strategies for following and understanding spoken academic English discourse (both listening for gist and detail); an overview of effective strategies for understanding academic texts in English (especially identifying factual information); an overview of print and web-based resources available for self-study in EFL.

Module Aims

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

• give an effective 5-7 minute presentation on a topic related to their academic discipline and handle follow-up questions;

• produce samples of effective academic writing (both descriptive tasks e.g. describing a process and presenting figures and discursive tasks e.g. presenting pros and cons and proposing a course of action) using appropriate paragraphing, sentence structure, punctuation, linking devices and spelling;

• follow extracts from recorded lectures on a range of academic topics (including both factual information and argumentation) at a moderately fast speed and take appropriate notes;

• demonstrate operational reading skills within time limits (identifying topics/sub-topics in paragraphs, locating and understanding detailed information and inferring meaning, taking appropriate notes which include paraphrase)