Module BIC-0001:
English for Academic Purposes

Module Facts

Run by Bangor University International College

30.000 Credits or 15.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser: Helen Wilson

Overall aims and purpose

This module aims to raise the English language skills for life and study in the UK, and is intended for those who are seeking progression to a Bangor University degree requiring an entry level equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or higher.

The course makes students aware of the critical importance of English language competence in all four skills within an academic context and provides English language preparation for continuing academic study on an undergraduate degree programme at Bangor University.

Course content

The language learning content is skills based and maps against CEFR and IELTS level descriptors in Writing, Reading, Listening and Speaking.

The approach throughout is to direct skills learning and development towards applications within an academic environment. Attention is paid to the acquisition of formal language required for production of essays, reports and presentations, for drawing information from lectures and for an appropriate contribution to academic discourse.

The whole is set within the context of higher education in the UK and emphasis is placed on developing the students’ understanding of the demands placed on them by university study, of the conventions of academic study and of the notion of good and unacceptable academic practice.

Assessment Criteria

excellent

Student has performed with a significant level of fluency in written and spoken English and demonstrated an ability to work effectively within a wide range of academic study skills. The student’s performance indicate a high level of suitability for degree level study.

threshold

Student has demonstrated sufficient ability in written and spoken English to earn the minimum level of pass to be considered appropriate for progression onto an undergraduate degree programme with an entry requirement of 6.0 IELTS.

good

Student has demonstrated a higher level of ability in written and spoken English in an academic context and has been able to secure a stronger level of pass indicating suitability for progression onto an undergraduate degree programme with an entry requirement of 6.5 IELTS.

Learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrate the research, speaking and presentational skills required for presentations, seminars and debates

  2. Make use of strategies to enable further independent development of English language ability.

  3. Read academic texts, make decisions about usefulness of the content, and critically extract appropriate information with few problems around vocabulary and speed

  4. Participate in classroom discourse as an information seeker and information provider to gain and give help where needed and to be able to give presentations within a classroom or test context, with few problems of organisation and clarity

  5. Write subjective notes that are retrievable and referenceable

  6. Demonstrate the listening skills required for effective note-taking on university-style lectures

  7. Write extended texts appropriate to academic context with few problems of coherence and cohesion

  8. Listen interactively in classes, whether in lecture, workshop or laboratory, to items of varying length and possess skills of repair (the ability to ask for clarification, repetition and exemplification)

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
Term 1 - listening exams 15.00
Term 1 - reading exams 15.00
Term 2 - writing exam 25.00
Term 2 - group presentation 10.00
Term 3 - researched essay 20.00
Term 3 - seminar discussion 15.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Private study

5 hours a week over 30 weeks

 150
Seminar

5 hours a week over 30 weeks

 150

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sentistevely with others
  • Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
  • Teamwork - Able to constructively cooperate with others on a common task, and/or be part of a day-to-day working team
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Resources

Reading list

Core textbook: De Chazal E & McCarter S (2012) Oxford EAP: A course in English for Academic Purposes (Upper Intermediate/B2) Oxford University Press: Oxford

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses: