Overview

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.

The course covers the following skills and areas.

Reading and Critical reading skills: - Reading techniques – skimming, scanning and close reading. - Understanding the structure of academic journals. - Understanding the author’s point of view. - Inference of fact, opinion, and writer’s purpose. - Evaluation and appraisal of source material.

Academic Writing: - Academic expectations and conduct including avoiding plagiarism. - Use of appropriate citation and referencing language to report on others’ ideas. - Writing-as-process including understanding the title, brainstorming, planning, writing, and revising. - Essay structure including introduction, body, conclusion. - Language discourse development including sentence and paragraph level, essay structure, and discourse markers. - Use of new ideas and information gained from reading and listening activities. - Paraphrasing and summarising.

Listening to academic lectures: - Exposure to a variety of source texts including live speech, authentic videos and recorded lectures of a variety of lengths. - Predicting content from introductions. - Extracting main ideas and supporting points. - Key concepts of note taking. - Using notes to discuss topic and share ideas.

Listening and Speaking: - Taking part in seminar discussions of up to 20 mins. - Appropriate language structures for speaking in an academic context. - Agreeing, disagreeing and building on the contributions of others. - Group presentations. - Asking and answering questions at the end of an academic presentation.

Grammar and vocabulary: - The academic word list. - Passivisation and nominalisation for effective paraphrasing.

Assessment Strategy

Threshold (40% - 49% / D- to D+) 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.

Satisfactory (50 – 59% / C- to C+) Student has demonstrated a reasonable ability in written and spoken English and earned a pass appropriate for progression onto an undergraduate degree programme with an entry requirement of 6.0 IELTS.

Good (60% - 69% / B- to B+) 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.

Excellent (70% - 100% / A- to A*) 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 indicates a high level of suitability for degree-level study.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate effective summarising and paraphrasing skills in written work.

• Demonstrate the speaking and interaction skills required for presentations and seminars.

• Listen interactively in classes, whether in lecture, workshop or laboratory, to items of varying length, and be able to ask for clarification, repetition and exemplification.

• Select appropriate reference sources for a written assignment and reference these correctly.

• Speak with a degree of accuracy and fluency, expanding on and supporting ideas with subsidiary points and relevant examples.

• Understand a variety of written academic texts and critically extract appropriate information.

• Understand and take effective notes on the main ideas in academic lectures.

• Write clear, detailed essays on a range of topics, including the relevant academic subjects on the programme.