This course will support international students during their first semester. The overarching aim is to facilitate engagement and participation on core academic programmes required by Applied Linguistics, and English Language & Linguistics by developing subject-specific academic literacy skills and language. It will target key areas of need including reading-into-seminar speaking skills and academic writing at paragraph level with a view to supporting on-course study. The content integrates student-selected texts from across their programmes, exemplar written texts from successful students, and involves guided self-reflection, collaboration and peer work. Analysis, evaluation and feedback will feature strongly on this course to facilitate collaborative critical learner autonomy.

Two one-hour classes per week over semester 1 (total 20 hours) 

None

None

8 minute (approx.) individual contributions to a larger group discussion - 50% (individual mark)

Assessed writing (1000 words) - 50%

This course aims to:

■ introduce strategic reading skills and raise awareness and knowledge of academic text organisation & patterns

■ develop analytical, evaluative and critical engagement with academic texts before and during discussions

■ provide structured opportunities to develop spoken English language proficiency and skills so students can interact effectively and respond in a structured manner to specific academic tasks/questions

■ develop the capacity to write samples of academic texts summarising, commenting on and synthesising ideas from published academic written sources and referencing sources effectively following academic conventions

■ encourage collaborative group work in English

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ use a variety of reading strategies to efficiently negotiate academic texts 

■ communicate effectively and appropriately across a defined range of spoken academic contexts  

■ write academic paragraphs synthesising academic texts to show an understanding of genre features including, for example, organisational structure, vocabulary, citation and referencing, voice and register 

■ work autonomously to undertake group work in English in order to prepare effectively for, and therefore contribute to, course related tasks

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.