English For Academic Purposes TSLB3023 Pn Hjh Shakirah Md Din Rationale for the inclusion of the course/module in the programme • This course is essential for student teachers of English as a Second Language as it provides an understanding of the fundamentals of using English for academic purposes in all the four skills. This course also provides a platform for student teachers to cope with the demands of writing an academic research report. The course also equips student teachers to be more adept in paper presentation, reading academic materials and writing their research report. Semester and Year offered • Semester 1 Year 1 Credit Value : 3 Total Student Learning Time (SLT) • Face to Face • Non Face To Face Total Guided and Independent Learning Lecture Tutorial 30 15 30 30 Assessment 3.5 17.5 126 Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) At the end of this course students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate competency in listening to discussions, lectures and seminars.(C3, P5, A3 PLO1, PLO3) 2. Analyse academic papers using appropriate reading skills from a variety of sources. (C4, PLO1, PLO3, PLO6) 3. Discuss articles read in a reading circle group. (C2, A2, PLO3, PLO4, PLO5, PLO6) 4. Write an academic paper using appropriate conventions. (C6, P7, A2, PLO2, PLO3) 5. Present an academic paper using appropriate presentation skills. (C6, P7, A2, PLO2, PLO3, PLO4,PLO5, PLO6) Transferable Skills • Critical thinking skills • communication skills • teamwork and managing information skills Teaching-learning and assessment strategy Teaching-learning strategies: 1. Lecture 2. Tutorial 3. Question and answer Assessment strategies: 1. Continuous assessment is carried out to ensure the students have attained and achieved the expected level of the prescribed course learning outcomes. The set coursework will contribute 60% to the final grade for the course. 2. Summative assessment consists of a written examination consisting of shortresponse and essay questions to assess students’ performance. The examination questions will be set by the course lecturer and the examination will be held at a scheduled time. The examination will also contribute 40% to the final grade for the course. Synopsis • This course focusses on listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills and strategies and academic writing skills. Mode of Delivery • Lecture, tutorial Assessment Methods and Types • Coursework: Reading circle Oral Presentation Academic Essay • Examination: 60% 20% 10% 30% 40% 2 4 Tutorial 4 Lecture 1. Listening Skills Listening to lectures/ seminars/ presentations - comprehensive/active listening - informative listening - discriminative listening - critical/analytical listening - Identifying main ideas and supporting ideas - Note-taking skills Non Face-to SLT face Interaction Tutorial Face-to-face Interaction Lecture Content outline of the course and the total SLT per topic 4 14 3 6 SLT Tutorial 6 Lecture 2. Speaking Skills • Expressing views in discussions and seminars • Establishing & supporting opinions • Presenting opposite views • Presentation skills – presenting an academic paper (informative, persuasive and argumentative) • Non-verbal and verbal features Non Face-to face Interaction Tutorial Face-to-face Interaction Lecture Content outline of the course and the total SLT per topic 6 21 2 4 SLT Tutorial 4 Lecture 3. Reading Skills and Strategies • Reading comprehension skills - skimming and scanning - identifying main ideas & supporting details - - inferencing - - predicting - - drawing conclusions - - sequencing - - cause and effect - - synthesising - - summarising - - evaluating • Reading strategies - SQ4R (Survey-Question-Read- Recite-Reflect-Review) - speed reading - Knowledge-Write-Learn (KWL) - signposting/cohesive markers Non Face-to face Interaction Tutorial Face-to-face Interaction Lecture Content outline of the course and the total SLT per topic 4 14 1 2 SLT Tutorial 2 Lecture 4. Reading Skills • Identifying and evaluating reliable sources (printed and non printed) for academic purposes - facts versus opinions - strong and weak evidence Non Face-to face Interaction Tutorial Face-to-face Interaction Lecture Content outline of the course and the total SLT per topic 2 7 2 4 Tutorial 4 Lecture 5. Reading skills • Summarising skills • Critical and synthesising skills Non Face-to SLT face Interaction Tutorial Face-to-face Interaction Lecture Content outline of the course and the total SLT per topic 4 14 3 6 Tutorial 6 Lecture 6. Academic writing skills • Identifying nature and purposes of writing - audience and style - writing to argue - writing to inform, explain and describe • Styles of writing - compare and contrast - cause and effect arguments and discussion Non Face-to SLT face Interaction Tutorial Face-to-face Interaction Lecture Content outline of the course and the total SLT per topic 6 21 2 4 Tutorial 4 Lecture 7. Academic writing skills • Avoiding plagiarism: incorporating the work of others: - direct quotation/citation, - paraphrasing, - summarising skills - critical and synthesising skills - referencing skills Report writing - incorporating data & illustrations Non Face-to SLT face Interaction Tutorial Face-to-face Interaction Lecture Content outline of the course and the total SLT per topic 4 14 Main references • Bailey, S. (2011). Academic writing: a handbook for international students. London: Routledge. • De Chazal, E. (2014). English for Academic Purposes: Oxford handbooks for language teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Williams, A. (2013). Research: improve your reading and referencing. Glasgow: Harper Collins Publisher Additional references • Bell, D. (2014). Passport to academic presentations - revised edition - student's book with audio cd. Reading: Garnet Education • Burton, C. (2013). Presenting: deliver presentations with confidence. Glasgow: Harper Collins Publisher. • Craig, J. L. (2013). Integrating writing strategies in EFL/ESL University contexts. New York: Routledge. • Graff, G. Birkenstein, C. Durst, R. (2011). “They say / I say" : the moves that matter in academic writing with readings (2nd ed.). New York: Norton, W. & Company, Inc. • Swales, J. M. , Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students, 3rd edition: essential tasks and skills. Michigan: Michigan University Press • Sword, H. (2012). Stylish academic writing. Series in English for academic & professional purposes. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press. • Van Geyte, E. (2013). Writing: learning to write better English. Glasgow: Collins. Listening Skills • Listening to Lectures, Seminars/ Presentations What are listening genres? What are Communicative Events? What is the difference between listening and hearing? Who are academic listeners? 21 22 Lectures Lectures highlight • reinforce essential knowledge in particular disciplines • guide your reading and research • stimulate your interest in the subject. Lecture is like giving a presentation to a large group, except that you are unlikely to have a microphone. 23 Some useful strategies for listening to lectures: Strategy 1 Before you listen to a lecture: • it is very helpful to do some preparation; think about what you already know about the topic, and read about it if you can. •You may be given a recommendation by the lecturer about what to read. • You can also try and predict what you think the lecture might cover. •If you are given a lecture reading, this can be very helpful in setting the context of the lecture 24 Strategy 2 Focus very carefully on the introduction to the lecture. •In this part the lecturer will often outline the content of the lecture. •It may include background information about the person who is giving the lecture, or background information about the topic area. •It can also give you the opportunity to get used to the accent of the lecturer and how they speak, as they often give information about themselves 25 Strategy 3 Listen for signpost expressions These are key phrases or works which help guide you through different sections of the lecture. These will help you identify which parts of the lecture are important. Signpost expressions In this lecture I will.............. First of all........... And then.............. Finally.............. I will look at 3 26 Lectures are expected to last the full duration of the session, with little or no designated question time. The duration of the session will be set by the institution, but is often one or two hours. This means that some sort of visual aid is probably going to be essential to keep your students’ attention. 27 Seminar • a class at which a group of students and a teacher/lecturer discuss a topic • Seminars may also be called study groups, workgroups, or discussion groups. • The students are expecting, and expected, to interact with the tutor and with each other. Both lectures and seminars are frequently used in higher and further education, and increasingly in schools too. Although lectures, in particular, are very similar to giving presentations, the term ‘lecture’ is uniquely used for some kind of educational session. 29 Presentation • a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as - talking to a group, - addressing a meeting or - briefing a team. • It requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will often contain a 'persuasive' element. • It may, for example, be a talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could offer an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project The Key Elements of a Presentation • Context • Presenter • Audience The Instructor has prepared the concepts and techniques they will present and discuss through a combination of : -visual materials -interactive tools or equipment and - demonstrations. 32 •This problem can be multiplied in a group setting, like a classroom or business meeting where numerous different meanings can be derived from what has been said. Cont.. • Comprehensive listening is complimented by sub-messages from nonverbal communication, such as : - the tone of voice - gestures - and other body language. Cont.. • These non-verbal signals can greatly aid communication and comprehension but can also confuse and potentially lead to misunderstanding. • In many listening situations it is vital to seek clarification and use skills such as reflection aid comprehension. Informative Listening • Listener’s primary concern is to understand the message. • Listeners are successful as the meaning they assign to messages is as close as possible to that which the sender intended. Informative listening, or listening to understand, is found in all areas of our lives. Much of our learning comes from informative listening. For example, •we listen to lectures or instructions from teachers—and what we learn depends on how well we listen. •In the workplace, we listen to understand new practices or procedures— and how well we perform depends on how well we listen. •We listen to instructions, briefings, reports, and speeches; if we listen poorly, we aren’t equipped with the information we need. There are three key variables related to informative listening. 1. Vocabulary : The precise relationship between vocabulary and listening has never been determined, but it is clear that increasing your vocabulary will increase your potential for better understanding. 2.Concentration. Concentration is difficult. You can remember at times when another person was not concentrating on what you were saying—and you probably can remember at times when you were not concentrating on something that someone was saying to you. 3. Memory. Memory is especially crucial variable to informative listening; • you cannot process information without bringing memory into play. • helps your informative listening in three ways. a. It allows you to recall experiences and information necessary to function in the world around you. In other words, without memory you would have no knowledge bank. b. It establishes expectations concerning what you will encounter. You would be unable to drive in heavy traffic, react to new situations, or make common decisions in life without memory of your past experiences. c. It allows you to understand what others say. Without simple memory of the meaning of words, you could not communicate with anyone else. Without memory of concepts and ideas, you could not understand the meaning of messages. Informational listening may be mostly concerned with receiving facts and/or new information Discriminative Listening: •Listening to distinguish between all the sounds in your environment Cont.. • Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby the difference between difference sounds is identified. • If you cannot hear differences, then you cannot make sense of the meaning that is expressed by such differences. Cont.. We learn to discriminate between sounds within our own language early, and later are unable to discriminate between the phonemes of other languages. Cont.. • This is one reason why a person from one country finds it difficult to speak another language perfectly, as they are unable distinguish the subtle sounds that are required in that language. Cont.. • Likewise, a person who cannot hear the subtleties of emotional variation in another person's voice will be less likely to be able to discern the emotions the other person is experiencing. Cont.. • Listening is a visual as well as auditory act, as we communicate much through body language. • We thus also need to be able to discriminate between muscle and skeletal movements that signify different meanings. Cont.. • Discriminative listening is when you look past the words you hear to detect the underlying message. • It might be one of the most important types of listening for online marketers. • This works best in person, as you can look to body language, tone changes and volume to determine what the speaker really thinks and feels.
