Mini-сonference as a Way to Help Freshmen to Acquire Academic
Language and to Avoid Plagiarism
Working group: Saida, Rowan, Sayyora, Irina, Guljahon, Nulifar
Background
Who are our freshmen? From the first days of meeting our freshmen, it was clear that the EAP
program should be enhanced with additional activities because of the diversity of the freshmen
population. The CIFS students come to the EAP with different level of language proficiency and
background. Some of the students have the maximum of 7.0-7.5 of the IELTS score system;
however, the majority of freshmen have the minimum of 5.5. It means that some of the CIFS
students have competent language proficiency: they are able to speak on various topics, to
comprehend listening to various topics, to read texts on different issues and to write standard
IELTS essays, but some of the them lack this proficiency and they need a help to develop further
their language skills. In addition, we have students who are retaking the module and those who
study part time. They also need special attention. The major challenge for the EAP team is how
to accommodate this diverse freshmen population with effective teaching methods which will
facilitate their academic language acquisition. To find appropriate solution, students’ needs
were explored.
Needs of the diverse freshmen population Diagnostic tests might be a great tool to identify
students’ needs. It was decided that students would take a diagnostic test during the first
tutorial. In 2009-2010 students took a diagnostic test too, however, there was a major
difference in the purpose. The last year’s test aimed to identify problem areas related mainly to
the language use, but this year, in addition to language use, the academic skills development
and the EAP content building were emphasized. The test had three major sections: listening
(note-taking & listening comprehension), language use (grammar and vocabulary) and citation
(questions related to referencing). The results of the test revealed that the majority of
freshmen needed to learn about plagiarism and to practice listening comprehension, taking
notes, grammar, and vocabulary related to the academic discourse. To meet these challenges,
some adjustments into the EAP program were needed. How could the existing activities be
linked with any additional ones to meet students’ needs?
Implementation
Linking outcomes and activities around Mini-conference The English for Academic Purposes is a
year-long module which aims to prepare CIFS students to be successful in the academic
environment. The EAP’s major outcomes include helping freshmen to acquire academic
language and to avoid plagiarism. To meet these outcomes the EAP team worked out tutorials
that targeted at academic language development and avoiding plagiarism. However, most of
the activities in tutorials were fragmented and there was a need to unite them under one
umbrella. One of the possible ways of aligning the outcomes and existing activities is miniconference.
Mini-conference serves as an excellent example of the academic world which lets students
apply academic skills and gain positive experiences. By creating mini-conference, students
were put into a specific context (conference) and had a specific purpose (to prepare a short
report on the area of their interest). The preparation process enabled students to think about
each step individually (students chose the area of their interest; explored it through printed and
online resources; evaluated the sources and referenced them according to the Harvard
referencing system; did a short report; evaluated other students’ presentations, wrote
reflections in the logs); after mini-conference and debriefing, students critically reflected on the
process of preparation and participation through logs and the Intranet posts.
Both students’ and tutors’ comments on the mini-conference were positive. The majority of the
students requested to have another conference; they really have a lot to share. Thus, miniconference helped students to understand the main objectives of the EAP and to develop
further their academic language competence.
Mini-сonference: a Summary of the Process
TW
TW1 &
TW2
Skills
building
TW3
Finding
Sources
TW4
Evaluating
Sources
TW5
Preseting
Findings
Outcomes
to identify students’ needs
to explain the content and
assessment of the EAP module
to introduce study strategies to
succeed in the EAP
to listen effectively to academic
lectures, to take accurate notes,
and to use them to answer
questions
to introduce the Harvard
referencing system
to evaluate sources’ relevancy for
the research
to read, to understand, and to
extract information from the
various text genres applicable to
academic study
to evaluate critically sources for the
report
to practice strategies for reading:
skimming and scanning,
interpreting charts
to write a short report
to practice public speaking skills
to listen effectively to students’
reports; to take accurate notes and
to use the notes to ask questions
to reflect critically on the miniconference
T1
Diagnostic test
Tutorial 1 Introduction to the
EAP
T2
Lecture 1 Effective Study
Strategies for the EAP
T3
Tutorial 2 Practice listening,
note-taking, reading,
writing strategies given in
the L1 Business/CD
Tutorial 3 Understanding
lectures: listening and notetaking Global Culture
Lecture 2 Academic Honesty:
Avoiding Plagiarism in
Academic Writing
Tutorial 5 Harvard referencing
system
Students choose the topic of
their interest (e.g. marketing,
education, etc.), start to
research, and find two sources
(printed and online)
Tutorial 8 Understanding
academic texts 1
Waste disposal in Asia
Students skim and scan two
articles one from online and
the other one from printed
sources related to the topic,
and take notes
Tutorial 6 Printed Sources
Evaluation
Students find a printed
source related to the topic of
their interest and reference
it according to the Harvard
ref. guide
Tutorial 9 Understanding
academic texts 2 (online
sources)
Students bring the summary
and the notes on the online
source and have peerevaluation
Tutorial 4 Academic
honesty: how to avoid
plagiarism
Summary writing/video
Tutorial 7 Online Sources
Evaluation
Students find an online
source related to the topic
of their interest and
reference it according to
the Harvard ref. guide
Tutorial 10 Understanding
academic texts 3 (printed
sources)
Students bring the
summary and the notes on
the printed source and have
peer-evaluation
Tutorial 11 Mini-conference
Students make a 3/5-minuterepot on the chosen topic and
bring the bibliography
The rest of the students take
notes, write down their
comments and questions
Tutorial 12 Mini-conference
Presenters make the repots
and the bibliography
The rest of the students take
notes, write down their
comments and questions
Tutorial 13 Debriefing
Students assess and
summarize the conference
Poster presentation
Comments/Formative Assessment
CIFS EAP Module – PP
Effective Study Strategies for the
EAP – PP (strategies on notetaking, reading and writing) +
handouts
Academic Honesty: Avoiding
Plagiarism in Academic Writing PP + a handout
Ref. logs
Harvard Referencing Guide
Books/textbooks evaluation form
Online sources evaluation form
Ref. logs
Printed and online sources and
notes evaluation forms
Summary evaluation form
Ref. logs
Ref. logs
Conference Summaries Form
Poster presentations
Report (introduce the topic of your
interest; state about the sources;
share two interesting findings
based on the summaries; conclude
what you liked the most in the
process of the literature search)
Mini-conference: a summary of the process The main goal of conducting the mini-conference
was a conclusion of the tutorials which were aimed at developing students’ listening, notetaking, reading, summarizing, evaluating information and resources critically, presenting
information orally, and evaluating learning process using different evaluation checklists and
forms.
Schedule of the activities:
First Week & Second Week
Third Week
Fourth Week
Fifth Week
Needs Analysis & Skills Building
Finding Source
Evaluating Sources
Mini-Conference & Debriefing
The first step was to identify students’ needs and to build skills. Students took a diagnostic test
which revealed problem areas. Based on the test results, it was decided that in Week 1 and
Week 2 students would have two lectures aimed at introducing effective study strategies for
the EAP (listening (active vs. passive, etc.), taking notes (linear, mind maps, etc.), reading
(skimming/scanning), writing (six steps of process writing), reflecting (questions)), explaining
the importance of referencing and the strategies to avoid plagiarism. All the strategies given in
the lectures were practiced during the tutorials and assigned homework. Students got the
handouts which helped them to visualize the learning strategies.
In Week 3 students were told to choose the topic of their interest (e.g. marketing, education,
etc.), start to explore it, and to find two sources (printed and online) related to the topic.
Students practiced to reference the sources using the Harvard referencing guide. Through
tutorials’ activities students evaluate sources’ relevancy for the research. In addition, printed
and online sources evaluation checklists were given to students to better understand the
process of sources evaluation.
The next step was for students to read (using skimming and scanning, interpreting charts),
understand, extract information from the various text genres applicable to academic study, and
to evaluate critically sources for the report. Students were told to skim and scan two articles
one from online and the other one from printed sources related to the topic, and to take notes.
In addition, students wrote summaries and took notes on the online and printed sources and
peer assessed their work using summary and sources evaluation checklists.
In the next step, students were asked to make a 3/5-minute-repot on the chosen topic
(introduce the topic of their interest; state what printed and online resources they used; share
at least two interesting findings; answer the questions from the audience). Students were
provided with the mini conference guidelines (presenters and attendees) and the attendees
had to choose assigned roles: Chair person introduces a presenter to the audience; Time-
keeper makes sure that each presenter talks about 3/5 minutes and gives a signal to finish the
report. In addition, students had a form which they filled out during listening to the presenters.
The attendees listened to the presenters, took notes on five reporters, wrote down their
comments and questions.
In the last step, students had a debriefing which aimed to summarize and evaluate the
conference. Firstly, students worked independently; they looked through their notes (forms),
chose one report which impressed them the most/learnt something new, wrote a summary on
that report based on the notes. Secondly, students were divided into groups; each member
shared notes, the summary and explained why he/she chose that particular report. Each group
selected one “taken notes” as the best sample of note-taking and shared the overall impression
on the report in terms of language usage, pronunciation, content, public speaking, etc. Finally,
groups worked on their posters: listed the topics of the reports each member of the group
selected for the summary, wrote the “best sample” of the notes, summed up general
impressions and shared their posters. Students wrote their reflections on the mini-conference
as a home assignment.
Results Observations of the Mini Conference:
Students’ comments through reflective writing and posts on the Intranet

Thank you very much for organizing this kind of conference, i liked it very much. I was very
glad to see my peers performing in front of the whole group ! also i was happy to perform my
topic to them as well. again thank you very much !!!
in addition, i also want to know about exams, please tell smth

Thank you, EAP Team, for such great opportunity to make mini-conferences!! It was really
interesting to do and to hear our group-mates' reports. During the tutorials I got experienced a
lot, and I believe these skills will be useful for my further education and life. It would be great to
do such conferences again!

Yes, i agree with all these guys and tend to think that it would be nice if you can conduct
that kind of conferences again since it develops students self-confidence, ability to speak in front
of the audience and to deliver correctly your material to the people. Generally speaking it was
quite fascinating and interesting. Again GOOD JOB!!!

I'm really happy about recent mini-conference and would be really glad if there was any
motivation for future conferences. For instance, tutors can choose the best speech maker from
each group by democratic way that is election /voting and put them against the best ones from
other groups.
Thanks beforehand

It was really useful for us because for most of the students it was the first experience of
making presentation. Thank you

EAP team, thank you for this great opportunity to choose the topic of our interest, make a
research and have the experience of public speech. However, it will be very useful for us to have
personal feedbacks in order to understand weaknesses and work on them till future
presentations.
Regards

From my perspective, it was too good to be true and gave me favourable time to
demonstrate the truth of my prowess in verbal communication.

I agree with all students about mini-conferences. I think this is not just sharing ideas or
telling our interests to group-mates, maybe foundation to speak in a bigger stages. In my point
of view, we are in need of these kind of mini-conferences a lot. Because I and most of my friends
have difficulties with making presentation. BUT THIS WAS GREAT FOR THE FIRST TIME!
Tutors’ comments through questioner and informal interviews
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Positive
Students told me that they were
progressing and those mini conferences
helped them a lot. That’s how I
understood that they were given the right
things to do. I felt happy.
I was impressed by the level of
discussion and the effort students put to
make their presentations more visual
(three students in my group used slide
show).
Students had unique approaches to
presenting their topics.
Students with advanced language
skills demonstrated perfect public
speaking skills. They were able to cover all
the main points and use signaling/linking
phrases which showed well-planning and
organization of the reports.
Some students were creative and
used visual support (pictures, magazines,
books, etc.) or used a whiteboard to write
down some information.
Students presented a wide range of
topics which were interesting and
provoked discussions; there were good
questions which needed more time,
Students had a great opportunity to
practice asking questions and giving
comments.
The question/discussion period in
some cases produced laughter and this
was a positive indicator that students
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Areas to improve
Some students covered the main
points partially, some students limited
their presentation to one sources and read
them out loud.
Some students took notes without
paying attention to the given descriptors.
In larger groups, there was noise
from the audience which distracted
presenters.
Some students ignored taking notes
and talked to other students.
There were some errors in
pronouncing words (geographic terms, %,
advertising, economics, etc.), linking
phrases (…gives likes…), making questions,
etc.
It took more time to answer
questions.
In some groups there was no time
left for the poster presentation.
Reformulate questions related to
note-taking, summary, and some
instructions.
Pay attention to the time
management of the presentation and the
discussion.
It was discouraging that not all
students prepared their sources.
The first mini-conference was not
taken seriously by some students, so I felt
a little bit sad. But students were better
prepared for the second mini-conference,
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
enjoyed the discussion.
Most students listened carefully to
the reports and took accurate notes.
Some chairs and time-keepers did an
excellent job; in some groups there was
one student who volunteered to introduce
all the presenters. Students used
appropriate signaling signs. Some students
liked to have extra responsibility.
Names of the presenters and their
topics were written on a whiteboard.
During briefing, students were able
to work independently and reflected
critically.
Majority of students worked in
groups successfully; shared notes,
comments, chose “the best notes”; there
was 100% of students’ engagement.
The layout of the conference was
good and students were not tried since
there were two sessions and the briefing.
Students mentioned that they
learned a lot.
so I felt satisfied.
Learned lessons Next time when mini-conference is conducted, the following factors should be
taken into account:
1. Time management (some presentations and question-answer period were longer than
planned)
2. Classroom management (noise from the audience)
3. Participation (to increase students’ participation, think about possible awards, for
example, the best presenter, the best speech, the best topic (suggested by a student))
4. Language related problems (include into tutorials activities which develop students’
vocabulary (pronunciation, use of words, etc.))
Conclusion
Created appropriate learning environment based on students needs, acquiring an academic
language and avoiding plagiarism might become rewarding activities that foster students’
language competence, and help students see themselves as successful users of English.
Mini-conference helped students to understand the main objectives of the EAP and further
their decision making, research, language and critical thinking skills. This unique combination
of students’ empowerment and language/research/study skills building might be applicable to
other modules too; because it really helps teachers to create a favorable learning environment
which lets students produce a quality work and engage them into meaningful learning.