BDIC2007J English for Specific Academic Purposes

Academic Year 2021/2022

BDIC2007J English for Specific Academic Purposes is designed for Stage 2 students who are undertaking a dual undergraduate degree programme at Beijing-Dublin International College (BDIC). The module aims to help students develop the academic English skills that they will need in order to complete their programmes in Finance, Electronic and Information Engineering, Internet of Things Engineering, and Software Engineering.

The module particularly focuses on students’ productive skills (writing and speaking), but since students are required to respond to sources in their writing and presentations, the receptive skills of listening and reading are also integrated into the course. Students will learn how to plan, research, and produce an academic essay or report. They will learn how to source and select appropriately academic articles, to critically assess what they read, and to summarize and evaluate other authors’ arguments in their own writing. They will extend their understanding of citation and referencing, and of how to avoid plagiarism. Students will also develop their spoken production skills through short subject-specific presentations and their interactive skills through seminar-discussions based on academic sources..

It is expected that autonomous student learning – particularly sourcing and reading texts – will take place outside scheduled class hours. In addition to developing language skills, classroom activities will support the development of students’ academic study competences and independent language learning strategies. Students will often be expected to work collaboratively in class.

A particular emphasis of the module will be the development of critical thinking skills. Students will be encouraged to give a rationale for their decisions, to question the arguments they encounter, and to trust their own independent thinking.

Classes are taught in small groups of up to 20 students. They are grouped according to the students’ specific disciplines. While many classroom tasks and activities will be common to all disciplines, some content will be discipline-specific, and the main purpose of the module is to enable students to write and speak in English about concepts and practices within their own subject areas.

Students will be assessed on continuous assessment (in-class tasks throughout the semester) (10%), a mid-term assignment (an annotated bibliography) (25%), a presentation giving a critical evaluation of an academic article (25%), and an end-of-semester essay of 1,500 words (40%).

Materials and assessments for the module are designed with reference to C1 descriptors of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and The British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP)’s ‘can-do’ framework for EAP syllabus design and assessment.


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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

WRITING

Plan, research and write an extended essay on a topic within their discipline (BALEAP, W3.1,3,5).

Demonstrate an understanding of purposes for writing and the stages involved in the academic writing process (generating ideas, creating an outline, synthesizing information, revising, editing, etc.) (BALEAP, W1.1.2).

Demonstrate an understanding of academic essay/report format, and requirements; organize an essay appropriately (BALEAP, W1.1.4; BALEAP, W2.1.3).

Select and evaluate appropriate academic sources to use in a research essay; synthesise information from sources into a cohesive argument with supporting evidence (BALEAP, W1.2.1).

Write clear, well-structured expositions of complex subjects, underlining the relevant salient issues; expand and support points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples (CEFR ‘Reports and Essays’: C1).


SPEAKING

Production

Demonstrate high-level presentation skills, selecting appropriate detail and not over-relying on PowerPoint Slides (BALEAP, S1.3.1,2,3,4).
Give clear, detailed presentations on complex subjects, integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion (CEFR, ‘Overall Oral Production’, C1).

Interaction

Take part in group discussions; contribute to discussion in seminars; engage fully in discussion rather than providing superficial contributions (BALEAP, S1.2.1,2,3).

Formulate ideas and opinions with precision and relate contribution skilfully to those of other speakers (CEFR, ‘self assessment grid: spoken interaction’, C1).


GENERAL ACADEMIC AND LANGUAGE SKILLS

Understand a range of demanding, longer texts (CEFR global scale: C1).

Apply critical thinking skills in oral interaction and written production for academic purposes (BALEAP, W1.1.6; S1.1.1).

Use effective strategies to enhance academic language knowledge and skills independently.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

0
Small Group

16
Specified Learning Activities

64
Autonomous Student Learning

48
Total

128
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The emphasis is on small-group teaching with typically 15, and no more than 20, students in a class. Learners are expected to work both independently and collaboratively, and will be expected to use both self and peer assessment. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: In-class tasks completed throughout the semester (submitted to Brightspace in timely fashion). Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10
Essay: 1,500 word researched coursework essay on the importance of a concept, practice or process within the student's subject area. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

40
Assignment: Mid-term coursework assignment -- annotated bibliography in preparation for final researched coursework essay. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

25
Oral Examination: Presentation with questions and answers related to an aspect of the research essay. Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

25

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will receive feedback on the mid-term assessments -- the annotated bibliography and presentation -- individually post-assessment. Teachers will also offer formative feedback on a draft of the annotated bibliography and a practice presentation in advance of the official assessments. Students will receive feedback on in-class tasks as they are completed throughout the semester. The final grade for this component will be calculated at the end of the semester. Students will receive feedback on a practice seminar discussion conducted in classtime prior to the summative seminar discussion. Students will submit a draft of their final essay in Week 13. They will receive formative feedback on this before submitting the final essay for summative assessment at the end of Week 16.