CDIC2016W

OVSE2007W English 3 is designed for Stage 2 students who are undertaking a dual undergraduate degree programme at Chang’an University. The module aims to help students develop their general academic English language and particularly the skills of spoken production, spoken interaction and writing. The module encourages them to become effective independent learners.

The content reflects themes which are common across academic disciplines (e.g. education, communication, technology, etc.) and students explore these from different perspectives (e.g. economic, technological, legal, social, business). Classroom tasks and activities allow students to replicate the processes they go through in their academic studies. More specifically, students develop their spoken interaction skills through active participation in seminar discussions and they improve their spoken production skills through short presentations. The academic writing classes are designed to take students through the different stages involved in the process of producing written academic assignments and help them develop their writing skills incrementally from sentences, to paragraph structure, to different types of essay (comparison, argumentative, cause and effect, problem-solution) and timed writing tasks.

The receptive skills of listening and reading are also addressed, with an emphasis on effective note-taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Students learn how to integrate sources into their own writing. Students also have the opportunity to expand the range and improve the accuracy of academic language (vocabulary, grammar, lexical and grammatical patterns) they use in written and spoken texts.

In addition to the above language-related skills, academic competence and critical thinking are integral parts of the course. Classroom activities support students’ development of: (a) academic study competences (e.g. conveying meaning successfully in speaking and writing, etc.), (b) independent language learning strategies (e.g. finding, analyzing and recording useful language, creating key word lists, etc.). Critical thinking is practised in relation to all aspects of learning (e.g. evaluating information, making conceptual links and supporting ideas with relevant evidence, etc.).

Materials and assessments for the module are designed with reference to B2 and 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.