English Language Skills for Undergraduate Studies
| Module title | English Language Skills for Undergraduate Studies |
|---|---|
| Module code | INT0200 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 310 |
|---|
Module description
This module is designed to enable you to improve your language proficiency and study skills within the context of business studies, in order to develop your ability to read complex academic texts and to extract and evaluate the relevant information; to produce written assignments in an appropriate format following academic conventions; to develop fluency and confidence in seminar discussions and the delivery of presentations, and to enhance your ability to extract relevant information from lectures.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to provide students who already have a degree of proficiency in spoken and written language skills to develop and strengthen the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in an academic context.
During seminar skills classes the aim is to develop confidence, fluency, and accuracy when participating in discussion, giving presentations, and listening actively to other speakers. In terms of academic writing skills, the core aim is to develop awareness and proficiency in the essential skills needed when undertaking written assignments. These include extensive research, reading, note-taking, drafting and editing of work.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Express yourself with a degree of fluency and accuracy that enables effective spoken and written communication in an academic setting
- 2. Present information and written text in a structured way that engages the audience and facilitates understanding
- 3. Extract and use key information from a range of written and / or spoken sources
- 4. Demonstrate your understanding of good academic practice
- 5. Engage actively in discussion and show awareness of the communicative needs of others
- 6. Organize and present ideas logically, following academic conventions
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Carry-out discipline-specific research through selection and use of appropriate source material
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Critically review your academic skills and performance by engaging with tutor and peer feedback
- 9. Demonstrate analytical and evaluative thinking in subject related areas
Syllabus plan
Skills are integrated and are developed throughout the module:
- Skills and strategies for listening: comprehension skills and using linguistic knowledge to understand meaning and purpose
- Listening and note-taking in a variety of contexts including lectures
- Giving presentations: producing effective slides, engaging the audience, delivering information effectively and persuasively and dealing with questions
- Participating in seminars: turn-taking, using evidence to support contributions, building on the contributions of others and responding to feedback
- Communication skills: accuracy, register, fluency and intelligibility
- Skills and strategies for reading: comprehension skills and using linguistic knowledge to understand text structure and purpose
- Academic language: sentence structure, register and vocabulary
- The writing process: analysing writing task titles, brainstorming ideas, planning, drafting, and responding to feedback
- Using sources: note-taking, summarising, paraphrasing, quotation
- Research skills: finding and evaluating appropriate sources and using University of Exeter library resources
- Referencing: in-text citation, writing a reference list, avoiding plagiarism, using Turnitin and adhering to academic conventions
- Reflecting critically on feedback from teacher and peers and taking steps to improve
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 140 | 160 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 120 | Formal whole-group teaching including teacher-led activities, seminars, and tasks done individually, in pairs or in groups, and individual tutorials |
| E-Learning Tasks | 20 | Individual learning of provided materials with short, specific tasks to complete |
| Guided Independent Study | 160 | Homework tasks; coursework assessments; materials on ELE |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Presentation | 15-20 minutes (5 minutes per student) | 1-9 | Written and spoken teacher feedback and group reflection |
| Seminar | 15-20 minutes (5 minutes per student) | 1-6, 8, 9 | Written and spoken teacher feedback and group reflection |
| Timed Reading to Writing | 3 hours, 500 words | 1-4, 6, 8, 9 | Written and spoken teacher feedback and individual reflection |
| Written Assignment: Final draft; Outline/Plan;1st Draft | 1000 words | 1-4, 6-9 | Written and spoken teacher feedback and individual reflection |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 20 | 50 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group Presentation | 25 | 15-20 minutes (5 minutes per student) | 1-9 | Written feedback |
| Seminar | 25 | 15-20 minutes (5 minutes per student) | 1-6, 8, 9 | Written Feedback |
| Timed Reading to Writing | 20 | 3 hours, 500 words | 1-4, 6, 8, 9 | Written feedback |
| Written Assignment: Final draft; Outline/Plan; 1st draft | 30 | 1500 words | 1-4, 6-9 | Written feedback |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Presentation | Individual Presentation | 1-9 | Next assessment opportunity |
| Seminar | Interview | 1-6, 8, 9 | Next assessment opportunity |
| Timed Reading to Writing | Timed Reading to Writing | 1-4, 6, 8, 9 | Next assessment opportunity |
| Written Assignment | Written Assignment | 1-4, 6-9 | Next assessment opportunity |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – If you miss an assessment for reasons judged legitimate by the Mitigation Committee, the applicable assessment will normally be deferred. See ‘Details of Reassessment’ for the form that assessment usually takes. When deferral occurs, there is ordinarily no change to the overally weighting of that assessment.
Referral – If you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to re-do each assessment you have failed (i.e.the ones with a score of 0-39%). Marks awarded in these referred assessments will not be capped at 40%. If the overall module grade including the referred assessment is 40% or more, a module mark of 40% will be awarded.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Bailey, S, 2017. Academic Writing A Handbook for International Students (5th edition), Routledge, Abingdon
De Chazal, E. & S. McCarter, 2020. Oxford EAP Upper-Intermediate/B2, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Web-based and electronic resources:
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 3 |
| Available as distance learning? | Yes |
| Origin date | 12/08/2021 |
| Last revision date | 16/06/2023 |
