ENGAP1 Course introduction

Course introduction

ENGAP1

English for practical & professional

purposes

ENGAP1 VT-12

practical & professional purposes

Peter Wikström, Karlstad university

Dept. of languages

Outline of meeting

• Introductions

– What are your practical & professional purposes?

• Course aims

• Course outline

– Seminars

– Course work

• Itslearning

• Study groups

• Course literature

• Tasks and assessment

• What is and is not mandatory

• General grading criteria

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Introductions

• Who am I?

• Who are you?

– Name

– Educational background

– Field?

• Academia

• Education

• Business

• Law

• …

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course aims

• From the curriculum:

– The purpose of this course is to assist the student’s short- and long-term

development of his/her ability to communicate in English in formal and

informal contexts.

– After finishing the course, the student should be able to

• communicate in English in various contexts in speech and writing,

• show awareness of important peculiarities of English language

communication,

• use appropriate vocabulary and idioms for particular situations,

• use language tools and other relevant resources to develop his/her command

of the language.

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course aims

• Emphasis on writing

– But most of what we’ll say about writing goes for public speaking as well

• Formal correctness

– But awareness of register

• ”Language tools and other relevant resources”:

– Conceptual tools

• Awareness of rhetorical situation

• Levels: context; text; paragraph; sentence

– Practical tools

• Dictionaries, style guides, grammars

• Peer feedback

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course aims

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (4 edn.):

Effective writing depends as much on clarity and readability as on

content. The organization and development of your ideas, the unity

and coherence of your presentation, and your command of sentence

structure, grammar, and diction are all important, as are the

mechanics of writing—capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and so

on. The key to successful communication is using the right language

for the audience you are addressing.

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course aims

• The central aim:

– To increase your general English language proficiency for the purposes of

application in practice

– Note: not geared toward a specific area of practice

• My own competence is in academic writing, but the course content should

have general applicability.

• We work toward that aim by means of:

– Theoretical conceptual tools

– Practical exercises

– Study group sessions

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course outline: Seminars

• 17.15-20, every other Thursday, 12B257

– Note the exception: Apr 18-19, Wed and Thu.

• Meeting 1: Jan 26

– Course introduction

• Meeting 2: Feb 9

– Writing for yourself and for others

– Author and intended reader

– Text types

– Peer response

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• Meeting 3: Feb 23

– Text-level structure; planning and outlining

– Introductions and conclusions

– Paragraph-level structure

– Basic text formatting

• Meeting 4: Mar 8

– Sentence-level structure

– Basic punctuation

– Notes on vocabulary and spelling

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• Meeting 5: Mar 22

– Style and register

– Subjectivity and objectivity

– Being a critical reader

– Primer on language and gender

• Meeting 6: Apr 5

– Public speaking

– Structuring talk; presentations and conversations

– Visual information (tables, graphs, …)

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• Meeting 7: Apr 18-19

– Student presentations

– Half of the groups present on Wed 18th, 17.15-20.

– The other half presents on Thu 19th, 17.15-20.

• Meeting 8: May 3

– Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing

– Referencing

– Avoiding plagiarism

– Rewriting and proofreading

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course outline: Course work

• Meetings

– Lectures/Seminars

– group discussions

• Study group meetings

– Scheduled by your groups

• Assigned reading

• Tasks and exercises

• Assessment tasks

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Itslearning

• The Itslearning course page will be the central information platform for

the course.

• Basic course information; study guide, schedule, etc.

• Bulletins with important information

• Powerpoint presentations and other supplementary material

• Tasks – receive instructions and hand in tasks

• Discussion boards

• Links to virtual study group rooms

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Study groups

• You will be divided into six study groups.

• For most of the course, group work and peer feedback sessions are

voluntary (but highly recommended).

• One task will require group cooperation, however.

• Itslearning poll

– How active would you like your group to be?

• Meetings once per week or more often

• Meetings about every other week

• Work individually as much as possible

• Any requests regarding study groups?

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course literature

• The main course book is

– Bailey, D. Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students. 3rd edn.

Routledge, 2011.

• 2nd edn. should be fine as well.

• Parts will be assigned reading throughout the course.

• In general, the book should also serve you well as a quick reference work.

Unsure about passives? Have a quick look in Bailey.

• Beyond that, I will add some supplementary reading in the form of

handouts or web links throughout the course.

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Course literature

• Whenever you need more information, take the initiative to

supplement the course literature in the following ways:

– Refer to weightier reference works in the library (e.g. Cambridge, Oxford,

Cobuild…)

– Search online (but be critical of your sources – merriam-webster.com is

more reliable than wiktionary.com, for instance)

– Get in touch with me – the idea is that I am supposed to be a resource.

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Tasks and assessment

• Throughout the course, you will be expected to complete several

written and oral tasks.

• Two main tasks:

– Written project work

• Deadline May 17

• Assessed for grade

– Oral presentation

• To be delivered individually or in group Apr 18-19

• Assessed for grade

• Various minor tasks throughout the course.

– Compulsory hand-ins for passing grade, but not assessed

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• The main written project

– Adapt the nature of the project to what you need:

• An academic essay

• A research paper

• A technical paper

• An analytical report (business, politics, education… )

• A legal brief

• …

– Try to formulate a rough idea into a short proposal.

– Whatever you do should be able to fit into a rough mold as follows:

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• The main written project

– An initial proposal, giving a rough description of the topic, the aim of the

project, and the method by which it will be carried out;

– An abstract summarizing the project (to be finished last);

– A title page and table of contents;

– A main text basic introduction–body–conclusion structure;

– A body including an account of method, some kind of findings, and an

analysis/discussion of these findings;

– At least a few in-text references and a list of references, using a consistent

referencing scheme;

– About 2500-3500 words in length.

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• The oral presentation

– Individual (10 min presentation)

– or group (>5 min per speaker, 30-40 minutes for the entire group)

– Free choice of topic, but it may be a good idea to base your presentation

on your written project if you are doing it individually.

– Keep to a basic introduction–body–conclusion structure.

– Use some form of visual or other aid. Whiteboard, PP, video, handouts,

physical props.

– Focus on delivery: Try to be clear, structured, and fluent; try to speak to

the audience; try to keep a tone suitable to the content.

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• The minor tasks

– Primarily to be viewed as exercises, not assessed work

– Focus on the process of producing the texts

– Several of the tasks can be tied to your written project, should you wish it.

– Examples of tasks:

• Formal and informal letters

• Curriculum vitae; résumé

• The five paragraph argumentative essay

• Task instructions

• Brief text analysis

• Outline

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• The minor tasks

– The expected process:

• Receive a task in conjunction with a meeting

• Complete a first draft within one week

• Share it with your study group

• Meet in your study groups to discuss each others texts

– Meet virtually (discussion boards, Adobe Connect)

– Or on campus

• Revise your text based on discussion

• Hand in revised text using the assignment on Itslearning.

– Always proofread and spell check your writing!

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

What is and is not compulsory

• Parts of the course are voluntary (but recommended):

– Seminar attendance (excepting the presentations Apr 18-19)

– All study group meetings (excepting the group task)

– Reading the course literature

• All tasks to be handed in are compulsory for a passing grade (G).

– All tasks must be handed in, and revision is mandatory if requested.

• The main writing and speaking tasks are compulsory.

– The presentations Apr 18-19

– The written project, deadline May 17

– Your final grade – pass (G), or distinction (VG) – will be based on these two

tasks, with your other hand-ins serving as a tilt.

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

General grading criteria

• Writing:

– The assessed text will be scored 0-5 in three categories – form, structure,

and content. A passing grade (G) requires a minimum score of 2 per

category. Distinction (VG) requires a minimum score of 4 per category.

Form

5 The text shows essentially flawless spelling, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary,

and basic formatting, as well as good use of genre-appropriate style.

4

3The text shows passable spelling, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and style.

2

1The text is very weak with regard to the above considerations.

0

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• Writing:




Structure

5The text shows a remarkably well developed structure (of arguments, narrative,

etc.), in terms of sequential disposition, paragraph unity and cross-paragraph

coherence.4

3The text shows passably clear and developed structure.

2


0

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• Writing:




Content

5The text clearly establishes and develops a topic suitable to the text type,

sticks to the topic, and makes the topic highly relevant

(interesting/entertaining/persuasive) to the reader.4

3The text is passable in terms of establishing and sticking to a suitable topic.

2


0

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages


• Speaking:

– The assessed presentation will be scored 0-5 in three categories – delivery,

structure, and content. A passing grade (G) requires a minimum score of 2

per category. Distinction (VG) requires a minimum score of 4 per category.

Delivery

5The presentation is delivered in a controlled and clear manner, makes good

use of relevant visual (or other) aids, and keeps within any time limit or other

constraints.4

3 The presentation shows passable control, clarity, use of aids, and conformity to

constraints.2

1The presentation is very weak with regard to the above considerations.

0

ENGAP1 VT-12



Dept. of languages

Welcome to ENGAP1!

• Questions?

ENGAP1 Course introduction

Technology

Transcript of ENGAP1 Course introduction