English for Engineers

Simon Smith

Today’s class

• Introducing ourselves to each other• Talking about the class• Technology in use– Discussion and listening activities

• Short written homework

Group introductions

• Make sure that you know your groupmates’– Name– English name, if any– Age– Hometown and province

• After 5 minutes I will choose 1 student• This student will introduce everyone in the

group• (Please write your name on the chart, too)

About your teacher

• My name is Simon Smith• You can call me– Simon– Or, Dr Smith (can also be spelled Dr. with a dot)– But not “Teacher” (that is Chinglish)

• I come from …• Email address: simon.smith@xjtlu.edu.cn

Some information about me

• This is my first year at XJTLU.• Before coming here, I taught at 2 universities in

Taiwan for 8 years, as Assistant Professor.• My academic background is in language and

linguistics.• My PhD, on spoken language analysis, was done

in the EECE Dept. at Birmingham, UK• I have been married to a Taiwanese woman,

Emily, for 16 years.• We have two boys, Owen (11) and Iain (6).

Classes with me• There are two types of class: • English for Fluency Class Work (today’s class)

– Materials: Oxford English for Information Technology and Cambridge English for Engineering.

– We will focus on general English for Engineering, looking at topics related to Computing, Technology and Management.

– EF Topics: Computer Applications; Peripherals; Data Security; Software Engineering; Recent Developments in ICT; Graphical User Interfaces; Websites.

• English for Academic Purposes (Thursday or Friday)– Materials: articles from English newspapers, magazines and academic journals on

the subject of IT and engineering. – EAP themes: Definition and Description; Cause-and-Effect analysis; Writing an ICT

report; Evaluation.• Next time, we will discuss the Aims and Learning Outcomes

– Think: What do you hope to gain from this course?

 GRADINGType of tests Date Contribution 

to module mark  

Continuous assessments Defining and describing a process essay

Week 4 0% Feedback only

Comparison and contrast essay Week 5 0% Feedback only

Coursework 1: Extended Report Week 8 10%

Coursework 2: Design Proposal Week 13 10%

Final Exams 

Speaking: presentation of essay/report followed by discussion with the tutor

Final Exam week

10%

Writing: Students are required to make notes on academic texts. They will then be tested on their understanding of these texts through an essay question of a type studied in Semester 1. 40 minutes - 250 words minimum

Final Exam week

10%

    Total 40%

New vocabulary• Every week, each group should choose a vocab monitor.• The vocab monitor will write down all the new or unfamiliar vocab

met with in class.• New vocab items may be

– Single words– Phrases (e.g. “space elevator”; “way round a problem”)

• After class, he or she should find– A definition– A Chinese translation– A good example sentence from the Web

• for each word or phrase.

• Email the information to groupmates and to me, please.

Rules!

• Please try to speak only English.• Please arrive on time.• Please don’t eat in the class.• Please bring the 2 textbooks to each class.• Please bring your English dictionary.• Please bring file paper to each class.• Please switch off your cellphone.

Functions and applications

• Take out your cellphone, MP3 player or other device.

• Write down its functions and applications.• Demonstrate the functions and applications to

your neighbour.• http://www.google.com.hk/images?q=gps&um=1&hl=zh-CN&newwindow=1&safe=strict&client=firefox-

a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=831&source=lnt&tbs=isch:1,ic:gray&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=pxN_TKm_JsaHcZPive4K&ved=0CBMQpwU

GPS

• Q2• Explain how Drift Alarms and Man Overboard Buttons work, in English or (if necessary) Chinese.

• (Q3)• Q4

Space elevators• http://www.google.com.hk/images?q=Space+elevator&um=1&hl=zh-CN&newwindow=1&safe=strict&client=firefox-

a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=831&source=lnt&tbs=isch:1&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=7Bp_TOrnEpCdcaKT5PIK&ved=0CBEQpwU

• http://www.spaceelevator.com/

• Q6• Q7

Ordinary elevators

• In the UK? (Cantonese in Hong Kong?)• Can you name a famous lift company?– Look at page 10

• Who invented the lift?– In what year?

• Try Ex 13 on page 11

Homework

• Write a short paragraph:– Explain the main functions and applications of an

electronic device owned by you.– Print it out, and bring it next time.

• Vocabulary monitor, send the vocab list!• Remember: think about what you hope to

gain from this class.