Communicating in English

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• reflect on your developing language ability and where you need to improve.
• start to feel confident in handling unfamiliar vocabulary;
• benefit from basic reading strategies;
• begin to be aware of how individual/cultural differences can affect how you communicate with others
• prepare and deliver oral presentations, both individually and as part of a team;
• write short coherent texts that describe a simple idea or concept;
• write a small paragraph in your own words, based on your notes from a lecture;
• take notes from texts and mini lectures;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• principles of a good lecture and how to use this in note-taking.
• how cultural behaviour influences how we communicate and work together
• simple, complex and compound sentences and how they express ideas in a paragraph;
• principles of academic texts in textbooks and know how to read them effectively;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• recognise the impact of cross cultural (and personal) differences in communication and know what to look for when working with others;
• describe and recall what you have read or heard in your own words.
• extract data and ideas from a variety of texts;
• express simple facts and concepts clearly using simple, compound and complex sentences

Topics across Cultures

This unit will introduce you to a variety of topics so you can adjust to listening & learning in English.

Communicating across cultures - Identifying the hidden assumptions about how we communicate. How does my culture influence how I communicate and the expectations I have. Practicing and developing our awareness in discussion and activities.

Famous scientists and engineers - Listen to mini talks, read texts, search web and write /discuss what you find.

Conflicts in science and engineering - Listen to mini talks, read texts, search web and write /discuss what you find.

Reading and Writing

Understanding how texts are structured - Looking at reading strategies for effective reading.

Working from topics introduced earlier.

• Simple and complex ideas - Working with simple, compound and complex sentence structures – building sentences into paragraphs
• Putting ideas in your own words - Paraphrasing – getting the key points – paraphrasing from note taking
• Becoming a good writer - Editing your work – are your ideas coherent?

All grammar issues relating to these sessions will be dealt with in the support sessions

Listening and Speaking

Working with topics: Ethics in Engineering, Environmental Engineering

• What is the lecturer SAYING? - Topic: Ethics in Engineering. Looking at how a good lecture is structured. Understanding words that link ideas and move on. The function of silences/louder speech/slower speech.
• Listening for the gist: Topic: Environmental Engineering. Getting the gist of what was said. Practice listening to mini lectures / discussions /talks and paraphrasing.
• How can I structure what I want to say and say it clearly? - Useful discussions on presenting ideas/discussing issues and giving a small presentation.

All grammar issues relating to these sessions will be dealt with in the support sessions

Using topics from the previous weeks: Students will work in groups and be given a selection of topics (or they can suggest their own) and present this as: An essay/a poster/a presentation - Topics will vary and include: cross cultural communication, engineering ethics, history of science.

Teaching and learning methods

Learning activities include

• individual work on exercises, supported by tutorial/workshop sessions with tutors;
• group presentation;
• individual reflective document on own learning.

Teaching methods include:

• lectures, supported by example exercises;
• tutorials/workshops to support grammar;
• printed notes available through Blackboard and/or through your module lecturer.

Assessment strategy

There is no pass/fail assessment in this semester. You will be expected to complete all assessment elements. You will be given extensive feedback on your performance to prepare you for the following semesters.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.