English for Academic Purposes I PDF Print

English for Academic Purposes I

Athanassia Spyropoulou

Required course         3nd semester     ECTS: 0

Short description:

The course is addressed to students who have successfully completed the course English Language II or to those who do not possess an English language certificate of C2 level (according to the CEFR classification levels), but it is also open to all students who wish to advance their knowledge of English. Through the course the students are introduced to the use of English for academic purposes. They are taught appropriate strategies for approaching and comprehending relatively extensive, medium difficulty authentic academic discourse related to their studies. In addition, they are taught the structure and conventions of such discourse and learn related vocabulary and advanced grammatical and syntactic structures. At the same time, they develop their content knowledge and study skills. Throughout the course, extensive use is made of the E-learning platform and the Internet. In addition, students are requested to read at least one book of their choice.

Aims:

  • To develop students’ awareness and knowledge of the mechanisms and structure of academic discourse
  • To develop students’ academic vocabulary.
  • To help students develop their academic reading skills by exposing them to relatively extensive, medium difficulty authentic academic discourse.
  • To develop students’ academic writing skills.
  • To develop students’ academic listening and speaking skills.
  • To develop students’ confidence in their ability to handle extensive, authentic academic discourse.
  • To encourage the use of the language at personal level, especially by reading books for pleasure, but also by listening to/reading academic discourse accessed through suitably selected internet sites, with the aim to increase their language competence but also to expand their subject-specific knowledge.
  • To enhance the students’ meta-cognitive and self-evaluation skills, with a parallel development of the students’ ability to learn independently by using the appropriate resources and tools.
  • To improve the students’ study skills

Anticipated learning outcomes:

Subject specific competencies

By attending the course, the students are expected to improve/develop their

  • ability to recognize, understand and use grammatical and syntactic structures and other conventions related to academic discourse
  • academic vocabulary related to their studies and the university context, through appropriately selected authentic academic texts or other related discourse (intensive reading/listening).
  • ability to approach and comprehend authentic academic discourse of relatively limited length and difficulty
  • ability to speak and write using the conventions of academic English
  • general reading skills and linguistic competence (extensive reading of books)

Generic competencies

By attending the course, the students are expected to further improve/develop their

  • communication skills in an academic setting
  • information technology skills by using the internet for personal study and language skills development, and also through the systematic use of the E-learning platform of the department
  • ability to learn independently, reflect upon and evaluate own performance
  • study skills and overall academic performance


Structure:

13 three – hour classes

Assessment:

Students are evaluated on the basis of attendance and successful completion of related assignments (30%), and a written examination at the end of the semester (70%). Passing mark: 60%