English for academic purposes

In the course of the classes students will practice academic English with reference to the skills of reading and writing. The topics will be organized as below:

reading:

- identifying genre, audience, purpose and perspective in texts

- navigating texts

- words and phrases expressing perspective

- understanding an argument and recognizing a writer's stance

- identifying arguments and supporting evidence

- using nouns to present alternative arguments

- identifying the features and structure of abstracts

- navigating journal articles and using abstracts for research

- evaluating objectivity in texts

- identifying the main points in texts for a summary

- identifying cohesive words to confirm themes

- comparing and evaluating information in different texts

- cohesion: using related words and synonyms in a text

- identifying arguments and supporting evidence from sources

- recognizing different types of citation and comment

- understanding focus in citations

- understanding the structure and objectivity of a report

- using the structure of a report to predict and find infomation

- identifying assumptions and asking critical questiona about a text

- evaluating data sources and asking critical questions about data

- recognizing stance and subtle evaluation in an expository text

- comparing perspective and stance across texts

writing

- personalizing the writing process; planning, preparation and working with ideas

- analysing, planning and writing a coherent essay introduction

- expressing information concisely using noun phrases

- presenting an argument and incorporating citation

- planning and writing a body of paragraph of a discursive essay

- ensuring coherence and cohesion throughout an essay

- analyzing, writing and evaluating a conclusion

- hedging

- analysing an essay question and writing a basic essay plan

- using source texts

- planning and writing a comparison essay

- understanding the use of citations and avoiding plagiarism

- varying reporting structures and citing accurately from sources

- identifying, using and recording references in writing

- analyzing a text for a summary

- preparing, writing and evaluating summaries

- incorporating summaries into a literature review

- interpreting data in visual form and writing a commentary

- decoding and constructing complex noun phrases

Method of assessment:

- final test W1, U1, U2

Assessment criteria:

fail- 0-59%

satisfactory- 60 - 69 %

satisfactory plus- 70 - 75 %

good - 76 - 85 %

good plus- 86 - 90%

very good- 91 - 100%

The final test/presentation in English for academic purposes is administered to determine the extent to which students have met the assumed learning outcomes and it values at least 50% of the final grade. A passing score must be obtained on the final test to pass the course.

Timely completion of assigned tasks is obligatory. In the case of assignments submitted after the deadline or re-submitted, the grade is lowered by 10%.

The students are evaluated in accordance with the university regulations, and they must attend all course meetings. Informed participation in class discussions – based on completion of the assigned reading and supportive collaboration with classmates – is also required. Each class absence has to be excused in the first week after the lesson missed. The final grade percentage will be reduced by 10% for every unexcused absence. A grade average of at least 60% must be achieved to pass the course, so the students who have passed the final test but failed to obtain the required cumulative grade point average have to retake the final test and achieve the result sufficient to make up for the points lost due to unexcused absences.

Instructors are authorized to refuse credit when the student’s absenteeism rate is around 50%.

The end-of-semester test in each semester must be passed in order for the student to obtain a passing grade. The test is worth 80% of the final grade. Passing threshold for the test is 60%. There is only one retake.

The remaining 20% of the final grade in English for academic purposes will be calculated on the basis of the student’s participation and engagement in the class, expressed by pluses and minuses, awarded by the teachers. Each student is initially assessed at a passing level (60%). Each plus increases that score by 5% and each minus lowers the score by 5%.

In order to pass the use of English course a student has to pass the end-of-semestre test.

Only those students who passed the winter semestre course may enrol and take part in the summer semestre course.

NOTE: all the above principles apply to all kinds of classes: traditional classroom and all the forms of remote teaching situations. In case of online teaching, the tests may likewise be administered remotely in a form facilitating the verification of the achievement of learning outcomes.

In 2020/2021 summer term, the class may be conducted remotely with the use of remote teaching and testing methods, primarily through the Moodle platform/MS Teams