IL1AECN-Academic Skills and Language for Politics, Economics and International Relations

Module Provider: International Study and Language Institute
Number of credits: 0 [0 ECTS credits]
Level:4
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Mr Daniel Devane
Email: d.devane@reading.ac.uk

Module Co-convenor: Mr James Wylie
Email: j.wylie@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This non-credit-bearing module is delivered at the University of Reading for students who are studying degrees delivered by the School of Politics, Economics and International Relations (SPEIR) at undergraduate level. It is primarily designed for international students, including students new to studying in the UK and students whose first language is not English, and aims to support their transition to the UK HE context and academic culture. The module recognises the need to focus primarily on the essay genre.

The module is non-credit-bearing and designed to support students’ disciplinary study, the expectation being that students will apply the skills they have learnt on IL1AECN in their credit-bearing work. Therefore, for the module itself, there is no assessment or expectation of independent study hours.

Aims:

This module aims to develop the students' familiarity with, and linguistic ability to perform effectively, the written genre, the essay, and also the spoken genre, the presentation. This developmental enhancement has been designed to be transferrable to other modules, both concurrent and future, and thus help facilitate the students' assessment task and overall performance in their undergraduate School of Politics, Economics and International Relations (SPEIR) studies at the University of Reading. It aims to enhance students' academic English self-confidence.

On completing this module, students should be better able to:

• Write a SPEIR essay


• Recognise common essay command words


• Apply appropriate use of voice, including techniques for guiding and involving the reader


• Relate source synthesis to essay writing


• Relate argument to essay structure


• Write a thesis statement


• Apply critical evaluation to a SPEIR critique


• Produce a persuasive SPEIR presentation


• Distinguish between spoken presentation and written language


• Break down a presentation into comprehensible chunk

Assessable learning outcomes:

N/A

Additional outcomes:

On completing this module, students should also be better able to:

• Plan assignments


• Use Blackboard


• Carry out classroom tasks with peers


• Carry out interaction with university staff


• Appraise their ongoing language needs and take appropriate developmental action

Outline content:

The content of this module is divided into two strands of learning:

Strand 1: Essays

• Understanding and responding to command words


• Applying appropriate use of writer voice and guiding the reader through the text


• Using sources in essay writing


• Building an argument


• Writing introductions and conclusions

Strand 2: Presentations

• Identifying key differences between spoken and written language


• Presenting spoken information in comprehensible ‘chunks’


• Engaging the audience

The course will include workshops, during which students will receive feedback and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Global context:

This module supports internationalisation at Reading by facilitating successful and equal inclusion of international students in UK degree programme study.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

The module will adopt an overall ‘genre’ approach, taking the social purpose of texts as the starting point to explicate organisation/structure and key discourse and language features.

It takes a discipline-specific approach to language and literacy development using example student texts and published discipline-specific sources in classroom tasks. 

Teaching and learning is facilitated in a generally task-based approach through a combi nation of reflective and productive activities, guided analysis of extracts of example School of Politics, Economics and International Relations (SPEIR) student essays and published texts, and peer and tutor feedback. The guided analysis of texts involves 'noticing' of key organisational and linguistic features in context, and productive activities are appropriately scaffolded. Interactive communicative tasks are regularly included, both longer presentation tasks and shorter reflective a nd discussion tasks.

Summative assessment- Examinations:

N/A

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

N/A

Formative assessment methods:

Sessions will take a task-based approach, enabling students to receive on-going feedback from the instructor and from other students during class discussions.

Penalties for late submission:

N/A

Assessment requirements for a pass:

N/A

Reassessment arrangements:

N/A

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

N/A

Last updated: 30 March 2023