ILMATPN-Academic Writing for TESOL Portfolio

Module Provider: International Study and Language Institute
Number of credits: 0 [0 ECTS credits]
Level:7
Terms in which taught: Spring term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Ms Sarah Mattin
Email: s.mattin@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module focuses on the academic language and writing skills needed to perform more effectively at post-graduate level in Applied Linguistics and TESOL. It is primarily designed for students whose first language is not English.  The module focuses on key TESOL written assignment genres such as the Literature Review/Critical Review and the Essay.

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 ILMATDN 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 support MA TESOL students whose first language is not English to study more effectively in the UK HE context and academic culture. It focuses on the key academic language and skills needed to successfully complete coursework assignments and exam tasks.

By the end of the module, students will be better able to: 

• recognise and respond to the expectations of the key written assignment genres in TESOL, e.g.  the Literature Review/Critical Review and the Essay


• accurately interpret coursework assignment instructions/briefs


• employ task-appropriate organisational patterns at paragraph, section and whole-text level


• use a variety of task-appropriate techniques to incorporate and comment on the views of others in their writing


• employ task-appropriate language (grammar and lexis)


• critically evaluate their own and others’ writing


• communicate fluently and accurately within their discipline by building their subject-specific vocabulary and grammar


• use open-source linguistics software and tools to analyse features of discipline-specific research writing and use these more accurately and fluently within their writing

Assessable learning outcomes:

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Additional outcomes:

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Outline content:

Classes will focus on the following:

• Recognising and respond to the key assignment genres in TESOL, e.g.  the Literature Review/Critical Review and the Essay, including:
  
  
  
  • expected structural & argumentation patterns and how these differ according to task type 
  
  
  • reading-to-write processes and the centrality of source use and synthesis to successful TESOL critical writing 
  
  
  • how ‘voice’ and ‘stance’ are realised linguistically within academic texts
  
  
  
  


• Key skills useful to all academic writing within TESOL:
  
  
  
  • incorporating sources using paraphrasing, summarising and direct quotation
  
  
  • ‘information flow’ in English-language texts
  
  
  • employing linguistic features of textual cohesion to clearly signal relationships between parts of a text
  
  
  
  


• Grammar for academic/professional communication, including verb tense and form, clause and sentence structure


• Using open-source corpus linguistics software and tools to analyse features of discipline-specific research writing

Global context:

This module supports internationalisation at Reading by facilitating successful and equal inclusion of students whose first language is not English 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.

Teaching will be learner-centred, taking a task-based approach to:

• analysis of example texts from the target genre


• guided ‘noticing’ of key organisational, argumentative and linguistic features in context

exercises practicing use of relevant lexical/grammatical items

• scaffolded written-language tasks

Summative assessment- Examinations:

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Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

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Formative assessment methods:

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Penalties for late submission:

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Assessment requirements for a pass:

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Reassessment arrangements:

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Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

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Last updated: 30 March 2023