EDM096: Academic English and Study Skills

Module code: EDM096

Module provider: Institute of Education

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Anthony Zhang, email: anthony.zhang@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to provide a foundation of master’s level skills and knowledge for students whose first language is not English to facilitate their progress through the English Language Education programme. While the content of the module will be level 7, it will also act as a vehicle to further develop essential English language skills, specialist linguistic terminology, and research knowledge and skills relevant to the study of English language education, as required.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Use essential linguistic terminology and concepts and evaluate essential components of research design and research methods;
2. Conduct a literature search and know how to use the Education Databases on the Library webpages;
3. Understand the structure of academic articles and apply the conventions of academic writing;
4. Apply the referencing practices based on the latest style of the American Psychological Association and discuss what plagiarism is and how it can be avoided;
5. Demonstrate skills in reading original research reports and critically evaluate their reading in terms of the quality of argumentation and evidence versus opinion;
6. Demonstrate improved presentation skills (oral and written) and collaborative learning skills.

Module content

• Academic terminology in second language research
• Introduction to essential research design in education
• The structure and language of academic papers
• Reading research papers: argumentation in literature reviews
• Relating theory to data in research in education
• Academic writing (essays, dissertation; referencing and academic conventions; avoiding plagiarism)
• Development of research skills (e.g., conducting a literature search; reading and evaluating research papers; using online Education databases, such as the British Education Index and ERIC)
• Analysing good practice in researching language and language learning
• Presenting research work: practising oral presentations
• Presenting research work: practising writing up research results

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Interactive seminars:

• Group discussions: Practising how to formulate academic arguments
• Practical tasks in pairs and groups (collaborative learning)
• Presentations of research work in oral and written form
• Online tasks which will be made available through Blackboard

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will be set homework tasks on which they receive feedback on a weekly basis.

Reassessment

Additional costs