IL1AFNN: Academic Skills and Language for Finance

Module code: IL1AFNN

Module provider: International Study and Language Institute

Credits: 0

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Ms Jennifer Sizer, email: j.sizer@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: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module focuses on the academic language and literacy skills needed to perform more effectively at undergraduate level in Finance. It is primarily designed for students whose first language is not English and aims to support the transition to the UK HE context and academic culture. The module closely maps to core Finance modules to develop students’ academic language, literacy and study skills for successful participation in their degree programmes and completion of assessed coursework tasks. 

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 IL1AFNN in their credit-bearing work. Therefore, for the module itself, there is no assessment or expectation of independent study hours. 

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Apply knowledge of key written and spoken genres in undergraduate Finance degree programmes (e.g. essays, reports, presentations) to interpret assignment tasks and employ appropriate organisational patterns in their completion.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of academic integrity through appropriate use of referencing conventions, including the paraphrase and summary of source material.
3. Employ task-appropriate language (grammar and lexis) in written and spoken texts.
4. Demonstrate critical evaluation of their own and others’ written and spoken texts through completion of guided tasks.

Module content

Classes will focus on: 

• Recognising the key coursework assignment genres in Finance e.g. essays, reports, presentations, including: 
  • expected structural & argumentation patterns and how these differ according to question type. 
  • reading-to-write and source use and synthesis processes. 
• Grammar for academic and professional communication, including verb tense and form, clause and sentence structure. 
• Building discipline-specific vocabulary knowledge for Finance. 
• Reading skills and strategies for dealing with academic, professional, and news sources such as company and government reports, financial news articles, directed textbooks, including: 
  • careful reading to build gradual understanding of ideas and relationships between them. 
  • strategic reading to identify: 
    • specific sources or concepts (search reading). 
    • overall nature and structure of text (skimming). 
• Listening skills and strategies for short online audio-visual media e.g. news reports, explanations of financial concepts. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module takes a discipline-specific, genre-based approach to language and literacy development using example student texts and published Finance-specific sources in classroom tasks. 

Teaching and learning is facilitated in a generally task-based approach, through a combination of reflective and productive activities, guided analysis of texts and peer and tutor feedback. The guided analysis of texts involves 'noticing' of key organisational and linguistic features in context and exercises to practise the use of relevant language. 

Interactive tasks are regularly included and are appropriately scaffolded to build students’ confidence in participating in discussion. The in-person delivery of the module will be supported by digital tools in the classroom where appropriate (e.g. short interactive learning tasks and/or quizzes). 

Study hours

At least 32 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

There is no assessment on this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

There is no assessment on this module.

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.

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

Reassessment

Additional costs