English Courses

This is an intensive English language course for students in their first year of study who need language enhancement and proficiency training to build a strong foundation in English. Students will develop the language skills necessary to communicate effectively and complete academic tasks in an English-medium university. They will also build skills and habits for self-directed learning at university. The content of this course focuses on developing students’ language foundation by enhancing their language accuracy in spoken and written English, language fluency, vocabulary-building and clear pronunciation. Tasks and activities are designed so that they can receive enhanced teacher support and feedback. The course is intensive in order to allow students to move on to the Academic English for University Studies course in the Spring semester.

This course is aimed at students in their first year of study and will develop students’ spoken and written language proficiency. The course also introduces academic literacy skills common to all disciplines. Students will learn to evaluate others’ opinions, develop strong arguments and communicate those arguments effectively in written and spoken English. They will also build skills and habits for self-directed learning at university. This course and its assessments build on the foundation proficiency needed to confidently take part in social and academic life at university in English, while introducing students to elements of academic literacy. The intended learning outcomes of the course will enable students to express complex ideas precisely and coherently to different audiences through both written and spoken English communication, develop their critical thinking and critical analysis skills, and develop strategies for lifelong learning.

This course emphasises the development of academic literacy skills, in addition to developing students’ language proficiency. Students will learn how to find and evaluate sources for academic tasks and will further develop their abilities to be critical in reading and writing, to substantiate and synthesise ideas and to develop coherent arguments. Collaboration and leadership skills will also be emphasised to further develop skills and habits for autonomous lifelong learning. Key features of the teaching materials, student activities, and assessments will be self-directed learning, communication within a team, and multimodal communication. 

This course puts a strong emphasis on developing university-level academic literacy and communication competence in writing, speaking, and multimodal contexts. The course introduces students to research skills using university library resources for finding and evaluating sources for academic writing and speaking tasks. It expects students to be critical readers and writers, synthesizing ideas when developing a coherent argument. The course also aims to develop students’ competence in communicating effectively in an academic community, developing the ability to collaborate both as a member of a group and assuming responsibility as a discussion facilitator in the context of student-led seminars. Throughout the course, students are expected to transfer and adapt their knowledge, attitudes and habits for autonomous lifelong learning. Other features of the teaching materials, student activities, and assessments will be self-directed learning, communication in a team, and multimodal communication. Students’ competence in communicating effectively within an academic community will be assessed individually and as part of a group in collaborations. Throughout the course, the aim of the reflective and self-directed tasks is to guide students through reflection on learning and strategies so that they can transfer and adapt their knowledge, attitudes and habits for the development of autonomous lifelong learning.

This introductory course will help students explore the impact of digital media texts (such as podcasts, wikis, and social media like YouTube) on academic, professional and social communication practices. The course will enable students to be: critical of current digital communication practices; reflective of their communication and participation through digital media; aware of how digital communication can impact language delivery; and reflective of their English language development. To achieve this, the course guides students in developing basic knowledge of digital literacy theories and practices and to produce their own digital media texts for English communicative purposes. Students will undertake authentic tasks related to their academic and future careers that enables them to achieve the necessary communication skills in a digital world.