Course Catalogue

Module Code and Title:       EAP101 Intermediate English for Academic Purposes

Programme:                          BA in English Studies

Credit Value:                         12

Module Tutor:                       Dechen Pelden (Coordinator), Sangay C. Wangchuk, Mohan Rai, Palden Wangmo and Ruma Tamang.

General objective: EAP101 is the first part of a two-semester series that aims to develop abilities in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in an academic context to support students’ learning through their degree studies. This module includes topics that are relevant to students’ specific subject areas, which will help students apply the skills learned in context of their respective fields of study.

Learning outcomes – On completion of the module, students will be able to: 

Reading Skills

  1. Closely read key terms and guess meanings in context, key information, ideas and concepts. 
  2. Skim and scan relevant sources for essays.
  3. Analyse information in more complex texts.
  4. Parse essay questions to give answers.

Writing Skills

  1. Outline an essay.
  2. Organize ideas by using linkers, and signposts.
  3. Draft and build arguments.
  4. Paraphrase written texts.
  5. Create a bibliography.

Listening and Speaking Skills

  1. Listen for gist and details through scan listening and interactive listening. 
  2. Interview subjects to write short reports.
  3. Express one’s point of view in a discussion.
  4. Describe the process narrated in a pre-recorded audio clip.
  5. Participate in a panel discussion.

Grammar and Vocabulary

  1. Explain targeted grammatical structures in both spoken and written forms.
  2. Apply targeted grammatical structures appropriately in both written and oral production.
  3. Self-correct while using targeted grammatical structures.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Type

Approach

Hours per Week

Total Credit Hours

Contact

Lecture, discussions, and practice (2 x 2 hr). In-class time in each block is used in a workshop style with a review of prior topics and introduction to a new topic, at least one hour on practice, and debrief / reflection / assessment time at the end. Each major unit includes some assessment involving approximately 30 min of in-class time per week on average. Students are expected to use a significant portion of the total in-class time on practice with selected exercises.

4

60

Independent study

Writing assignments and Learning Journal

VLE discussions

4

60

Reading and review of class materials

Total

120

Assessment Approach:

  1. Note-Taking Exercise 5%

Each student has to maintain class notes containing series of exercises from both within and outside the class. It will be assessed before the mid-semester. 

‘Note-Taking Exercise’ will be assessed using the following rubric: 
 Relevance and Completeness: 10 marks
 Coherence and Organisation: 10 marks
 Language and clarity: 10 marks

  1. VLE Discussion 10%

Students will participate in two VLE discussions on topics assigned by the tutor. It will be conducted one before mid-semester and one after mid semester. 

Each task will be assessed on 5%, and will be based on the following rubric:
 Quality of Discussion: 12 marks
 Interaction with peers: 4 marks
 Language and Grammar: 4 marks

  1. Learning Journal: 20%

Students will have to maintain a journal incorporating two entries of 250-350 words each related to discipline-specific topics. Each of the two entries will be submitted as first and final drafts. The first will be assessed for a total weightage of 7%, and the second 13%. 

The entries will be assessed as per the Learning Journal rubric based on the following rubric:
 Critical Thinking: 10 marks
 Personal Reflection: 10 marks
 Language and Grammar: 10 marks

  1. Panel Discussion: 20%

Each student will speak for 5-7 minutes in a panel discussion. Students will be assigned topics related to their discipline, or an evidence-based subject of their interest. This assessment will be divided into two components: one pre-discussion meeting and the final panel discussion. In the pre-discussion meeting, students will meet the tutor to update on the progress, confer on the direction of the presentation, and set goals if applicable. 

The pre-discussion meeting will be evaluated on 3% and the final panel discussion will on 17%. 

The pre-discussion rubric will be based on the following rubric:

Completion of task: 5 marks

Planning and preparedness: 10 marks

The final panel discussion will be based on the following rubric:

Relevance of argument: 30 marks

Coherence and logical flow of ideas: 30 marks

Language and grammar: 30 marks

Respect for the other panellists’ views: 10 marks

  1. Written assignment: 20%

The student will write a 750 – 1000-word reflective academic essay on the topics assigned by the tutor. This is not expected to be an extensively researched essay. The assignment will be written in two drafts: the first draft will be worth 5%; and the final draft will be worth 10% with 5% on the improvement on the first draft. 

Both drafts will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Depth of reflection: 35 marks
 Critical thinking: 25 marks
 Use of sources: 20 marks
 Language and grammar: 20 marks

Improvement on feedback will be evaluated using the following rubric:

Marginal improvement: 0 – 49 marks

Satisfactory improvement: 50 – 59 marks

Significant and appropriate improvement: 60 – 74 marks

Significant improvement beyond feedback given: 75 – 100 marks

  1. Class Tests: 25% 

Three class tests (5%+10%+10%) of 60 minutes will be held within class hours, each covering approximately 3-4 weeks of subject matter. These tests should be based on the four skills. 

Overview of assessment approaches and weighting

Areas of assignments

Quantity

Weighting

A. Note-Taking Exercise

1

5%

B. VLE Discussion

2

10%

C. Learning journal

2

20%

D. Presentation

1

20%

E. Written assignment

1

20%

F. Class tests

3

25%

Total Continuous Assessment (CA)

 

100%

Pre-requisites: None

Subject matter:

  1. Unit I: Academic orientation
    1. Setting study goals in academic English
    2. Focusing on academic study
    3. Reading and writing in academic English
    4. Attending lectures
    5. Studying independently on an academic English course
    6. Thinking about the role of language in academic English
    7. Plagiarism and how to avoid it
  2. Unit II: Topic/context: Problems in the natural world
    1. Reading: Understanding essay questions; Identifying the relevance of the text; Grammar in context: noun phrases
    2. Listening and speaking: Making sure you have understood
    3. Writing: Paragraph building; Grammar in context: present perfect
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Word families; Quantifying expressions; Noun phrases; Clause structure; Present perfect and past simple
  3. Unit III: Lecture Skills I

(Lecture Skills A and B)

  1. Preparing for lectures: Talking about products; Vocabulary for the context
  2. Preparing for lectures: Chemical elements; predicting information from visuals; vocabulary for the context.
  3. Listening: Listening for gist and detail
  4. Language focus: If structures 1; Vocabulary: key expressions; Pronunciation: emphasising words
  5. Follow-up: Organising notes; Further listening
  1. Unit IV: Topic/context: Indications and trends
    1. Reading: Deciding what to read for an essay; Approaches to note-taking 1; Grammar in context: past perfect
    2. Listening and speaking: Giving advice; Asking for help 
    3. Writing: Planning the main paragraphs of an essay; Writing a short report; Vocabulary in context: language for describing trends
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Corpus language; Past simple; Past perfect; Language to describe statistics; Words for economic graphs
  2. Unit V: Topic/context: The information age
    1. Reading: Interactive reading Grammar in context: phrases of frequency Reading for the main ideas in a text; Grammar in context: prepositional phrases
    2. Listening and speaking: Outlining issues and putting forward your point of view
    3. Writing: Drafting and building arguments
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Word building; Noun phrases; Phrases of frequency; Vocabulary families; Prepositional phrases; Reporting verbs
  3. Unit VI: Topic/context: On budget
    1. Reading: Reading for key information and concepts; Grammar in context: expressing different levels of certainty; Vocabulary in context: language to define terms
    2. Listening and speaking: Describing a process in a seminar presentation; Giving a presentation: describing a process
    3. Writing: Drafting and revising content
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Words associated with planning; Language of possibility;       Definitions; Language of presentations; Word families from the Academic Word List
  4. Unit VII: Topic/context: Being objective
    1. Reading: Close reading for key ideas; Analysing information in more complex texts; Grammar in context: modal expressions; Grammar in context: relative clauses
    2. Listening and speaking: Agreeing and disagreeing
    3. Writing: Paraphrasing information for essays; Avoiding plagiarism; Linking words 2
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Verb and noun collocations; Language of agreement; Modal expressions; Relative clauses; Linking words and phrases
  5. Unit VIII: Topic/context: Sensing and understanding
    1. Reading: Text organisation 1; Grammar in context: passive constructions; Vocabulary in context: word building
    2. Listening and speaking: Signposting in seminar presentations; Giving a presentation
    3. Writing: Linking words 3; Grammar in context: using the passive to manage information in texts
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Art and design vocabulary; Passive forms; Perceive word family; Signposting in seminar presentations; Linking words
  6. Unit IX: IT issues
    1. Reading: Text organisation 2; Grammar in context: hedging language
    2. Listening and speaking: Problem–solution patterns and repair strategies
    3. Writing: Generating ideas; Grammar in context: cohesive devices; In-text referencing (particular focus on APA)
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Subordination; Crime vocabulary; Hedging language; Cohesion
  7. Unit X: Topic/context: Culture shock
    1. Reading: Text organisation 3; Grammar in context: reduced relative clauses
    2. Listening and speaking: Concluding a presentation
    3. Writing: Planning the overall shape of an essay; Reading for relevant information; Writing the conclusion; Creating a bibliography (APA style references list – basic rules and format for end-text references for different types of sources)
    4. Grammar and vocabulary practice: Word building; Reduced relative clauses; Participle clauses; Compound words
  8. Unit XI Lecture Skills II

(Lecture Skills C)

  1. Preparing for lectures: Thinking about the purposes of lectures
  2. Listening: Understanding evaluations; Understanding lists
  3. Language focus: Noticing differences in the language of lectures and academic writing; Noticing prominent words
  4. Follow-up: Taking notes: annotating; Reconstructing your notes

(Lecture Skills D)

  1. Preparing for lectures: Building basic information
  2. Listening: Understanding the relationship between parts of the lecture; Understanding descriptions of processes
  3. Language focus: Understanding vague language
  4. Follow-up: Listening for a lecture summary; Comparing notes

(Lecture Skills E)

  1. Preparing for lectures: Overcoming problems in listening to lectures
  2. Listening: Understanding specialised terms; Understanding reasons
  3. Language focus: Understanding signals of incomplete information; Understanding forward and backward reference
  4. Follow-up: Listening and annotating slides; Writing up your notes; Overcoming problems

Reading List:

Essential reading

Paterson, K. & Wedge, R. (2013). Oxford grammar for EAP. Oxford University Press.

Thaine, C. & McCarthy, M. (2014). Cambridge academic English – An integrated skills course for EAP: B1+ (Intermediate) student’s book. Cambridge University Press.

Additional reading

Hacker, D. (2021). Writer’s reference (10th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's.

Hyland, K. (2006). English for academic purposes. Routledge.

Date: June 2022
Royal Thimphu College