Form 5: Proposal for a New Course: Rationale for Course 1. Origin of the Proposal A need has been identified at SML to provide a more formal system of pastoral care and monitoring of progress of OS students. There has been an appreciation that the different educational and cultural backgrounds of OS students may have contributed to a lack of progress and poor retention rates in the past. There is a risk that poor retention rates will deter future OS students from enrolling on programmes in SML. HWUSA has a newly-formed International Committee looking into support (welfare, social and academic) available to international students at HWU. With the international population at approx. 27% a demand for a more comprehensive support structure has been identified. 2. Aims and Objectives To provide EL and Study Skills support to OS students in SML To provide pastoral care for OS students To monitor progress of OS students in UG and PG programmes To improve OS retention in UG and PG programmes 3. General Information Tuition: Academic Writing (1.5 hours p/w) 9 weeks per term Academic Speaking (1.5 hours p/w) - 9 weeks per term Students could have 3 hours of tuition per week. 4. Course Structure (see attachments) Testing: ALL SML OS students get tested at the start of the October Writing/Language only Test is 1 hour (+ turnaround time) = 6/7 hours (1 day). Listening and interview - (257ss /7 permanent/3 fixed-term staff = 1.5 days of interviewing) Recommendations from there as to tuition etc. @ 2 days of testing. Study Skills Clinic: For those students who do not wish/are not recommended to have tuition there will be a Study Skills Clinic where students make an appointment with a tutor to discuss their work. (10 hours p/w) Note: Attachments UG Speaking Learning Outcomes; UG Writing Learning Outcomes; PG Speaking Learning Outcomes; PG Writing Learning Outcomes.
UG Speaking Term 1 Learning Outcomes Understanding, Knowledge and Subject-Specific skills - 1. use a wider range of vocabulary and expressions for understanding and oral production 2. make better use of the grammatical resources in English for more effective communication 3. make better use of the phonological resources of English to decode the stream of speech and produce comprehensible speech themselves 4. begin to distinguish formal and informal speech and recognise and understand a variety of accents - 1. use a variety of listening strategies such as predicting and recognising key points and guessing unfamiliar vocabulary from context when listening to talks or discussions on topics of general interest 2. use correctly a variety of language functions such as asking questions and explaining 3. speak more spontaneously about themselves or general topics in discussion tasks or individual speaking tasks 4. work effectively in small groups to carry out communicative listening and speaking tasks UG Speaking Term 2 Learning Outcomes Understanding, Knowledge and Subject-Specific skills - 1. understand the overall structure and development of a presentation with one or more speakers, distinguishing between main points and supporting detail 2. understand and begin to use the variety of discourse markers which signal introduction or shift of topic, summaries and examples in presentations and debates 3. understand the phonological resources speakers can use to signal aspects of a presentation or lecture (itemised in 1 and 2 above) and show their attitude to the topic 4. recognise and begin to use different levels of formality in presentations and discussions - 1. make notes from a presentation or discussion on a topical theme and use these notes to give an oral summary 2. speak about ideas and abstract concepts in discussion tasks or individual speaking tasks 3. express agreement and disagreement, speculate and justify opinions in discussions and debates 4. show awareness of the needs of their audience UG Speaking Term 3 Learning Outcomes Understanding, Knowledge and Subject-Specific skills - 1. understand the overall structure and development of more complex presentations, which combine both oral and textual elements such as slides and handouts 2. identify the viewpoint of the speaker(s) and what is implied but not stated in the presentation 3. distinguish between colloquial and academic spoken language and use both of these appropriately. - 1. make notes from a presentation or discussion on an abstract theme and use these notes to give an oral or written summary or to support points in debate or discussion 2. use reading material effectively to provide background knowledge and orientation to the topic 3. critically evaluate a presentation in terms of its stated purpose and topic 4. use complex sentence structures where appropriate 5. actively participate in group discussions drawing on reading material to support points
UG Writing Term 1 Learning Outcomes Understanding, Knowledge and Subject-Specific skills - 5. identify the components of a simple English sentence 6. combine two or more sentences using a range of linguistic strategies 7. recognise some of the important relations in meaning across sentences which contribute to cohesion in texts 8. analyse the organisation, vocabulary and grammar of a variety of descriptive and informative texts in order to use these as models for their own writing - 5. read a text at a basic level and identify key points and supporting detail 6. use a range of reading strategies such as previewing or scanning, intensive or extensive reading depending on their reading purpose 7. deduce the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary and expressions from context 8. organise and record vocabulary and grammar in ways which enable them to be applied in reading and writing 9. see writing as a process of brainstorming, planning, drafting and editing 10. write a range of simple genres such as letters and reports 11. begin to identify problem areas in their reading and writing and take action to correct these UG Writing Term 2 Learning Outcomes Understanding, Knowledge and Subject-Specific skills - 1. identify the general to specific paragraph structure of expository and persuasive texts 2. recognise important relations in meaning across paragraphs which contribute to coherence in texts 3. analyse the organisation, lexis and grammar of a variety of expository texts in order to use these as models for their own writing 4. identify a variety of rhetorical functions in a single text and understand how these contribute to the overall purpose of the text 5. begin to analyse how an author s viewpoint is expressed in texts - 1. understand and reproduce written commentary related to numerical information such as graphs and tables 2. use their knowledge of organisation, rhetorical function, vocabulary and grammar to decode densely written texts 3. begin to be able to summarise, paraphrase and evaluate written texts for use in their own oral and written presentations 4. write a range of more complex genres such as essays and projects UG Writing Term 3 Learning Outcomes Understanding, Knowledge and Subject-Specific skills - 1. analyse the organisation, lexis and grammar of a variety of persuasive texts in order to use these as models for their own writing 2. identify the implicit signalling of rhetorical functions such as problems and solutions in a text and summarise the text to make these functions more explicit 3. identify positive or negative viewpoints and see how these support the purpose of the text - 1. define and analyse problems and suggest and evaluate solutions 2. read a text and draw inferences and conclusions from it, thinking beyond the original material 3. read a text and evaluate its effectiveness in terms of its stated or implied purpose 4. evaluate the effectiveness of arguments or sources of information for use in their own writing 5. build on their ability to summarise written texts with appropriate acknowledgement of sources
PG Speaking Term 1 Learning outcomes 9. analyse the overall structure and development of a presentation with one or more speakers, distinguishing between main points and supporting detail 10. identify and begin to use the variety of phonological and discourse markers which signal introduction or shift of topic, summaries and examples in presentations and debates 11. identify the way speakers show their viewpoint and attitude to the topic 12. recognise and begin to use different levels of formality in presentations and discussions 12. Use a variety of listening strategies such as predicting, listening for key words and guessing new vocabulary from context when listening to talks or discussions on general academic topics. 13. Make notes from a presentation or discussion on a current issue or general academic topic and use these notes to give an oral summary 14. Begin to critically evaluate a presentation by relating the ideas to their own experience. 15. Speak about complex ideas and abstract concepts to a range of different audiences for a range of different purposes. 16. Express agreement and disagreement, speculate and justify opinions in discussions and debates PG Speaking Term 2 Learning outcomes 1. analyse the overall structure and development of longer more complex presentations, which combine both oral and textual elements such as slides and handouts 2. identify the viewpoint of the speaker(s) and what is implied but not stated in the presentation 3. distinguish between informal and formal spoken language in academic settings and build on their ability to use both of these appropriately. 1. make notes from a longer presentation or discussion on an abstract or complex topic and use these notes to give an oral or written summary or to support points in debate or discussion 2. use reading material effectively to provide background knowledge and orientation to the topic 3. critically evaluate a presentation in terms of its stated purpose and topic 4. use complex sentence structures where appropriate in presentations 5. actively participate in group discussions drawing on reading material to support points and asking relevant questions for clarification of others points PG Speaking Term 3 Learning outcomes 1. research and discuss complex topics of a general academic nature. 2. Identify key information and supporting detail in a variety of different written and spoken sources, which can be used to answer a particular question or develop discussion on a specific topic. 3. Synthesise relevant information from a variety of sources and represent it where appropriate in a discussion 1. Work independently to integrate the knowledge gained in previous reading and listening modules in order to find, select, summarise and represent relevant information. 2. Critically evaluate written and spoken sources of information in terms of relevance and reliability 3. Lead seminar discussion by making an oral presentation on a subject of a general academic nature and encouraging questions and interaction.
PG Writing Term 1 Learning outcomes 13. express their ideas in simple and complex sentences using a variety of linguistic strategies 14. use the general to specific paragraph structure of expository texts 15. recognise how topics are introduced and maintained using the beginnings of sentences 16. identify important relations in meaning (such as contrast or cause) across sentences and paragraphs in order to be able to use signpost expressions correctly. 17. Analyse the organisation, lexis and grammar of a variety of descriptive and expository texts in order to use these as models for their own writing 18. recognise key aspects of academic style and distinguish this from other styles of writing 17. analyse numerical information in graphs and tables and reproduce it as written commentary 18. compare their writing to a model text to critically evaluate its effectiveness 19. identify problem areas in their writing and take action to correct these PG Writing Term 2 Learning outcomes 1. Analyse the organisation, lexis and grammar of a variety of expository and persuasive texts in order to use these as models for their own writing 2. Identify how information in persuasive and expository texts moves from familiar to new across sentences. 3. Identify the implicit signalling of rhetorical functions such as problems and solutions or arguments in a text and paraphrase the text to make these functions more explicit 4. Consider an audience for their writing as they draft and revise their texts 5. Analyse how a positive or negative viewpoint is expressed in persuasive texts 1. Define and analyse problems and suggest and evaluate solutions based on appropriate evidence 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of arguments or sources of information, based on appropriate evidence, for use in their own writing 3. Develop their ability to paraphrase written texts for their own purposes, different from the purpose of the original 4. Integrate their understanding and knowledge of the linguistic resources in English in order to communicate effectively in writing for an audience of peer researchers. PG Writing Term 3 Learning outcomes 1. analyse the organisation, style and conventions of academic genres such as essays or research reports or published research papers in order to use these as models for their own writing 2. Express an evidence-based viewpoint about source material or data with an appropriate level of certainty 3. Select and synthesise source material relevant to their purpose and incorporate it into an essay or report with appropriate acknowledgement. 1. Critically evaluate ideas, concepts and sources of information, based on appropriate evidence, for incorporation into their own writing 2. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of explanations or arguments in their own writing 3. Build on their ability to paraphrase written texts for their own purposes, different from the purpose of the original 4. Integrate their understanding and knowledge of the linguistic resources in English in order to communicate effectively for a research audience in their subject discipline.