English for Academic Purposes (15-16 December 2018)

Led by: Michael Jenkins/University of Edinburgh, Dr Sarah Brewer/University of Reading and Dr Karin Whiteside/University of Reading.

Level 1 (IELTS equivalent 2.0 to 3.0)

Topics covered:

• How to write a short academic profile appropriate for conferences and journals outlining their work doctoral studies, work history, research interests and publications
• How to give a short formal presentation describing a chart, highlighting key information and drawing conclusions.

Level 2 (IELTS equivalent 3.0 to 4.5)

Topics covered:

• Question forms; verb tenses; hedging language and modal verbs.
• Developing their spoken language skills for discussions, debates and poster presentations.
• Developing their written language skills for reading short academic texts and synthesising sources in a short piece of writing.

Level 3 (IELTS equivalent 5.0+)

Topics covered:

• Expressing caution in academic writing (hedging) and on synthesising sources and incorporating them into their writing.
• General fluency in social situations and on expressing agreement and disagreement in debate as well as summarising issues in short presentations.

• Improving the accuracy of their speaking, and their ability to understand rapidly delivered authentic academic presentations.