Academic English Advanced (C1-1)

1.

ACADEMIC ENGLISH
ADVANCED (C1-1)
WEEK 1
Session 2 – ACADEMIC SKILLS

2.

WHAT IS ACADEMIC ENGLISH (AE)?
• reading and understanding your study materials
• writing about your subject
AE is different from everyday spoken English
What is the difference?

3.

READING
SPEAKING
ACADEMIC
SKILLS
LISTENING
WRITING

READING QUESTIONNAIRE
1. I tend to read very little beyond what is actually required to pass the assignment
2. I concentrate on memorising a good deal of what I read
3. I try to relate ideas I come across in other topics to what I read
4.When I read an article or book, I try to find out exactly what the author means
5. Often I find myself questioning what I read
6. When I read I concentrate on learning just those bits of information I need to pass the
assignment.
7. When I am reading, I stop from time to time to reflect on what I’m trying to learn from it
8. When I read, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with what's being said

5.

READING QUESTIONNAIRE
9. I like books which challenge me and provide explanations which go beyond the lectures
and seminars
10. I like books which give definite facts and information which can be easily understood
11. I read an article straight through from start to finish
12. I note down all the facts and figures
13. I note the author’s main arguments
14. I think about whether the facts supported these arguments
15. I make summary notes to use later

6.

• ‘yes’ : 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15 = SURFACE APPROACH.
You are organising your learning in order to be able
to remember facts and figures to use in written
assignments or dissertation work.
• ‘yes’ : 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14 = DEEP APPROACH
You are thinking critically about the information
you read and trying to make sense of it in the wider
context of your studies.This approach to learning
and studying shows initiative and understanding.
ASSIST Approaches to Studying Inventory by Noel Entwistle

7.

SURFACE APPROACH = MEMORISATION
WHICH IS NEEDED? AND WHY?

8.

URBAN MYTHS ABOUT READING
“ If I read more slowly it will help me to understand difficult concepts and texts which seem
inaccessible because of the way they are written.”
“ If I read a chapter/article/section of text over and over again I will be able to understand the
concepts.”
How do you read? Why? Have you ever tried other techniques?

9.

Websites to visit to improve and increase your
reading speed.
• www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_03.htm
• www.rapidreading.co.uk

10.

Academic Writing is any writing done:
• to fulfill a requirement of a college or university.
• to use for publications that are read by teacher and
researchers or presented at conferences.
• to complete writing assignment given in an academic
setting.

11.

SPECIFICS
• Linear
• Informative
• Features: complex, formal, objective, explicit, hedged,
responsible/reliable
• Precise and accurate language

12.

IN OTHER WORDS AE …
• is formal in tone
• is impersonal in style (more what than who)
• avoids contractions
• avoids certain linking words (and, but, also) at the beginning of a
sentence
• avoids personal pronouns (field-specific)
• may use passive
• avoids phrasal verbs, idioms
• may use abbreviations and acronyms
• may use specialized vocabulary