Topic outline

  • Welcome to the Pathway English Course

    Teacher

    Maxi-Ann Campbell (maxi-ann.campbell@aalto.fi) 

    Content

    In this course, you will practice all four modalities of academic English: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The course includes two asynchronous self-study online components: reading and writing (1 credit) and speaking and listening (1 credit). Beyond these self-study components, you will have synchronous online lessons with a teacher, biweekly small group discussions with your peers, and other online activities.

    The course will cover the following topics:

    • Engaging in small talk
    • Academic discussion skills (seminar-style)
    • Presentation skills
    • Giving and receiving feedback on spoken and written texts
    • Avoiding plagiarism and academic integrity
    • Academic style in word choice and grammar

    Learning outcomes

    After the course, the student understands how to use academic written and spoken English in a university setting. For written skills, the student will be able to select appropriate academic vocabulary, produce well-structured, grammatically sound written texts, employ strategies to avoid plagiarism, and utilize various organizational structures when writing essays for different purposes. For spoken skills, students will be able to interact in academic social settings using appropriate conventions (e.g. conversation markers, small talk devices, language for agreeing and disagreeing) and deliver an oral presentation related to a topic in their area of study. The students will also reflect on how academic written and spoken English differs from English use in daily life and engage in constructive practices of giving and receiving feedback.

    Teaching times

    Workload

    • Synchronous online classes 13,5 h
    • Synchronous small group teacher meetings (3 x 30 m) 1,5 h
    • Synchronous small group peer meetings 14 h
    • Asynchronous online modules 54 h
    • Other assignments and homework 46 h
    • Exam and preparation for the exam 5 h

    Completion and grading

    • Attending online classes (80 % attendance)
    • Completing assignments and an exam at the end of the course
    1. Reading and writing online module 20%
    2. Listening and speaking online module 20%
    3. Active participation in synchronous sessions and peer meetings 20%
    4. Other assignments 20%
    5. Final written and spoken exam 20%

    • Grading on a scale a 1-5
    • The exam can be re-taken once

    • Kuvahaun tulos haulle free reading icon LISTENING AND SPEAKING MODULE (LSM): LEARNING OUTCOMES

      The Listening and Speaking online module was designed by University Teacher Matthew Billington, and you will watch several videos that feature him in this segment of the course. 

      After this module, you should be able to:

      • interact in social situations using the appropriate conventions (various conversation markers, small-talk devices etc.)
      • prepare and deliver a presentation on a topic related to their area of study following normal presentation conventions (structure, signposting etc.)
      • present oral arguments and opinions on areas related your  discipline and disagree and agree with others according to the cultural conventions of English


      Main tasks:

      • Small-talk and Politeness: improve a small-talk dialogue and post it in the forum
      • Opinions and Oral Argument: participate in class and small group discussions
      • Presentations: record a presentation and post it in the forum

    • Kuvahaun tulos haulle free reading icon READING AND WRITING MODULE (RWM): LEARNING OUTCOMES

      The Reading and Writing online module was designed by University Teacher Matthew Billington. 

      In this module, there are 5 key areas you will look at:

      1. academic sentences and paragraphs - practicing how to write introductions, main (body) paragraphs and conclusions
      2. academic vocabulary - learning key academic words including academic phrases and reporting verbs
      3. academic grammar - focusing on using tenses, passives, prepositions, and other important grammar areas
      4. avoiding plagiarism - practicing skills in paraphrasing, summarizing, in-text referencing, and writing reference lists.
      5. academic structure - choosing the best writing models and structures for your writing and submitting an essay

      You will undertake the course in the order listed above and you must complete all the quizzes and assignments in each section before you can progress to the next one.  The exception is forum exercises. Because you often need to reply to other students' posts, you can  progress to the next section and reply later when other students have had time to submit. Remember though, the forum exercises must be completed in full to complete the course. 

      After this course you should be able to:

      • use different sentence and paragraphs structures to write a longer essay comprised of these main elements
      • to recognize key academic vocabulary to comprehend and respond to essay question titles
      • to employ tenses and other aspects of academic grammar appropriately and write with greater confidence
      • to understand the importance of avoiding plagiarism and to utilize key skills so that your work complies with academic regulations
      • to select an appropriate model for the essay you are writing as a means to to writing an outline and a final essay

      To support you, find below some useful website links:

      1. This online dictionary has a grammar section also.


      2. Here is a quick grammar reference guide from the British Council.

      https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar



    • Forum icon
      Announcements Forum
      I will post any changes to the course, Zoom link, or other important announcements here. 
    • Forum icon
      Student Questions and Resource Sharing Forum

      This is a space where you can ask questions or share good resources with your peers. I will answer all questions, but you are also welcome to answer your peers' questions.