Older syllabus

Week 1

Introduction to Formality and Academic style. Students notice formality, citations and reference conventions and following a model text, produce their own. Reference and citation guides are provided for guidance. Students are asked to send an email to their instructor taking into account issues of politeness and formality.

Week 2

Students will read a text about Types of Materials and learn how to transfer information from text to slides. Listening practice: Students will practice different note-taking styles. Students will practice giving presentations using opening phrases and signposting language.

Week 3

Students will be using google docs to complete tasks collaboratively about different types of Metals and their properties. Students will be reading an article on the FUTURE of metals in order to identify topic sentences , support sentences and concluding sentences in paragraphs. Then, they will produce their own paragraph following prompts.

Week 4

Students will read an article and listen to a video about the scientific method and answer a quiz. They will look at statistical data, graphs and charts and learn how to write a report using appropriate linking words and terminology to express upward or downward trends, ratios, averages and numbers. Students will using information to produce a variety of visuals: mind-maps, diagrams, word tables or schemes.

Week 5

Students will watch a video about bio printing and then will compare different types of writing on the same topic “Bio-printing (2019)”. They will be asked to notice the structure, the language and some conventions of a scientific article about Graphene, a relevant blog post on Graphene and a school textbook entry.

Week 6

Students will have a workshop on “How to give effective presentations” and a model presentation on “bio-printing” given by senior students whose presentations were deemed to be one of the best ones the year before. Students will be provided with criteria for peer-evaluation to complete during the student presentation and then discuss the student presentation strengths and weaknesses with the teacher and the presenters. Kindly note that attendance is compulsory for all.

Week 7

Students will classify and identify properties of solids, liquids and gases (using the English for Chemistry EAP textbook, Unit 1) Reading and Listening tasks. Students will be asked to notice and use legitimate paraphrasing strategies in order to produce a paragraph with citations and references.

Week 8

Students will be listening and reading a variety of listening and reading sources about Ceramics and advanced Ceramics in order to include all information elements, reminder phrases and references required for Summary writing. Language focus Passive voice.

Week 9

Students will be introduced to essay writing (argumentative essay, counterarguments) making a distinction between descriptive, evaluative, cautious and biased language. Reading and Listening Practice on the topic of Composites. Students will be practicing answering mock exam reading comprehension questions and tasks.

Week 10

Following a listening and a reading on Polymers (from the book English for Chemistry EAP Unit 11) students will be asked to make a mind map connecting properties of of Polymers such as thermosetting, thermoplastic, linear, branched, cross-linked, fibers, plastics and elastomers, solubility and rigidity. Language focus: Gerund and infinitive Students will be re-writing sentences avoiding wordiness.

Weeks 11 and 12

Student Presentations (Slides need to be in pptx or pdf format and student need to bring their file in a usb stick)