Page 10 - 2 topic Academic English 01-15.cdr

exposure to English outside the classroom too.
This element of the English Course is aimed at developing fluency and confidence in
Speaking & spoken English, not only in formal discussion but also to highlight aspects of
Pronunciation
everyday conversation including checking understanding, turn taking and back
channeling. It is important not to neglect pronunciation, sentence stress and
intonation.

Listening & These activities aim to develop students’ listening comprehension skills but will also
Speaking provide opportunities to talk about the topic in the lesson so that they can
communicate with other students and use vocabulary from the lesson. The teachers
are interested in their ideas, not only if their answers are ‘correct’. Developing
critical thinking skills is emphasised.

Reading & These activities aim to develop students’ reading comprehension skills but will also
Speaking give an opportunity to talk about the topic in the lesson so that they can
communicate with other students and use vocabulary from the lesson. The teachers
are interested in their ideas, not only if their answers are ‘correct’. Developing
critical thinking skills is emphasised. Research for Presentations requires individual
reading and accessing authentic texts for selection of information and evaluation of
views.
Writing In addition to developing the basic skills of writing, punctuation and text
organisation, the aim is to make students aware that they are writing for a purpose
and for an audience. As a result, a lot of the writing tasks should be proofread
(both self and peer correction is encouraged) and revised through a process writing
approach. As well as being used as evidence the writing can be included in a
magazine, wall display or on social media. In Levels 2 and 3 a range of genres can
be explored.

Presentation These activities are led by the students. Students give a PowerPoint presentation
& Surveys individually or in groups on a subject they have researched and prepared. These
sessions help to develop speaking skills and extend vocabulary as well as involving
study skills and soft skills including team work. Presentations and surveys also
provide an opportunity for wall displays, report writing and therefore the
development of critical thinking skills.

Functional Students and teachers have a booklet for reference so in each class learners can
English have exposure to and practice the language of asking permission, speculating,
advising, expressing agreement/disagreement etc. and then be able to use them in
real life situations from an early stage in the course.

Critical Problem-solving tasks built into the course encourage the use of critical thinking
Thinking skills. But there is also an explicit focus on self-evaluation and peer-evaluation in
Skills learner journals, Presentations, review tasks and Can do statements.

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