Module manager: Denise de Pauw
Email: d.b.depauw@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 Jul to 15 Sep (2.5mth) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This programme is an English language content-based pre-sessional designed to support students who either do not meet the English language requirements for their chosen post-graduate programme or who wish to gain a better understanding of the academic language and literacy practices in their area of study. The programme is taught in liaison with academics from both the University of Leeds Language Centre and from the Faculty of Engineering (allowing the learning of language to be integrated and built around key content areas, and students to develop a deeper understanding of how knowledge and theory are communicated in their own subject. This programme will help students develop the language skills, knowledge and understanding required for postgraduate study in the field of engineering. Students will study subject specific content to help them develop their language competence and ability to communicate at an appropriate academic level within their chosen field of study.
This module provides students with the opportunity to:
1. Meet the language requirements of their future academic programme;
2. Display linguistic and literacy skills to a level that will enable them to communicate competently within their discipline specific academic context at post-graduate level;
3. Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the culture, context and discourse of academic study in the field of science, technology, engineering and maths;
4. Develop as autonomous, reflective learners, with a cultural awareness and understanding of ethical academic practices.
On completion of the module, students should have begun to develop:
1. a use of written and spoken academic language to suit a clear communicative purpose, including having a wide lexical resource, a range of appropriate structures and the ability to use these coherently, accurately and fluently [MO1];
2. an awareness of subject specific genre, discourse and rhetorical function; making appropriate choices in relation to audience and purpose at whole text, paragraph and sentence level [MO2];
3. an ability to follow subject specific academic conventions in both spoken and written tasks, such as referencing, citations, synthesising sources and their own argument, meeting task requirements, turn taking and building collaborative understanding [MO3];
4. a critical approach to their own work and the work of others through use of a range of sources, counter-argument and/ or evaluation; development of an argument with a clear position [MO3];
5. an ability to critically reflect on their own learning and demonstrate awareness of resources and techniques they could employ to continue their own development [MO4];
6. an ability to communicate an awareness of the cultural and ethical issues of academic study within the field of science, technology, mathematics and engineering [MO4].
This is a full-time course. On average students will have 16 hours of tuition per week, however, this may vary each week. You will also be expected to do up to an additional 19 hours or more of independent study each week.
Independent online learning:
Discipline-specific academic content & language
Preparation for group work
Private study:
Vocabulary and language development
Study skills development
Preparation for assessments
Each unit will be based around academic content. Students then work on understanding this content and the language used, alongside that of core texts, through a series of language classes and seminars. Students have the chance to work both individually and with others, and they will also produce pieces of independent work.
This course focuses on developing autonomous academic literacy (the ability to perform to their best ability within the context of UK academia). Students will work on developing these skills through a series of language classes, group work, discovery tasks, lectures and seminars. They will do so via discipline-specific academic content. Students will also be introduced to the processes of and tools for independent study, through both input methods and self-reflection.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminars | 39 | 2 | 78 |
| Tutorials | 6 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
| Class tests, exams and assessment | 2 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Group learning | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| Lecture | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Independent online learning hours | 50 | ||
| Private study hours | 103.5 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 96.5 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 250 | ||
This is a full-time course. On average students will have 16 hours of tuition per week, however, this may vary each week. You will also be expected to do up to an additional 19 hours or more of independent study each week.
Independent online learning:
Discipline-specific academic content & language
Preparation for group work
Private study:
Vocabulary and language development
Study skills development
Preparation for assessments
- Checking, and formative feedback of, students weekly performance on tasks, presentations and seminar participation
- Checking, assessing and giving feedback on students’ progress with weekly written tasks.
- In class informal observation by teachers on students use of language and level of engagement.
- The final assessments will be based specifically on the core areas of academic language and subject specific literacy.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | One essay of approx. 1,000 words | 50 |
| Presentation | Individual oral presentation of up to 15 minutes | 25 |
| Group Discussion | Student-led seminar discussion of 30 minutes | 25 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resits are offered for students who need to progress and who either do not meet the required overall score, or reach the required overall score but fail to reach the required score on more than one assessment component.
There is no reading list for this module
Last updated: 30/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team