English for academic purposes online

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English for academic purposes online

The Open University
Logo The Open University

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Description

Course Code: L185 Course Level: Undergraduate Subject Area: Arts and Humanities Course Qualification: Short Course This course is available for study in: Globally This course is NOT available in: China, South Africa

What you will study

This online course aims to develop the communication skills you need for successful academic study in English. Throughout the course, you will work with a wide range of texts from different subject areas. By exploring different subject areas you will develop the academic English that is most relevant to your study. You will use your knowledge and experience as you explore ways of reading and writing academic texts. You will also devel…

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Didn't find what you were looking for? See also: English (FCE / CAE / CPE), C/C++, French, Spanish, and Teaching Skills.

Course Code: L185 Course Level: Undergraduate Subject Area: Arts and Humanities Course Qualification: Short Course This course is available for study in: Globally This course is NOT available in: China, South Africa

What you will study

This online course aims to develop the communication skills you need for successful academic study in English. Throughout the course, you will work with a wide range of texts from different subject areas. By exploring different subject areas you will develop the academic English that is most relevant to your study. You will use your knowledge and experience as you explore ways of reading and writing academic texts. You will also develop your academic listening and speaking skills in an online environment.

This is an English for academic purposes course for the digital age. It will improve your performance in contemporary university study through the medium of English. To succeed at university, you need to be able to read and review a wide range of study material, make useful notes, and write assignments that answer the question effectively. This course is designed to help you develop the skills and language needed to do this successfully.

The course is made up of forty per cent reading, forty per cent writing, ten per cent listening and ten per cent speaking. You will develop academic English by turning academic reading and listening into academic writing and speaking.

You will work with authentic materials from a range of Open University courses. These materials are divided into two broad areas of academic study: science, maths, computing and technology; and the arts, humanities, social sciences, business and health studies. You will look at the similarities and differences across these areas. This will give you the chance to develop the particular language and skills you need for your own chosen areas of study.

You will explore how university study materials are organised and how academic language is used in them. You will work with student assignment texts to see how other students have turned reading and listening into writing and speaking. Finally, you will put into practice what you have learned. Throughout the course, you will be asked to think about your own ways of writing and how they compare with the academic ways you are studying.

Because the course is online, you will look at some of the aspects of academic English that come into focus in a global online environment. This includes the growing importance of multiple media in academic study, for example images, graphs, audio and video input.

At the end of the course, you will have developed your understanding of:

  • your own way of communicating and working in academic situations
  • a wide range of academic texts, including: description, cause and effect analysis, comparison, explanation, evaluation, persuasion and argument
  • text, paragraph and sentence structure
  • academic vocabulary
  • how to make the most of your computer in academic study
  • how to communicate more effectively in a global academic and work environment.

Time required and cost

This course typically takes 9 months to complete based on a regular study of 12 - 16 hours per week.

The fee for study commencing in academic year 2013/2014 is £1281.

NB: Costs and course content is subject to change.

Key dates

Please see the table below.

Entry requirements

As this course is a broad introduction to the study of academic English and to The Open University there are no academic entrance requirements for this course, but a certain level of English is recommended though not compulsory. If you need further advice regarding module registration please call us on the number shown at the top of the page, or click the call back button.

You will need good computing skills. For example, you should be able to search the Web, use email, use word processing packages and take part in online forums.

You will also need to be proficient in English, to an IELTS standard of 5.0. If you are unsure you will be able to take a free English test as part of the registration process.

Computing requirements

You will need a computer with internet access to study this course which includes online activities. You can only access these using a web browser with Flash and Java.

  • If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2006 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
  • If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
  • If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.5 or later.

You will also need a headset, with a microphone and earphones, to record audio files as part of your assessment for this course and talk to your tutor and other students online during some of the course activities.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the following regulations:

  • Student Regulations
  • Module Regulations
  • General Qualification Regulations.

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