סילבוס M4

אנגלית למסטרנטים רמה M4  (מספר הקורס: 41034)

 English for MA Students -  level M4

           היקף שעות:  4 ש"ס

Course purpose and overview:

The main objective of the M4 course is to improve students’ proficiency in English for use in academic and/or professional settings. The primary focus is on enhancing reading comprehension of advanced academic texts and responding to them in writing and speaking. To this end, a variety of reading, writing, and language skills are taught and practiced throughout the course. Speaking and listening are integrated into the class sessions and assignments, and all students prepare and deliver a professional/academic oral presentation.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to do the following:

• Read and respond to authentic academic texts

• Survey and skim texts to identify their type, structure, purpose, and main idea, and grasp their content and structure

• Navigate empirical research articles to extract relevant information

• Analyze the main points of texts to outline, summarize, or respond critically to them

• Improve oral proficiency and listening comprehension by participating in class activities and assignments

• Prepare and deliver a professional/academic oral presentation

Teaching techniques, technology use, guest speakers:

• Frontal instruction

• Pair/group work

• Class discussions

• Lamda assignments (e.g., forums, videos)

• Internet use: videos, supplementary material (in class/homework)

• Games and activities using cell phones

Reading strategies, language components, and related reading selections:

Below is a list of the reading, writing, and language skills taught and practiced in the course:

• Identifying various types of academic articles

• Understanding the structure and typical contents of academic articles

• Empirical research articles: structure and contents

• Pre-reading / Surveying / Predicting

• Skimming texts to search for information and/or to get the gist

• Reading introductions and conclusions to extract main idea, purpose, question and/or conclusion of texts

• Paragraph structure (identifying main ideas and supporting details)

• Sentence structure (nominal phrases, simple, compound, and complex sentences)

• Academic language and register (e.g., hedging, formality); academic vocabulary

• Transitions and organizational markers in reading and writing

• Meta-cognitive awareness of reading strategies and processes

• Reading fluency and speed

• Summarizing and paraphrasing

• Paragraph writing (structure and development)

• Writing from sources (citation, quoting)

• Relevant grammatical and mechanical issues

• Preparing academic/professional presentations (structure, presentation skills, PPT preparation)

• Speaking and listening practice

Course requirements:

• Attendance and active participation in class sessions

• Successful completion of class assignments and homework

• Oral presentation

Components of the course grade:

The final course grade is pass/fail, with all coursework earning a minimum of 75 to merit a passing grade. The grade is based on a series of assignments completed throughout the semester as follows:

• Two written assignments (70%):

-       Text-based paragraph (2 drafts submitted individually)

-       Longer written academic/professional assignment (1-2 drafts)

• Oral Presentation (20%) (individual or pair work)

• Classwork / Homework (10%)

Bibliography:

Authentic academic articles compiled by each lecturer in a course booklet posted on Lamda.

Articles chosen by individual students based on their individual needs.