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851-0834-07L 2 Credits DS D-GESS

Academic reading, speaking and vocabulary (B2)

Lecturers & Examiners: Dr. Paschal Maher
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:24:17

Abstract

This course caters for all students who must read academic texts in English as part of their degree studies

Objective

The course aims to enable students to read with a greater degree of independence, be that scanning quickly through long and complex texts to obtain specific information or reading for detailed understanding. An additional goal is that participants will be able to summarise, comment on or discuss the points of view or main themes elaborated in the texts.

Content

The course has three main pillars: 1.Vocabulary: It will introduce the academic wordlist (most common word families occuring in academic texts) 2.Reading Strategies: It will explore a variety of reading approaches 3.Learning awareness: It will encourage students to assess the effectiveness of their own style of study in relation to academic texts in English with a view to developing better reading skills

Resources

Lecture Notes

Students will receive a copy of any formal lecture material however most of the lessons require active student participation.

Literature

Models for reading will be provided through authentic academic texts from a variety of fields. In addition, students will have the opportunity to practice on texts that they are required to read for their own degree programme. Participants will be expected to contribute towards costs of photocopying at the beginning of the course (about Sfr12)

General Information

Language
English
Levels
DS
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
end-of-semester examination
This will be a combination of continuous assessment and a report to hand in at the end of the semester. The continuous assessments will cover vocabulary use (35%). The report (65%) will focus on an analysis of how the student applied the reading strategies covered in the course to his or her own degree programme.

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Academic reading, speaking and vocabulary (B2)
Teilnehmerzahl beschränkt
  • Tue 16:15-18:00
  • Tue None-None
2 h weekly

Offered In