XEN0022 English Academic Skills for Exchange Students (3 cr)

Content

This course supports and prepares students who will study abroad at three levels. First, they are given opportunities to practice tasks and situations they will encounter in the host academic institutions, such as participating in lectures and seminars, and writing various types of academic assignments. Second, it raises awareness about cross-cultural issues, including different institutional norms and politeness conventions. Finally it offers opportunities for students to network with and share information with other students studying abroad.

Completion methods

Individual, pair and group assignments and tasks.

At the end of the course, students should be better prepared to:

• identify different cultural norms, communication styles, and academic conventions
• use language resources and strategies for coping with large quantities of reading in English
• use note-taking and active listening strategies to cope with lectures and courses in English
• engage in-class discussions, as well as other forms of communication with lecturers and university staff (such as email), while paying attention to politeness rules and cultural expectations related to participation
• understand and respond in clearly structured, academic writing to different kinds of assignments, including in-class exams and out-of-class essays and reports 

Elective course

TARGET GROUP: Outgoing JYU degree students who are leaving to study abroad in the university’s exchange programmes. Please note this course is NOT for international exchange students coming to Finland on exchange.

PROFICIENCY LEVEL: B2 -> C1