The Professional Development Course for Graduate Studies will assist students to apply for graduate studies in an English Medium University and teach them skills and strategies to be successful graduate students. The application process for graduate study is complicated and difficult and mistakes during the application process can be the difference between acceptance or rejection to a program. To give students at SUSTech the best opportunity to further their studies abroad The Professional Development Course for Graduate Studies will engage students in the real life skills of the application process and teach them writing, listening, speaking, and some reading strategies. At the end of this course students will have completed the application process for graduate study and gained important intercultural communication skills and strategies to be successful in their future studies. Prerequisites: English for Academic Purposes III or EAP or English for Academic Purposes.
This course is to help students with ability to write academic paper correctly and make presentations with less difficulty. Even though this is not a writing course, to ensure good results, the following exercises are assigned: the writing of an abstract and an introduction to a paper based on any paper students have written, a complete paper for a conference with emphasis on correct format and style, the writing of a presentation script, and the making of PPT slides. If class size is so big that students’ correction becomes an overload for teachers, they may selectively make corrections of their papers. Students’ grammar and usage errors or problems should be summarily pointed out in class for students to avoid. Prerequisites: English for Academic Purposes III or EAP or English for Academic Purposes.
Lecture, 2 credits, 2 hours per week. Pre-requisites: CLE030 EAP or CLE003 EAP III or GE2000. This course examines the connections between science, magic, and fantasy through the lens of one of the most famous series of fantasy books ever written — Harry Potter. Using the novel, audiobook, podcasts, film, Ted Talks, and scientific essays, this course will develop students’ English through research, discussion, and analyses of both the historical and future connections between the world of science and magic. Questions such as “Could the famous Hogwarts sorting hat be explained through the neuroscience of brain imaging?” and “How can our biological understanding of taste explain Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans?” are just a tiny sampling of how the course will use both fiction and reality to build students’ critical thinking skills as well as English vocabulary, research skills, listening ability, and speaking fluency.
Globalization in this information age requires that scientific researchers should not only make innovations but also effectively to communicate about their research with others. As Melissa Marshall, a senior lecturer of communication skills to scientists and engineers at Penn State University, states that “science not communicated is science not done,” the importance of improving scientific researchers’ communication skills can never be underestimated. The goal of this course is to promote science and technology undergraduate students’ public speaking skills. With an emphasis on application of content, this course requires students learn to deliver effective speeches and presentations through applying the principles learned in class. Students need to read and comprehend a variety of materials, including video lectures, book chapters, journal articles, academic papers, news, and etc. The course delivery is modified to a blended course format using “flipped classroom” model and integrating MOOCs. The online teaching platform “Sakai” is used for the online components, including each week’s reading materials, video lectures, and discussion questions. Students are required to finish reading and view videos before class meetings, while in-class time is devoted to group discussions and class speeches/presentations. Class assignments include but are not limited to: extensive reading, video lectures, online and in-class discussions, oral presentations, and written reading response. Performance assessment of students will be based on attendance, assignments, class speeches/presentations, and participation.Prerequisites: English for Academic Purposes III or EAP or English for Academic Purposes.
The course of Communication Skills is one of the Specialized Direction Courses for students in various majors and conducted in bilingual languages. The course mainly introduces the fundamental concepts and principles of communication in context of internationalization. The main contents of the course are the foundations of successful communication, and application of three-step writing process on letters, memos, e-mail and other brief messages. Meanwhile, it applies the methods on how to prepare reports, oral presentations and employment messages and interview for job. Prerequisites: English for Academic Purposes III or EAP or English for Academic Purposes.
This is a test preparation course intended for learners who have an intermediate to upper-intermediate level of English. It will prepare them to sit the IELTS academic exam and help them to polish the primary language skills and develop the confidence needed to tackle the high level of difficulty that this test presents. The course will explore the test papers, examine in detail each task type, and gradually build up the skills, language and test techniques students need to approach IELTS with confidence.
This course will help students to understand how to prepare for the test effectively and develop the English-language skills for academic and daily purposes; help students set weekly practice goals and stay on track with strategies and tips that can be used to increase TOEFL scores; improve students English language skills on reading, writing, listening and speaking; help students acquire more knowledge about American culture, history and other aspects. After taking courses, students would be able to: acknowledge the details and requirements of TOEFL iBT(internet-based test); be familiar with the format of TOEFL and bolster their language levels on four aspects(reading, writing, listening and speaking), measured by TOEFL; employ the tips and techniques during taking TOEFL and increase scores; enhance their English language levels and get prepared for future English tests and academic study; develop their vocabulary and strengthen their grammar; enrich their knowledge about American history, art, natural science and etc.