IL1AFSN-Academic Skills and Language for Food Science

Module Provider: International Study and Language Institute
Number of credits: 0 [0 ECTS credits]
Level:4
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Mr James Wylie
Email: j.wylie@reading.ac.uk

Module Co-convenor: Ms Sarah Mattin
Email: s.mattin@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This non-credit-bearing module is delivered at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø for students who are beginning to study degrees delivered by the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at undergraduate level. It is primarily for international students whose first language is not English. The module recognises the need to continue language development, develop academic skills and enhance familiarity with common types of assessment task in the UK university Food Science context to which they are transitioning.Ìý

Aims:

This module Ìýaims to develop the students' familiarity with, and linguistic ability to perform effectively, a range of relevant academic tasks in the UK university Food Science context. This developmental enhancement has been designed to be transferrable to other modules, both concurrent and future, and thus help facilitate the students' assessment task and overall performance in their undergraduate Food Science degree courses at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. It aims to enhance students' academic English self-confidence.

On completing this module, students should be better able to:

• Write a laboratory report


• Apply paraphrasing and Harvard referencing academic conventions


• Describe data presented in a table or chart


• Produce a presentation with impact


• Distinguish between informative and persuasive presentations


• Appraise their current presenting performance


• Write a Food Science exam answer and essay


• Explain the meaning of Food Science terms


• Describe and explain a Food Science process


• Distinguish between common Food Science essay command words


• Critically evaluate information, objects and concepts


• Recognise how noun phrases can be combined in academic writing

Assessable learning outcomes:

N/A

Additional outcomes:

On completing this module, students should also be better able to:

• Use a broader range of academic and subject-specific language more fluently and accurately


• Plan assignments


• Use Blackboard and Turnitin


• Carry out classroom tasks with peers


• Carry out interaction with university staff


• Appraise their ongoing language needs and take appropriate developmental action

Outline content:

The content of this module is divided into three strands of learning:

Strand 1: Laboratory reports

Strand 2: Presentations

Strand 3: Exam, essay and assignment writing

Global context:

This module supports internationalisation at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø by facilitating successful and equal inclusion of students whose first language is not English in UK degree programme study.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

The module will adopt an overall ‘genre’ approach, taking the social purpose of texts as the starting point to explicate organisation/structure and key discourse and language features.

It takes a discipline-specific approach to language and literacy development using example student texts and published Food and Nutritional Sciences-specific sources in classroom tasks.Ìý

Teaching and learning is facilitated in a generally task-based appro ach, through a combination of reflective and productive activities, guided analysis of laboratory report and Food Science journal extracts and sample texts, and peer and tutor feedback. The guided analysis of texts involves 'noticing' of key organisational and linguistic features in context, and productive activities