GA4002 - Academic Language Skills for Newcastle Business School i2i

This module is taught by weekly interactive seminars. Each seminar will be based around a particular academic skill and will be sequenced to follow the research and writing process or tied into your business modules to prepare you for their specific requirements. Within the seminars you will be asked to participate in a variety of individual and small group tasks as well as full class discussions. Your participation is essential as with many of these tasks the process of working towards the final answer is much more important than the final answer itself. Many of the tasks have no single correct answer and so it is important that you share your views. Over the course of the module, you should develop confidence in your own ability to process texts, extract relevant information and construct written answers from it.

We will keep directed, independent learning to a minimum on this module but in order to maximise the effectiveness of our seminar time together we may ask you to read some text extracts outside of seminar time. You will be required to prepare for the assessments outside of class time.

All teaching materials for the module are made available on the module electronic learning portal (eLP) site, Blackboard. You will be provided with a teaching and learning plan that outlines the formal sessions, along with the tutor-directed study tasks and independent reading associated with each session.

Teaching staff operate an ‘open door’ policy for students meaning you can approach them anytime during normal office hours, or via email, to answer questions, receive feedback and support your learning on the module.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• MLO1: Read and evaluate the relevance and usefulness of information in a variety of academic sources effectively
• MLO2: Recognise and apply the conventions of academic writing, and write effectively within an academic context
• MLO3: Collate subject-related information, and prepare and deliver academic presentations
• MLO4: Assess personal strengths and weaknesses in relation to academic study and language skills, and identify strategies that can be used to further develop their skills.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

Summative Assessment:
The module is assessed by three components. These are attendance, a presentation and a written assignment. They are all pass/fail. All three must be passed to complete the module.

Attendance of 70% of the seminars is required. [All MLOs]

Preparation and delivery of a short individual discipline-related presentation that is relevant to your area of study. [MLO3]

A short individual written subject-specific assessment that is relevant to your subject discipline. [MLO2]

Feedback:
Class discussion and tutor feedback on in class exercises will support your learning and provide guidance for the summative assessments. Written feedback will be provided on summative assessed work. For presentation, feedback will be supplemented with verbal comment and discussion.


* (If you have valid grounds for non-attendance [such as illness], then appropriate documentary evidence [such as a doctor’s letter] must be provided to the module tutor at the following session.

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Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural differences in teaching and assessment practices. The aim of this module is to support you on your business program by helping you to understand what a British university expects of you in terms of critical engagement, research skills, written academic language and verbal communication skills. Understanding these requirements will help you to take control of your studies and become an independent learner. The weekly seminars will be developed to tie in with your credit -bearing business modules and you build the skills required as you need them. Directed learning outside the seminars will be kept to a minimum to allow you to focus fully on your business program. Participation and active engagement in the seminars is absolutely essential to getting the most from this module.