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Course information for Pronunciation and Academic Discussions for Non-Native Speakers, an academic English course for graduate research students at UCL.
Course overview
This one-term course identifies your pronunciation difficulties and provides assistance with English pronunciation in an academic speaking context, such as academic discussions and seminars, as well as discussions with supervisors.
Which course should I take?
Pronunciation and Academic Discussions or Academic Presentations and Pronunciation
If you are unsure about which course is for you (Pronunciation and Academic Discussions for Non-Native Speakers or Academic Presentations and Pronunciation for Non-Native Speakers), or if you feel you would like to do both courses, it may depend on your level of English.
If you feel you need to work on your pronunciation in depth, you should do Pronunciation and Academic Discussions this term and Academic Presentations and Pronunciation next term.
On the other hand, if you are a strong speaker and don’t need much help with pronunciation (for example you can be understood easily and you speak English fluently), you should do Academic Presentations and Pronunciation this term and do not need to do Pronunciation and Academic Discussions.
Course aims
The course aims to:
- increase effectiveness in communication in an academic environment through better pronunciation;
- raise awareness of the most important features of English pronunciation;
- give additional support with your individual pronunciation needs through a one-to-one tutorial;
- provide guidance on a self-study programme in the relevant aspects of pronunciation.
Course content
These sessions will cover:
- Review of key sounds of English and awareness raising of sounds and spelling;
- Word and sentence stress in English; Intonation and sounding natural;
- Voice quality and confidence building in discussions and seminars, in person and online;
- Discussion strategies including defining subject area, giving opinions and turn-taking;
- Seminar-style discussions, mini-presentation about your own field, asking and answering questions about your own field, supervisor roleplays.
Course delivery
This course takes place online. It's an interactive course and to ensure you can participate fully, you must join each session from a quiet space where you can speak freely and join in all activities.
The teaching consists of one weekly 2-hour session, over 8 weeks.
Tutorials
In addition, you are provided with one 30-minute individual tutorial which takes place during the course at a time arranged between you and the tutor. The purpose of the tutorial is for both you and the tutor together to establish your main pronunciation and presentation priorities and to suggest remedial and self-study exercises. Regular general feedback on pronunciation and extended speaking is also provided in the class.
Course dates and times
| Day | Time | Location | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | 11am-1pm | Online | 24 April 2024 | 12 June 2024 |
One-to-one tutorials take place online.
How to register
Registration for this course is managed by UCL Doctoral Skills using inkpath. If you have not previously registered with inkpath, you will need to follow the ‘Use Single Sign-On’ button.
Attendance
In order to benefit fully from the course, we strongly recommend 100% attendance. If you have to miss a class, please inform the tutor beforehand.
Course Feedback / Staff-Student Consultative Exercise
All students on Academic English courses have the opportunity to give general feedback on their course to senior representatives of CLIE.
Academic support
If you have any questions about your course, please feel free to ask your tutor.
Alternatively, contact the Course Coordinator, Mrs Daphne Thomas: daphne.thomas@ucl.ac.uk.
Rights and Responsibilities
CLIE seeks to ensure that all students have a positive experience in respect of courses taken here, and fully adheres to the broader rights and responsibilities policies of UCL.
As part of our responsibility, our courses will follow a logical structure consistent with delivering the content and skills practise that we advertise, but with the freedom for teachers to respond (e.g. via needs analysis at the beginning of the course) to further relevant areas of particular interest to each student group.
Problems and complaints
If you are unhappy about any aspect of your course we would advise you in the first instance to speak to a member of staff at CLIE to see if the problem can be easily resolved within the department. For further details of our formal complaints procedure, please email the Academic English Course Coordinator or administration team at pteap@ucl.ac.uk.