The course is included in these curricula and study modules
- Plastics technology 2007 (international students) - General studies
- Plastics technology 2007 (native finnish speaking students) - General studies
- Plastics technology 2007 (native swedish speaking students) - General studies
- Plastics technology 2008 (international students) - General studies
- Plastics technology 2008 (native finnish speaking students) - General studies
- Plastics technology 2008 (native swedish speaking students) - General studies
- Plastics technology 2009 - General studies
- Plastics technology 2010 - General studies
- Plastics technology 2011 - General studies
- Plastics technology 2012 - General studies
Level/category
Teaching language
English
Type of course
Compulsory
Recommended year of study
1
Total number of ECTS
5 cr
Competency aims
The aim of the course is to develop aspects of English usage that can facilitate both academic study and professional duties.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student is expected to be better able to communicate with fellow professionals on matters of common interest and to demonstrate competence in writing skills, especially regarding formal writing style for academic purposes, as well as in different professional contexts.
In the written language the student is expected to
- better understand more difficult professional literature through an enhanced command of special terminology and by using reading skills such as determining meaning from context, recognising links within a text, retrieving information, and making inferences
- write cohesive text which fulfils the requirements of academic writing and apply the principles citing sources.
- write a lab report
- be better able to produce clear prose for professional purposes ranging from describing the configuration of a piece of equipment or the stages of a technical process to writing a letter of application and related CV.
- prepare material using PowerPoint to support an oral presentation
In the spoken language the student is expected to be better able to
- use English in social situations and to transfer information in one-to-one situations - deliver a presentation to a wider audience
- listen to an English discourse in order to more effectively identify the general ideas expressed or to extract specific information.
Course contents
Effective communication.
A review of grammatical structures that are important in technical English such as language forms required for process and technical description, etc., dimensions and specifications. The study of selected literature in order to illustrate the use of such language forms in context as well as to enrich vocabulary and generate discussion. Introduction to business English, including reading a company publication such as an annual report, profiling a company and the documentation related to job applications.
Professional presentations.
Writing lab reports
Prerequisites and co-requisites
Entrance test in English
Previous course names
-
Additional information
Please enroll for the course in Itslearning.
Attendance to all classes is compulsory. Graded assignments are subject to deadlines and must be completed BEFORE the course closing date in ASTA (i.e. the end of the course).
Recommended or required reading
Study Writing - a course in writing skills for academic purposes. Hamp-Lyons & Heasley (Cambridge 2006 ISBN 0-521-53496-8)
Academic Writing for Graduate Students – Essential Tasks and Skills -A Course for Nonnative Speakers of English – John M. Swales & Christine B. Feak (The University of Michigan Press)
The Good Grammar Guide – Richard Palmer (Routledge Study Guides – Routledge)
The Meriam-Webster Concise Handbook for Writers (Merriam-Webster)
Handbook of Technical Writing – Alred, Brusaw, Oliu (St. Martins Press)
Effective Business Communications – Murphy, Hidebrandt & Thomas (McGraw-Hill)
Guide to Managerial Communication - Effective Business Writing and Speaking – Mary Munter (Prentice Hall)
Mastering Communication – Nicky Stanton (Macmillan Master Series)
Collins Cobuild English Dictionary (HarperCollins)
WEB LINKS
*1. Arcada’s “Thesis Guide” (downloadable pdf file from the Arcada Library web page:
http://www.arcada.fi/en/library/degree-thesis External link)
*2. Harvard Referencing ‘Quote, unquote’ pdf download link:
http://skillsforlearning.leedsmet.ac.uk/Quote_Unquote.pdf External link
3. Michael Harvey’s “The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing”:
http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/ External link
Study activities
- Lectures - 60 hours
- Individual- and group instruction - 20 hours
- Small-group work - 20 hours
- Project- and production work/artistic activities - 13 hours
- Individual studies - 20 hours
- Internet-based studies - 0 hours
Workload
- Total workload of the course: 133 hours
- Of which autonomous studies: 133 hours
- Of which scheduled studies: 0 hours
Mode of Delivery
Participation in tuition
Assessment methods
- Demonstrations and proficiency exams
- Essays, reports, productions and portfolio
Assessment requirements
Course assessment is based on an overall grade for participation, the completion of coursework, and graded assignments.
Graded written assignments
Graded oral assignment
Participation
Teacher
Kimberley Nigel
Examiner
Kimberley Nigel
Home page of the course
Group size
No limit
Assignments valid until
Until date 2013-06-15
Assessment methods
- Date will be announced later - Demonstrations and presentations
- 2012-06-05 - Reports and productions