English II

This course (together with English I) provides students with an understanding of academic English sufficient to cope successfully with the demands of studying in an Australian university. The course develops skills in speaking and oral presentations, communicating ideas effectively using appropriate language forms; listening, note taking and comprehension; reading and critical thinking; writing cohesive and coherent text, paraphrasing and summarising; practice in developing primary and secondary research skills, referencing and practice in composing texts for a range of purposes and audiences.

1 Reading:

• Read text for main ideas and details
• Comprehend and answer questions on a range of texts
• Critically analyse facts, opinions and purpose in a variety of texts
• Use a variety of reading strategies appropriately
• Take effective notes while reading
• Analyse the structure of the text
• Use context to infer the meaning of new vocabulary while reading
• Use the variety of sources to obtain information

2 Listening:

• Listen for main ideas and details in long and short texts and lectures
• Listen for sign posts and use structure to understand the meaning and purpose of a text
• Take effective notes while listening
• Listen for specific language features eg: word forms or stress
• Understand instructions given orally
• Follow a group discussion in order to participate actively

3 Writing:

• Understand the difference between informal and academic writing styles
• Compose texts for a range of purposes and audiences

4 Speaking:

• Actively participate in group and class discussions
• Explain concepts and ideas to others
• Use appropriate intonation and stress to convey meaning
• Identify and practice pronunciation of sounds and stress patterns in words and sentences

5 Vocabulary and Grammar:

• Use a range of sentence types (eg: a mix of complex, compound and simple sentences)
• Use a range of tense forms accurately
• Use academic style
• Attempt to use less common and learned vocabulary
• Use the self-correction code to identify and reduce language areas