Advanced (EAP)

Locations Newcastle (Callaghan Campus)
Sydney CBD
Duration 10 weeks
Contact hours 25 hours per week (Monday - Friday)
Overview The Advanced English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program develops all language skills with an emphasis on skills relevant to tertiary study. Essay and report writing, note-taking, preparation for tutorials, strategies for listening to and understanding lectures, undertaking research, discussion and oral presentations are included.
Entry requirements To enter the English for Academic Purposes Course students must have:
  • a pass in the Language Centre Upper Intermediate English for Academic Purposes Course, or
  • equivalent results in the class placement test given on entry to the Language Centre; or
  • an overall test score of 6.0 in the International Language Testing System (IELTS).

Students with an offer for Undergraduate programs may enter this course with an IELTS score of 5.5.
Expected outcomes Reading
  • Read and comprehend articles of both academic and general interest
  • Demonstrate the ability to skim, scan and read for detail.
  • Extract main and supporting information from the written text to demonstrate knowledge of the structure of texts.
  • Use context to determine meaning of unknown vocabulary.
Writing
  • Write a range of complex sentences with grammatical accuracy.
  • Communicate effectively by making appropriate lexical choices
  • Write paragraphs and essays containing appropriate coherence and cohesion devices.
  • Paraphrase either a brief piece of text (1 -2 sentences) or from a set of notes.
  • Summarize written texts from a set of notes.
  • Plan and write formal essays of different styles
  • Plan, research and write Research Reports.
  • Correctly use reference material from other authors, following appropriate academic conventions.
Listening
  • Understand formal and informal conversations or commentary on topics related to the student's academic, vocational and personal interest and experience.
  • Extract main and supporting information from a formal lecture presentation and be able to access required responses from the notes.
Speaking
    Prepare and deliver a 10 - 15 minute class oral presentation on a global or academic topic.
  • Communicate information of an informal nature about personal and professional life and cultural aspects.
  • Present ideas and arguments on topics of current or academic interest in both a formal and informal context.
  • Discuss matters pertaining to particular themes.
  • Prepare and deliver oral presentations to the class on familiar topics.Discuss matters pertaining to particular themes.
Course content

Each week the skills of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking are taught over 5 days in 25 hours (5 hrs /day). These skills are broken down into microskills which are sequentially taught, often linked to a particular theme, over the nine weeks of teaching/learning.

Reading
  • Predicting
  • Inferring
  • Skimming
  • Scanning
  • Reading for detail
  • Chunking
  • Understanding vocabulary in context
  • Understanding cohesive devices – referents
  • Linking words
  • Understanding text structure (including graphs and tables)
  • Interpreting/understanding graphs and tables
  • Selecting
  • Synthesizing information to prepare to write
  • Note taking
  • Understanding text structure
  • Main ideas and supporting information
  • Selecting and/or summarising important supporting information
  • Paraphrasing using abbreviations
  • Learning accepted lay-out conventions
Writing
  • The sentence - Complex sentences
  • The paragraph - structure, unity, cohesion (using referents and linking words), using concrete supporting information
  • Writing formats - Academic essay – structure, critical writing, using multiple texts as resources, expressing opinion supported by fact
  • Various structures - description, discussion, outline, problem & solution, cause and effect
  • Research Report - understanding structure and Academic conventions research skills - using NEWCAT and the Internet as a research tool, assessing the validity of sources, referencing skills, summarizing, paraphrasing, appropriate computer skills, working cooperatively in a group
  • Summary - extracting main idea from text, understanding point of view, selecting and condensing suitable supporting information, paraphrasing
  • Graphs and charts -interpreting graphs, analyzing and selecting key facts, the language of graphs
Listening
  • Listening for gist, listening for detail, inferring, predicting
  • Listening for text structure - main idea and supporting information
  • Extracting key information
  • Extracting for key information
  • Understanding discourse markers - verbal - linking words and patterns
  • Vocal - intonation and stress, listening for unstressed syllables, listening for attitude and tone in the speaker's voice
Speaking
  • Using appropriate language with correct pronunciation and stress
  • Impromptu presentations
  • Oral presentation- academic structure, discourse markers, using visual aids, summarizing
  • Discussion in small groups- giving opinion, challenging others, interrupting politely
  • Interviewing
Textbook

Oshima, A and Hogue, A., Writing Academic English (4th Edition) Pearson Longman.

Pakenham, K., Making Connections (2nd Edition), Cambridge University Press.
Assessment Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking skills are assessed. Marks are weighted as follows: 25% assessment tasks in week 7; 25% class marks; 50% end of course assessment tasks.

Passing the course

HP - Higher level pass for most postgraduate coursework and research programs - Students must obtain 65% or more in three of the four examinations. Only one exam may be in the 60-64% range. Each of the four exams is of equal weighting.

Some courses require higher grades, for example, Health Sciences, Law, M Pharmacy require marks of 70% or more. For full details see the University of Newcastle’s English Language Proficiency Policy.

EP - Undergraduate entry pass - for some undergraduate programs and Newcastle International College's Diploma program. Students must obtain 60% or more in each of the of the four examinations. Each of the four exams is of equal weighting.

LP - Lower level pass - Students must obtain 55% or more in three of the four examinations. Only one exam may be in the 50-54% range. Each of the four exams is of equal weighting.