Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

This eight-week course is taught by tutors in our Language Centre and helps students to improve and develop their general and discipline-specific English language and study skills, with a particular emphasis on writing and speaking, in order to allow them to function effectively in their postgraduate masters programmes.

Once you are accepted onto the presessional English course, you will not need to retake a language test. This means that you can concentrate on developing your postgraduate study skills.

The course runs for eight weeks and is comprised of 176 hours of teaching and 124 hours of self-study.

If you have applied for an XJTLU Master’s programme and meet the minimum English language requirements for the course as shown below, you may be accepted onto the Pre-sessional English summer course subject to Programme Director approval. Upon successful enrolment on the Pre-sessional English summer course, you will be able to change your XJTLU Master’s offer letter to ‘Unconditional’ for English level. If you are simply looking to improve your academic English language skills, and meet the minimum language requirements for the course as shown below, then you are welcome to elect to take this course.

After the course students will be able to:

• write clear and coherent paragraphs;
• understand the purpose of an academic essay, its components and structure;
• understand the purpose of an academic report, its components and structure;
• read and identify key information from extended academic texts;
• summarise, paraphrase and synthesize key information from a variety of sources;
• use references and citations skillfully to correctly synthesize material from outside sources into original work;
• deliver an academic presentation;
• lead and contribute to an academic seminar discussion.

Overview Expand/collapse this section This 8-week course includes a combination of seminar classes, weekly lectures, tutorials, and self-study. The 8 th week will include large group workshops, 1:1 feedback tutorials on the assessments, and induction activities.

Syllabus Expand/collapse this section The course will focus on transferable academic skills and language, with typical content covering:

Writing:

• Adopting a process approach to your writing
• Writing clear and well-organised paragraphs and essays
• Referencing and understanding principles of Academic Integrity
• Paraphrasing, summarising and quoting
• Improving awareness of academic style
• Improving cohesion and coherence in your writing

Speaking:

• Giving academic presentations
• Participating in academic seminar discussions
• Using appropriate functional language in your academic speaking
• Using information from sources in academic discussions and presentations

Reading:

• Skimming, scanning, getting the gist
• Identifying important information and selecting key ideas
• Evaluation of texts (including critical analysis of author, bias, purpose, genre, etc.

Listening:

• Following and taking notes in a lecture
• Strategies to deal with lecture listening

Academic skills:

• Reflection
• Time management
• Conducting secondary research
• Critically evaluating sources
• Creating Powerpoint presentations
• Editing your work

Tuition Expand/collapse this section RMB 23,000 (full fees as deposit) Course fees include course textbooks, supplemental materials, and a final certificate. Students who pay the fees by 31 May 2019 will receive a 20 percent discount.