Institution:
University of Jyväskylä Language Centre
Jyväskylä

Address:
University of Jyväskylä Language Centre
Main Campus (Seminaarinmäki), Building O (Oppio)
PO.Box 35 (O)
40014 UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ
Jyväskylä
Telefax +358 14 260 3751

Degree-specific courses

According to the statutes concerning university degrees in Finland, all higher education students must have adequate skills in one or two foreign language(s) to be able to update their professional expertise in their fields of study and operate successfully in an international work environment. Faculty- and domain-specific courses in academic and professional reading, speaking, writing and research communication, as well as a wide variety of electives are offered in the English programme for students to be able to complete their degree requirements and to develop their skills to meet the future challenges of internationalised working life.

• Academic Reading Courses, 1ov (2 ECTS)
  Compulsory course for most undergraduate degrees, and also for some Master’s degrees.
  Target group: 1st year students.
  Aims: To develop effective strategies for reading extensive scientific texts in student’s own field, to learn subject-specific terminology and research reporting conventions, and to learn how to search and synthesise information orally and in written form in Finnish and in English.
  Assessment basis: Active participation in classroom activities including individual, pair and co-operative group work and presentations in English and in Finnish. Successful completion of all assignments.
  Learning outcomes of academic reading in English - Students must know how to:
  · skim, scan, find main points, infer meanings, use mindmaps etc., do self/peer assessment and peer work;
  · use dictionaries critically and develop vocabulary and communication skills;
  ·  distinguish between reports, surveys, position papers etc and identify their discourse structures and vocabulary;
  ·  search and use and evaluate e-materials and identify their target audiences and purposes;
  ·  identify and understand qualitative and quantitative reports and cultural loadings;
  ·  synthesize and formulate research info in own words in Finnish and in English.
  The faculty-specific courses are listed.

• Academic Communication Skills, 1-2ov (2-4 ECTS)
  Compulsory course for most undergraduate/graduate degrees.

  Target group: Primarily second year (Finnish) students

  Prerequisites: Academic Reading (Text Workshop/Text&Terminology) where required.

  Aims: To develop oral communication skills in academic and professional situations relating to students’ own field, and to familiarize students with the conventions and cultural considerations associated with spoken production and interaction.

  Assessment basis: Assessment is based on active participation in class, successful completion of assignments, and preparation and delivery of a field-specific presentation. Assessment is on a scale of 1-3.

  Core skills: By the end of the course a student must know how to:

  ·  communicate orally in informal and formal situations within an academic and workplace context;

  ·  make a professional presentation that follows internationally accepted norms;

  ·  find and use electronic resources to facilitate and support the above;

  ·  cope with basic intercultural differences in communication.

  Course activities include some or all of the following: pair and group work; problem-solving exercises; use of the electronic language resources; case studies; individual/group presentations; seminar-type discussions; pronunciation practice.

  The faculty/domain-specific courses are listed.

   

• Combined Academic Reading and Communication Skills, 3 op
  Compulsory course (new degrees) for undergraduate/graduate degrees in humanities, social sciences, and education.
  Target group: Either first year (spring) or second year (Finnish) students.
  Aims: To develop communication and presentation skills for academic and professional contacts relating to students’ own field and future profession. To familiarise students with basic aspects of intercultural communication. To develop effective strategies for research reading and synthesising. To develop communication confidence and team working skills.
  Assessment basis: Active participation in classroom activities including individual, pair and co-operative group work, presentation of research information, and preparation and delivery of a field-specific professional presentation. Successful completion of all assignments. Assessment is on a scale of 1-5.
  Core skills: By the end of the course a student must know how to:
  ·  communicate orally in informal and formal situations in academic and workplace contexts;
  ·  communicate in teams and do collaborative tasks;
  ·  develop own communication and reporting strategies;
  ·  use dictionaries in a critical way and develop own vocabulary and terminology;
  ·  cope with basic intercultural differences in communication;
  ·  make a professional presentation that follows internationally accepted norms;
  ·  skim, scan, and use proper strategies for reading extensive field-specific and research texts with increasing confidence and at sufficient speed;
  ·  locate necessary information in a text and organise information for a summary or synthesis;
  ·  find and use electronic and other resources for own study and research purposes;
  ·  do self-assessments and peer assessments and give feedback.
  The faculty/domain-specific courses are listed.

• Professional Reporting, 2 ov (4 ECTS)
  Compulsory course for Bachelor's / Master’s degrees in economics at the School of Business and Economics and Faculty of Information Technology
  Target group: Students pursuing the MSc (econ) degree; primarily third year (Finnish) students
  Aims: To enhance students' awareness of and experience in domain-specific written and oral communication to various audiences and for various purposes. To develop communicative confidence in scientific and professional language use. To develop students' research skills and ability to review and evaluate their own writing and speaking performance.
  Assessment basis: Assessment is based on active participation and successful completion of the written and oral assignments and consists of self-assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment (on a scale of 1-3).
  Content: Content varies according to discipline. The course may also be integrated with subject studies. Typical writing assignments include professional writing (CV, cover letter, project plan or report, etc.) and scientific writing (annotated bibliography, synthesis, abstract, etc.) and typical speaking assignments would be some form of research reporting, participating in a seminar, discussion, or project meeting, etc.
  The faculty/domain-specific courses are listed.

Keywords: English courses for university students – credit-earning courses - blended education – scientific reading skills – academic reading skills – research reporting - research reporting conventions – information searching – information synthesis skills  – academic communication skills – evaluation of information - presentation skills - presentation norms – electronic resources use – research reading – team working skills – research skills – professional reporting – scientific writing – seminar skills