Subject

Scientific English I

  • code 13483
  • course 1
  • term Semester 2
  • type OB
  • credits 4

Matter: HABILIDADES ORIENTADAS A LA PROFESIÓN

Main language of instruction: English

Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish

Teaching staff

Head instructor

Dra. Mandy Lee DEAL - mdeal@uic.es

Other instructors

Dra. Monica CLUA - mclua@uic.es

Office hours

Important information:

Attendance and participation:  Students are reminded that attendance and participation in class and continuous evaluation are fundamental to passing the course. Furthermore, group work outside of class will also form a major part of the evaluation. 

It will not be possible to pass the course by only taking the final exam in any sitting.

Make up exams

The 2nd sitting consists of an exam and may also include a writing and/ or oral presentation component. 

 

Students must confirm their attendance to the second sitting exam with their teacher and course coordinator, and they will be required to make an appointment with the teacher at least one month prior to the exam date in order to receive information regarding what the exam session will consist of. 

 

Other exams: Students who miss a midterm exam, and who have a valid justification (i.e. medical certificate) must present it to their teacher the following day of class. At the end of the term, if the student has attended at least 80% of the classes, he or she will be able to make up the midterm on the day of the final exam.

 

Many small progress tests, or quizzes, will be given throughout the course. No make-up quizzes will be given, so students who miss a quiz will receive a 0 for that quiz.  However, because each quiz bears little weight individually in the course evaluation, missing one will have little effect on the total grade.

 

Introduction

The aim of this program is primarily to provide students with the necessary academic language required to understand and present Biomedical Sciences research in English.  Critical reading and listening skills are particularly emphasized for this purpose, while speaking and writing skills are mainly reinforced to consolidate knowledge and to promote academic communication.

The programme contains 3 elements that include class-based lessons, tutorials and self-study.

The teacher-led lessons focus on reading and listening activities related to topics in the field of scientific research and Biomedical Sciences.  Such activities are designed to develop comprehension within an academic setting.  Speaking and writing activities aim at enhancing communication common to university and conference environments as well as to facilitate a solid linguistic base for the elements introduced throughout the course. 

Tutorials will focus on student development and interpersonal skills and will include an evaluated group project.  

The final part is the self-study element which primarily focuses on developing reading, writing and listening skills, consolidating grammar, specific lexis and increasing the autonomy of the learner when learning a foreign language.

Pre-course requirements

Recommended minimum level of English at the start of the course is B1+

Objectives

 Classroom: 

To prepare and equip students with the language tools necessary to understand, synthesize and present biomedical research in English.

 

To reinforce the receptive skills of reading and listening and to facilitate the development of the productive skills of speaking and writing through interactive activities.

 

Tutorial:

To develop students’ interpersonal skills and ability to work with others in both their own language and in an additional language.

 Autonomous learning:

To increase reading comprehension skills through tasks requiring students to analyze language on a lexical and structural basis, main and supporting ideas, and organizational patterns common in English literature related to Biomedical Sciences; to reinforce listening comprehension skills; to review high-frequency discourse / language use  encountered in biomedical research.

Competences / Learning outcomes of the degree programme

 Basic competencies:

CB3: to be able to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of study) on which a critical  reflection on relevant issues of a social, scientific or ethical nature can be based

CB4: to be able to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to a specialized and non-specialized audience

 

GENERAL COMPETENCES:

CG8: to be able to use complementary tools towards the fundamental training in the Ddegree, which will facilitate the graduate’s later job placement.

TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCES:

CT1 to develop the appropriate organizational and planning skills when needed.

CT2 to develop the ability to solve problems.

CT3 to develop the necessary skills for analysis and synthesis.

CT4 to be able to interpret experimental results and identify consistent and inconsistent elements.

CT6 to learn how to communicate, present presentations and write scientific work.

CT7 to be able to work as a team.

CT10 to be able to carry out autonomous learning.

 

SPECIFIC COMPETENCES:

CE21: to be able to apply communication tools specific to the professional environment of the biomedical sciences in English.

Learning outcomes of the subject

Students will be able to:

  • demonstrate oral communication skills, both for specialized and non-specialized audiences.
 
  • use grammatical tools in order to achieve a appropriate written and oral communication in English for the preparation of reports and other training and professional activities developed in the field of biomedicine.

Syllabus

Topics:

Students will cover topics related to the evidence-based approach to Biomedicine as well as areas of most immediate relevance to current experimental studies in biomedical research.

 

 

Discipline-specific Language Skills

Students will learn to read, understand and discuss academic literature related to biomedical and experimental research. Furthermore, they will learn to recognize main features and the common format of experimental research articles. They will develop synthesis skills of material covered throughout the course.

 

Language Knowledge:

Instruction of this component is dependent on the students' language level. Students will revise/consolidate knowledge about professional and academic discourse related to health sciences research, the organization of information provided in scientific articles, and citation of sources.

 

Teaching and learning activities

In person

Students will actively engage in the process of reading, analyzing and synthesizing information from a variety of academic genres specific to Biomedical Sciences, such as extracts from textbooks and medical journals. Students will discuss course contents in collaborative tasks. They will give presentations as well as produce some writing assignments. Listening activities will comprise listening for general and specific information given in lectures by a professor and presentations by other students and online speakers.

 

Evaluation systems and criteria

In person

Activity

% of final course mark


Final Exam

 

 

 

25%

 

 

Midterm exam

15%

 

 Course work:

-Progress tests

-Collaborative learning tasks

-Autonomous learning tasks/ Written work

 

 

 

 

20%

 

 

Group project:

Oral presentation of experimental research

40%

Bibliography and resources

Bibliography and resources

Class-based materials:

Class-based materials are based on a wide range of professional and educational resources from current online professional journals and textbooks.

 

Online materials for self study.


Teaching and learning material:

Mayer D. Essential Evidence-Based Medicine.  2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. 2009

 

Evaluation period

E: exam date | R: revision date | 1: first session | 2: second session:

  • E1 05/06/2020 14:00h
  • E2 30/06/2020 14:00h
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