Students

APPL8420 – Teaching English for Academic Purposes

2020 – Session 2, Special circumstance

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Dana Skopal
Cassi Liardet
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MAppLing or MAppLingTESOL or MTransInterMAppLingTESOL
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
APPL7420
Unit description Unit description

This unit will provide you with an understanding of the features of academic discourse, focusing on the genres used by different disciplinary communities, and the way these communities use the lexico-grammatical resources of academic English to achieve their purposes. We examine the identities projected by academics in their writing, and the ways in which student writers develop their understanding of and ability to project appropriate identities. This understanding provides the basis for consideration of approaches to needs analysis, course and materials development and assessment. The problems faced by both native and non-native speakers of English will be explored. Students will have the opportunity to follow their own interests in their selection of assignment topics.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Critically discuss the nature and features of academic discourse, and explain key issues related to teaching language for academic purposes to both first language and second language speakers
  • ULO2: Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to use a range of academic genres
  • ULO4: Critically evaluate academic language course design and select appropriate learning materials drawing on principles of needs analysis and discourse analysis
  • ULO3: Apply principles of discourse analysis to academic texts
  • ULO5: Evaluate the appropriateness of academic language teaching materials and assessment tasks for use with specific student cohorts

General Assessment Information

How to apply for a late submission of an assignment All requests for special consideration, including extensions, must be submitted via ask.mq.edu.au and provide suitable supporting documentation. Late Assignment Submission • Late submissions without an extension will receive a penalty of 5% of the total mark available for the assessment task per day, including weekend days. • Late submission of an assessment task without an extension will not be accepted at all after the date on which marked assessment tasks have been released to the rest of the class. Any student with unsubmitted work at this date will receive a mark of 0 for the assessment task. Extensions that will result in submissions after the assessment task has been returned to the class will require a separate assessment task to be completed at the unit convenor's discretion. • Extensions will only be given in special circumstances, and can be requested by completing the Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au and providing the requisite supporting documentation. • For more information on Special Consideration, see the university website https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration • If a student fails the unit due to non-submission of an assignment or non-attendance at an exam, an FA grade will be applied in accordance with the University's Assessment Policy.

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Article or Chapter Summary 20% No 16/8/20
Essay: Area of Interest 40% No 20/9/20
Materials Review 40% Yes 8/11/20

Article or Chapter Summary

Assessment Type 1: Summary
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 16/8/20
Weighting: 20%

 

For this assignment, students summarise the main ideas in a chapter or article on academic discourse (1000 words)

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically discuss the nature and features of academic discourse, and explain key issues related to teaching language for academic purposes to both first language and second language speakers
  • Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to use a range of academic genres
  • Apply principles of discourse analysis to academic texts

Essay: Area of Interest

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 20/9/20
Weighting: 40%

 

Students explore a topic related to teaching English for Academic Purposes that is of interest to them (2000 words).

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically discuss the nature and features of academic discourse, and explain key issues related to teaching language for academic purposes to both first language and second language speakers
  • Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to use a range of academic genres

Materials Review

Assessment Type 1: Qualitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 32 hours
Due: 8/11/20
Weighting: 40%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

Students critically analyse teaching materials taken from published sources (2500 words)

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically discuss the nature and features of academic discourse, and explain key issues related to teaching language for academic purposes to both first language and second language speakers
  • Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to use a range of academic genres
  • Critically evaluate academic language course design and select appropriate learning materials drawing on principles of needs analysis and discourse analysis
  • Apply principles of discourse analysis to academic texts
  • Evaluate the appropriateness of academic language teaching materials and assessment tasks for use with specific student cohorts

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lecture (online):  A one hour weekly recorded lecture

Workshop (online):  A one hour weekly interactive workshop via Zoom

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.