(in Polish) Academic Discussions and Debates in English – ZIP

Practical course developing speaking skills in English for Academic Purposes by involving participants in a series of realistic oral tasks, including presenting one’s opinion on an academic issue, arguing for or against a thesis, debating and participating in academic discussions. Thanks to a task-based approach, the participants will have an opportunity to both improve their academic English and train important communication skills by learning the golden rules of participation in discussions and debates.

Zajęcia oferowane są w ramach Programu zintegrowanych działań na rzecz rozwoju UW, współfinansowanego z Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego, w ramach PO WER, ścieżka 3.5. Zasady korzystania z oferty zajęć ogólnouniwersyteckich dla doktorantów w ZIP (pn. Regulamin Zintegrowanego kształcenia doktorantów UW) dostępne są na stronie: www.zip.uw.edu.pl

EN: The course is offered under the ZIP program, co-funded from the EU Social Fund. The rules for participating in general academic courses for doctoral students offered within the ZIP program are available at: www.zip.uw.edu.pl

The main objective of the Academic Discussions and Debates in English course is to provide an opportunity to practice productive oral skills such as expressing opinions, arguing for or against a thesis, debating, and participation in discussions, which are much needed in the academic environment and required of both doctoral students and university faculty. The proposed course offers the chance to develop these skills by doing, i.e. participating in a series of realistic, communicative tasks in the safety of the classroom, where individual performance is co-graded by the teacher and fellow students. The course also seeks to improve the participants’ overall proficiency and fluency in spoken English by providing the language and formats used in expressing own views and supporting or rebutting the views of others. By being focused on academic matters, the course addresses the specific communication needs of doctoral students, who are faced with the challenge of expressing their opinions, discussing topics and debating issues in their doctoral seminars, scientific conferences and research projects involving international cooperation.

The course addresses the need of doctoral students and future academics to express their opinions on general and specific academic issues in various types of discussions and debates, as well as engage in polemics with other academics. It offers a chance to develop speaking, discussion and debate skills in English and to practice expressing one’s professional views in a friendly, classroom environment. While practicing these communication skills, the participants also become better listeners and consumers of academic communication.

The course teacher is an experienced university teacher of English, specializing in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Her previous contribution to the ZIP program, besides the first edition of ADDE, were courses: Academic Public Speaking in English and Public Speaking for Research Purposes, which also focused on productive oral skills.

Weston, A. (2009) A Rulebook for Arguments, 4th ed., Hackett

Morrow, D. & Weston, A. (2011) A Workbook for Arguments. A Complete Course in Critical Thinking. Hackett

After completing the course, the participant will be able to:

• competently express an opinion on an academic issue

• solicit, summarize, paraphrase and evaluate another person’s opinion

• effectively argue for or against a thesis

• correctly construct and support own arguments

• correctly rebut the opponent’s view

• effectively participate in academic discussions and debates

• summarize and draw conclusions from attended discussions and debates

Course credit is awarded for completing the 4 practical oral tasks and 2 graded home assignments listed above, as well as attendance and class participation. Participants must obtain at least 60% of available points to pass the course, while grades are awarded based on the following scale: 60-68% satisfactory (3), 69-76% satisfactory + (3+), 77-84% good (4), 85-92% more than good (4+), 93-100% very good (5). Full attendance is expected and more than 3 absences have to be made up.

Term grade (based on task performance, attendance and class participation)