English for International Conferences – ZIP

ogólnouniwersyteckie

Participation in the course requires signing of a Declaration of Project Participant and Statement of Project Participant (during first class meeting). Resignation from the course during the semester results in the need to reimbursing ZIP for the tokens used to register for the course.

Formal requirement: B2+ English

Participation in the course requires signing of a Declaration of Project Participant and Statement of Project Participant (during first class meeting). Resignation from the course during the semester results in the need to reimbursing ZIP for the tokens used to register for the course.

Formal requirement: B2+ English

This course aims at practicing skills and exploiting knowledge needed for successful participating in international conferences. It familiarizes doctoral students with the language of socializing, presentations and business correspondence. The course provides doctoral students with opportunities to prepare a presentation for an international conference using digital tools. It prepares them to communicate in the spoken and written form using the appropriate register and style and acquaints with current writing practices. The course practices key academic linguistic aspects and transferable skills required in the area of conference participation.

Classes are offered as part of the Integrated Action Program for the Development of the University of Warsaw, co-financed from the European Social Fund under POWER 3.5. The rules for the use of general university courses for PhD students in the ZIP (UW PhD Students' Regulations) are available at: www.zip.uw.edu.pl

Higher education has now become an increasingly global industry. There is a substantial increase in staff mobility, exchange of expertise through international projects and international conferences which calls for development of skills with regard to socializing, networking and communication in the intercultural context. Moreover, as scholarly writing is the core of professional practice for academics, the course focuses on its development in a structured way. This course aims at preparing doctoral students to function effectively in academia in the area of the following skills:

Module 1

Socializing: introducing yourself, small talk topics, successful social conversations.

Targeting a journal. Journal guidelines and conventions.

Abstract writing: abstract titles, abstracts across disciplines, IMRaD structure and other structures.

Module 2

Academic correspondence basics: e-mail structure, salutations and signature, useful expressions.

Degrees of formality and appropriate style. Punctuation.

Email types: thank you e-mail, asking about the publishing opportunity, hotel enquiry, responding to feedback from reviewers and editors.

Module 3

Abstract peer-revising and reviewing.

Conference poster: poster layouts, compressed language.

Writing practices. Fine-tuning for publication. Peer-review process. ASEO requirements.

Presentation basics.

Module 4

Intercultural communication and networking: small talk preferences for various nationalities, gestures and taboos differences.

Cultural differences in academic writing.

Module 5

Presenting a paper using digital tools: Prezi, Pecha Kucha, Haiku Deck.

Communicating globally using social media (Research Gate, LinkedIn, Twitter), getting feedback on your work, publicizing published work, building academic reputation.

This course familiarizes doctoral students with the language of socializing, presentations and business correspondence. It provides PhD students with opportunities to prepare a presentation for an international conference using digital tools. It prepares doctoral students to communicate in the spoken and written form using the appropriate register and style and acquaints with current writing practices. It practices key academic linguistic aspects and transferable skills required in the area of conference participation.

Selected journal articles, online materials

Emmerson, P. (2013). Email English: with new social media section and phrase bank of useful expressions. Macmillan.

Emmerson, P., & Hamilton, N. (2005). Five minute activities for Business English. Ernst Klett Sprachen.

Sowton, C. (2012). 50 steps to improving your academic writing: study book. Garnet Publishing.

Wallwork, A. (2011). English for academic correspondence and socializing. Springer Science & Business Media.

Wallwork, A. (2014). Email and Commercial Correspondence: A Guide to Professional English. Springer.

Wallwork, Adrian. (2016). English for Academic Correspondence. Springer.

Wallwork, A. (2016). English for presentations at international conferences. Springer.

Upon the course completion, the participants will have achieved the following learning outcomes in the areas mentioned below:

Knowledge:

knowledge and comprehensive understanding of

- how to prepare an informative abstract for an international conference

- how to prepare a well-organized and interesting presentation with the use of state-of-the-art technology

- how to communicate effectively in the spoken and written form at an international conference in the intercultural context

Skills:

- dividing the content into the stages of presentation and present it effectively

- establishing new contacts, conduct successful social conversations and do networking

- writing e-mails using the standard phrases and with the right level of formality

Social competences:

- cooperating and engage pro-actively in critical dialogue with other students in complex and specialized contexts to achieve aims

- providing feedback to peers on their contributions

Grading: presentation and participation in online and F2F meetings

The final grade will be based on:

Presentation: 50% - presenting a paper

Online participation: 25%

In-class participation: 25 %