Objectives and competences

• The competence to think critically about a problem from their study field • Advanced competence for oral and written communication in scientific English • Advanced competence to find information on scientific vocabulary unassisted • Advanced competence to find information on scientific reading and writing in scientific English

Content (Syllabus outline)

Recalling and practicing the main grammar structures (tenses, conditionals, passives, etc.) with a special emphasis on their usage in scientific texts. The students read materials on how to read and understand a scientific article and read several scientific articles on agricultural topics. During the reading, the structure, style and format of a scientific article in English and we discuss how the language is used, how specifically paragraphs are formed and what role the grammar structures play in civeying meaning. Scientific writing of paper sections is practiced. The students each get a scientific article to put into a scientific poster form and have to present it in English.

Learning and teaching methods

• lectures • group work • individual work • flipped classroom • study stations • clasroom discussions • brainstorming

Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding

• A deepened knowledge on grammar structures in scientific English such as tense structures in scientific articles, modal verbs, passives in scientific articles, adjectives, adverbs of frequency • Expanding scientific English vocabulary and phraseology pertaining to narrow specified agricultural fields such as the influences of the soil and the environment on the crop, animal behaviour, production, reworikng and usage of pesticides and fertilisers, etc. (the narrow scientific topics change through time, depending on the up-to-date scientific articles chosen for the semester) • Unassisted reading and writing of parts of scientific texts in English (intorduction, literature review, methodology section, results) • Recognition and critical observation of English use in scientific texts

Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes

Readings

• Raff, Jennifer (2017). How to Read and Understand a Scientific Paper: A Step-by-Step Guide for Non-Scientists. • O’Leary, Zina (2009). The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Ltd. • Glasman-deal, Hilary. (2009). Science Research Writing For Non-native Speakers Of English. London: Imperial College Press. • Hewings, Martin. (2005). Advanced Grammar in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Prerequisits

None.