This course aims at accommodating foreign students to higher education values, norms and standards to help them study more effectively as well as to communicate their ideas and needs in a relevant context using various alternative exponents which they have in their English language repertoire and that most likely help them to achieve academic aims in the most effective and successful way. Students will develop many important skills to support their study, including time management, discovering their own learning styles, reading more effectively and increasing their vocabulary. The course is divided into Part I: Academic English and Part II: Learning styles. Part I Introduction to Academic English helps students understand and improve the formal style of writing needed for university study, seminar and research papers and scholarly publications. The tasks have been designed for intermediate students with English at the minimum B1 level of CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference). The course takes students from paragraph structuring to essay writing through a process approach. Part II We all learn in different ways and understanding our own strengths helps us succeed. Learning about different learning styles helps students recognize their own style as well as understand how to study more autonomously. Students will investigate visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ways of learning and they will develop strategies to use their preferred learning style more effectively.

R: Rumisek, Lisa (2005). Academic Writing: From Paragraph to Essay, Macmillan, ISBN: 1405086068

A: Study Skills for University Success, available at https://www.coursera.org/lecture/study-skills-for-university-success/whats-your-learning-style-Bqxm0

Part I

1. Prewriting

2. Planning and outlining

3. Writing a first draft, topic and concluding sentences

4. Redrafting and revising, organizing paragraphs coherently

5. Editing and proofreading, using transitional vocabulary devices

6. Frequently asked questions about the writing process

7. Reflecting and giving feedback

Part II

1. An introduction to learning styles. Identifying what type of learning style works best for you.

2. More skills for successful learning in a university class.

3. An overview of visual learning, including useful tools and studying and reading strategies.

4. An overview of auditory learning, including useful tools and studying and reading strategies.

5. An overview of kinesthetic learning, including useful tools and studying and reading strategies.

6. Working in groups effectively, making suggestions to others.

7. Reflecting and giving feedback

Credit Requirements: Active participation in class; minimum attendance 80%; weekly journal writing, 2 revised essays.