contents€¦ · list of figures and tables figure 2.1 types of memory 12 figure 2.2 the importance...

Contents

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 What’s New about Studying in English? 1Three language learners’ stories 1Now you write 5Conclusion 5

Chapter 2 How to Become a Better Language Learner 6What language skills do you need to improve? 6Rate your own English 7Planning your learning: setting goals 8What kind of learner are you? 9Choosing the right language school and course 15Getting to know your language centre 18Building a language portfolio 19Keeping a language journal 21Learning English the relaxed way 22Materials for further study 26Conclusion 28

Chapter 3 Studying Abroad 29Study abroad options 29Where to go? 30Applying for a scholarship 32Which language test is right for me? 34How do scores on TOEFL and IELTS compare? 35Conditional admission 36Case studies 37Applying to a university 39Pre-arrival preparation and orientation 41Conclusion 41

Chapter 4 Academic and Technical Vocabulary 42What does this word mean? 42Different types of vocabulary 43What is your vocabulary level? 46How to learn new words 48How to work out the meanings of new words 50

vi

ISBN_9781137594051_Not for Distribution

Contents vii

Learning vocabulary with flashcards 52How to make the most of a dictionary 54Using a corpus to learn new words and improve your writing 58Vocabulary resources online 61Conclusion 62

Chapter 5 Listening to Lectures 63What’s the problem? 63The purpose of a lecture 64Lecturing styles from country to country 64Preparing for a lecture 65Note-taking 67The organization and language of lectures 73Asking questions in lectures 77Becoming a better listener 77Conclusion 79References 80

Chapter 6 Academic Presentations 81Prepare for your presentation 81Practise your presentation and improve your delivery 88Improve your presentation skills over time 89Conclusion 92

Chapter 7 Academic Reading 93Case studies: learning from other students’ experiences 93Why university students read 95What university students read 96Reading different types of academic text 96Planning your reading 97Finding reading texts 99Using the library 99Using your library catalogue 102Finding reading on the internet and in databases 103Becoming a more efficient reader 105Critical reading 106Ways of reading 110Increasing your reading speed 112Reading strategies 113Keeping track of your reading 114Reading online 115Conclusion 116


Contentsviii

Chapter 8 Principles of Academic Writing 118General principles of academic writing 118What bothers students? 122Understanding grading criteria 122Understanding essay questions 124Collecting ideas for your essay 127Improving your writing: advice from students 129Conclusion 130

Chapter 9 Essay Writing Processes 131Writing the introduction and the thesis statement 131Organizing the body paragraphs 133From topic sentences to paragraphs 134Referencing in an essay 135Putting it all together 137Proofreading 139Peer feedback 140Conclusion 143Book recommendations 144

Chapter 10 Small Group Learning 145Why have tutorials? 145The purpose of tutorials 145Reasons for not attending 145Planning for tutorials 148How to talk in tutorials 149Getting a turn 153Culture and tutorials 157Conclusion 158

Chapter 11 Assessment 159Understanding assessment for your course 159Types of assessment 160Understanding assessment criteria 162Learning from feedback 163Examinations 166Writing under time pressure 169Portfolio assessment 172Conclusion 174

Chapter 12 Communicating with Lecturers 175Why contact lecturers and staff members? 175Electronic communication 176


Contents ix

Face-to-face requests 178Telephone contact 183Class representatives 185Conclusion 185

Chapter 13 Dealing with Problems 186Managing anxiety 186Sources of help 192Culture shock 194Academic issues: what would you do? A quiz 197Money 202Conclusion 207

Chapter 14 Life beyond the Classroom 208University culture: what’s different? 208Friends 213Life outside university 216Conclusion 219

A Mini-Dictionary of University Words 220

Answer Key 226

Index 250


List of Figures and Tables

Figure 2.1 Types of memory 12Figure 2.2 The importance of reviewing 13Figure 3.1 How to determine where to study abroad 30Figure 4.1 Lextutor screen shot 47Figure 4.2 Grouping words by their meaning 49Figure 4.3 Piles of flashcards 53Figure 4.4 An example from a dictionary 56Figure 4.5 How to search for concordances 59Figure 4.6 Search results for ‘scared’ 59Figure 5.1 A simple classification diagram 68Figure 5.2 A mind map 69Figure 6.1 Planning your presentation 84Figure 9.1 Essay structure 137Figure 13.1 How to incorporate critical thinking 201

Table 3.1 Comparison of IELTS and TOEFL tests 35Table 3.2 How do IELTS and TOEFL tests compare? 36

x


1

11Chapter

What’s New about Studying in English?

Everyone’s experience of learning English is different. Below you will read about the language learning experiences of three students and compare their stories with your own. This will help you to find out what you like about studying English and other subjects in English, and how best to use this book.

Three language learners’ storiesWe are starting this book with three language learning stories that will help you to write your own. The three learners had very different experiences, at different times and in different places. But there are many similarities, too. As you read the stories, compare your experiences with theirs – there are some questions to help you do this at the end of each story. When you have read the three examples, we encourage you to write your own story.

Story 1: The challenges and joys of learning English in the USMy name is Mohammed. I came to the US to learn English in 2012. I used to learn English in Saudi Arabia, but it was not effective because I did not use English often. I faced many challenges in learning English, yet I found different ways to overcome them. When I first came to the US, I would talk for an hour with a native speaker, and at the end of the conversation they would ask me, ‘What are you talking about?’ As you can imagine, it was difficult to find a native speaker who was willing to spend time talking with me. It was natural that they were more interested in talking with people they could have a smooth conversation with. Thus, to attract them to have a conversation with me, I invited them to parties and restaurants so they would come and enjoy the parties and meals and I would enjoy speaking with them.

The second challenge I faced was learning the meaning and the use of words. When I learned new vocabularies by translating them from English to Arabic and vice versa, I often thought I had got the meaning, but in fact the uses of the words were different. For example, in Arabic the word ‘calendar’ has two different meanings: dates and dental braces. So when I went to the dentist in the US, instead of asking for braces, I asked him for a calendar and he gave me a folder. I realized that he had misunderstood me because of my English.

The third and biggest challenge was learning English pronunciation. For instance, in English they have the two different sounds p and b while in Arabic we have only the sound b. One time I had an appointment with a native speaker, and he called me


Studying in English2

and asked, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I am outside.’ When I arrived, he asked me again, ‘Where have you been?’ I said, ‘I was barking on Fifth Avenue.’ He said, ‘Why didn’t you come and bark here!’ I did not understand what he meant. After three months he said, ‘Your English is getting better. Do you still bark?’ I could then answer, ‘No, now I am parking.’ After several semesters of studying English, my English greatly improved. I got admitted to study a Master’s degree in biology. As a biology student, I now know words that many native speakers do not know, such as anastomose, decussate, osteoclasts, and lipolysis. After looking back at my experience, I can confidently conclude that you never fail until you stop trying.

Now start thinking

1 What difficulties did Mohammed have in his language learning? Do you have the same difficulties?

2 What did he do to create more opportunities to use English? Why do you think opportunities to use English are important for success in language learning? List three things you can do to find more opportunities for using the language.

Three things I can do

1.

2.

3.

3 Did Mohammed succeed in the end? What was his measure of success? What are your measures of success in your studies?

My measures of success

4 What are you doing now to succeed? What else can do you?

Story 2: Competitiveness, motivation and opportunities in English language learning in Vietnam and the US

My name is Linh. I started to learn English in middle school in Vietnam when I was 11 years old. My class specialized in English, so I had more English lessons than any other subjects. I remember we studied grammar and did a lot of exercises. I also remember having fun; the teacher taught us songs and told us Sherlock Holmes


What’s New about Studying in English? 3

stories. We also performed plays and sang songs in English. We all felt she cared about us. I adored her and loved English. As I became more successful in my learning, I was determined to become the top student in class, and so I studied with great intensity. During those years, I wanted to be extraordinary, was extremely competitive, and was keen to do well in school. I maintained my number one ranking throughout my high school year and won third prize in the national English contest. However, because of my competitiveness, I was frustrated that I couldn’t remember long lists of words I created from the reading I did. I didn’t know why my writing didn’t earn as high a score as I thought it should. I was not as successful as I wanted to be.

After graduating from high school, I chose the College of Foreign Languages to continue my specialization in English. During the first two years of college, my coursework focused on developing English skills, including listening, speaking, reading and writing. I had more opportunities to communicate orally in English through class discussions, debates and presentations. However, I still spent a significant amount of time studying test preparation books including TOEFL and IELTS because course exams were often similar to the tasks in those books. Also, there were not many other English materials. I didn’t really connect to the content presented in those materials, but I was convinced that more practice would lead to better language skills and exam scores. In addition, for classwork I had to listen to the radio more often. One of the activities I remember was listening to the BBC or the VOA, recording a piece of news, then transcribing it. I found the activity to be time-consuming, but useful. I also liked watching American movies; I watched them in the library and rented them to watch at home whenever I had the chance.

With high scores in the TOEFL and GRE tests, I moved on to do a Master’s degree in the US. My language development continued through interaction with others in English. During my MA, reading articles in the field was difficult because of the new content, as was following group discussions. I was mostly quiet in the first year of my MA, and I knew I needed to continue to improve my English. I found chatting useful, so I made friends online and chatted often. I also watched popular TV shows like Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond. When I had to write papers for class, I spent time reading and taking detailed notes. I earned As in most of my classes because of my papers.

Now, as a professional living in the US, I use English comfortably for a variety of purposes. I know that my English is still changing as I continue to learn new words, new ways to talk about certain topics in my field and new ways to relate to other people. I have more confidence in many professional circles, and I’m more outspoken. I’ve never made it my purpose to sound like a native speaker, but I do wonder how my English will evolve after years of living in the US.

Compare and contrast

Do you think Linh was successful in her language learning? What helped her to succeed? Complete the following table to compare your experiences with hers. Fill in Column 2 from Linh’s account, then fill in your own ideas in Column 3. Note that the points are not in any special order.


Studying in English4

Linh as a language learner You as a language learner

Learning goals To be number 1 in her class.To compete in the national contest.Not to sound like a native speaker.

Feelings towards English and English-speaking communities

Actions to help learning(learning strategies)

Challenges

Ways of measuring success

The learner’s personality

Factors contributing to success

Story 3: Far, far from homeMy name is Marilyn. My experience of changing countries, languages and ways of learning happened when I had the chance to go and study in France. Although you might think that the main challenges would be the language and, perhaps, new ways of learning, my first obstacles were more about everyday life.

First I had to find a place to live. The university supplied a list of homestay families who were happy to have fee-paying international students, but the students had to find the houses themselves from the addresses they were given and then negotiate the arrangements. Remember that this was all in a language I had studied formally but had not used before in everyday life. While waiting to find the right place, I was staying in a cheap and rowdy hotel where soldiers used to come in drinking downstairs each night. My goal was to leave there as soon as possible. I was very fortunate to find a place to stay within walking distance of the university. ‘Madame’ turned out to be quite strict with her boarders. In fact, I was lucky because she had recently boarded a couple from my country and they had made a good impression on her, so she welcomed me in.

The second challenge was the language. The way we had learned French was to focus on the grammar, so my sentences were very correct but not very idiomatic,


What’s New about Studying in English? 5

which was a bit of a problem when I had to listen to other students. They used to ask me to say certain sentences so they could listen and laugh, because I was using verb tenses from long, long ago that were no longer in use in France. When it came to lectures, though, the language was more formal than students used in conversation, and this made it easier to listen and take notes.

A number of things made my stay a very happy one. On the language side, I found that listening for the general meaning of something, whether it was a lecture or a conversation, helped me more than concentrating on the details. Once I understood the big picture, then I could guess at most of the details.

On the social side, I decided to try to meet some local people apart from university students. I found a church within walking distance, and this led to some invitations home to meals. Since the university was in one of the provinces, not Paris, travelling round to see rural France was part of the fun. Some of the other international students had the same idea, so we used our limited funds to travel by bus out to the countryside on Saturdays, although I had decided beforehand not to spend too much time with other foreigners because of the temptation of using English. In fact, a mixed group of us, including people from Germany and French-speaking Canada, used French anyway as our means of communication.

I haven’t mentioned much about the study side. It was really a case of getting used to the system, especially their means of assessing us. For example, the written examinations were VERY long: four hours. Maybe that’s changed now, but it was a long time to sit writing on one topic.

All in all, I would recommend international study to anyone who has clear focus about what they want to study and is willing to participate in the social side, too.

What’s different?

1 How does this story differ from the previous two?2 Do you think the social side of learning English is important? How is it important

in your context?

Now you writeStart writing your own language learning story. Think about the challenges, joys, strategies and incidents that have changed the way you think about the nature of learning English. Imagine who you want to be in the future and how you’re going to use English later in life.

Conclusion As we said before, language learners are different from each other. We hope that, by reading the stories in this chapter and writing your own language learning story, you understand yourself better as both a language learner and a university student. The following chapters in this book will provide you with further advice, resources and tasks that you can explore to determine what will best help you to achieve success in your university studies.


IndexAcademic issues 186, 194, 197Academic text 42, 45, 96Academic Word List 47, 49, 52, Academic words 44, 45, Academic writing 118, 131Accommodation 16, 193, 203, 214, 216Accuracy 120, 162Suffix 51Anxiety 186Apartment 217Appeal 193Argument 107, 109, 113, 118, 128, 137Asking questions 77, 81, 145Assessment criteria 159, 162, 243Assessment method 161Assignment 81, 92, 95, 118, 160, 161, 210Audience 81, 84, 118

Background reading 106, 110Being cautious 121Bridge program 18Budget 186, 202, 203Buy books 99

CAE 35Case studies 17, 37, 93, 203Class representative 175, 178, 185, 199Coherence 119, 165Cohesion 119, 120, 165Collocations 52, 55Communication strategies 12Community 216, 218Complain 175, 185, 193, 195Computer games 26Conciseness 119, 121Concordance 58, 59, 61Conditional admission 16, 29, 36, 221Conference proceedings 96, 104Content 81Content course 37Continuous assessment 160Corpus 42, 58, 60Cost of living 32, 40Counsellors 192, 194, 207, 221Counter-argument 128, 129CPE 35Criteria 122, 162Critical reader 93, 107, 108, 109

Critical reading 94, 106, 107, 108, 109Critical thinking 37, 106, 129, 166, 199,

200, 201Cultural groups 209Cultural misunderstanding 196Culture shock 186, 187, 194, 195, 197

Databases 99, 101, 103Degree program 18, 29, 36, 221Delivery 81, 88Diagrams 68, 76, 168, 173Dictionary 25, 42, 51, 54, 56, 61, 95, 105,

111, 112, 114, 116, 139, 169, 220Doctor 185, 195Dormitory 216

EAP (English for Academic Purposes) 17, 72Edited books 96Editors 96Efficient reader 105, 112, 116Email 24, 41, 76, 77, 141, 175, 176, 179,

213Emotive 46English course 17, 37English language programme 29, 36, 37English level 6, 15, 26, 36, 37English-English dictionary 54Errors 120, 139, 140Essay exams 160Essay questions 118, 124, 127, 129, 131,

170Evaluation 83, 121, 172Everyday vocabulary 44Examination 159, 166, 186, 212, 213Exam preparation course 17Exam strategies 168Exchange programme 13, 222Eye contact 82, 83, 89, 90, 157, 184, 197

Face-to-face requests 178Fact (or opinion) 107Feedback 116, 121, 130, 131, 140, 163,

166Flashcard 42, 50, 52, 54Formal language 45Foundation programme 18, 29, 36, 222Foundation studies programme 17Making friends 213, 214

250


Index 251

General English 8, 15, 17, 27, 35General English course 17General Service List 61Goal setting 8, 148Grading criteria 122Graduate student 29Grammar websites 27Grant 34, 202, 203, 206, 207

Health (services) 192, 193, 194, 195Hobbies 218Homestay 216Hostel 217

IELTS 17, 27, 35, 36, 222Informal language 45, 86Information technology 37International Student Office 29, 31, 37, 41,

193, 202, 214, 215, 216, 217, 222Introduction 83, 85, 131, 133, 142

Journal articles 96, 100

KET 35

Language centre 18, 91Language exchanges 26Language journal 21Language learning plan 19Language learning strategies 11, 19, 76Language of discussions 149Language of requests 180Language school 15, 19Language tests 29, 34Learning goals 4, 6, 14Learning journal 160, 223Learning style 11, 145, 146, 158, 168, 192Lecturing styles 63, 64, 223Librarian 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 127, 193,

198 Library 35, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103,

105, 127, 162, 193, 202, 206, 213Library catalogue 101, 102, 103, 104Library words 101Linear notes 67Long-term memory 12Low frequency vocabulary 44

Majors 29Memory strategies 11Mental health 193Mixed skills 28

Money 186, 193, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 214, 215, 217

Motivation 186, 187, 188, 189Movies 11, 20, 22, 23Multiple choice quizzes 160Music 11, 22, 27, 214, 218

Note-taking 63, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 115

Online discussion 160Online tools 116Open book exams 160Opinion (or fact) 74, 105, 106, 107Organization 68, 73, 85 113, 118, 133Orientation 41, 100, 194, 204, 214, 223Outline 126, 131, 133, 137, 169, 171

Peer feedback 131, 140, 142Personality 4, 186, 190PET 35Photocopying 101, 206Prefix 51Places of worship 218Plagiarism 116, 135, 136, 193, 200Podcast 22, 61Politeness 215Portfolio 19, 159, 160, 172, 173, 223PowerPoint 63, 87Practicals 160Pre-arrival 41Prefix 51, 223Prescribed texts 96, 99Pronunciation 8, 27, 52, 78, 80, 83, 86, 87,

180, 184Proofreading 121, 122, 139, 164, 169, 172Purpose 64, 84, 145, 118

QUEST analysis 108Question words 126Questionnaire 11, 14, 188, 192

Reading intensively 110, 111Reading online 115Reading process 105, 110Reading questions 106Reading speed 21, 112Reading strategies 113Reading tasks 110Reading texts 99, 148Rebuttal 128, 129, 137Recommended books 96Referencing 115, 135, 136, 164, 165, 202


252 Index

Related words 51, 57, 58, 61Religion 193, 214Requests 175, 176, 178, 179, 180, 182Research reports 96, 97

Scan reading 110, 111Scholarship 29, 31, 32, 34, 39, 40, 188,

203, 206, 224Self-access centre (SAC) 16, 18, 198, 202Self-assessment 7Self-study 27, 61Services 16, 100, 105, 192Short answer tests 160Signposting language 75, 114, 165Single author books 96Slide 63, 79, 87Sources of help 192Sports 114, 218Staff members 175, 180, 192State-of-the-art articles 96, 98, 224Strategies for managing your learning 14Study abroad 29Study advice 193Study skills 19, 28, 37, 206Synonyms 51, 54, 57, 58, 104

Take home exam 160Teaching styles 209, 210Technical vocabulary 42, 45

Telephone 175, 183, 184, 217Text messaging 178Text types 96, 109, 115, 173Thesaurus 42, 54, 57, 61, 62, 104, 224Theses 96, 103Thesis statement 120, 131, 132TOEFL 17, 27, 34, 35TOEIC 34Tone 46, 84, 89, 165, 176Translation dictionary 54, 62Turn to talk 145, 149, 153Tutor 121, 129, 140, 145, 166, 175, 192, 225Tutorial 77, 145, 166, 200, 209, 211Tutoring center 129, 193Types of vocabulary 43, 45, 52

Undergraduate student 29, 216, 225University culture 202, 208, 209University society 196, 214

Visuals 76, 87, 91VocabProfile 47, 48Vocabulary level 42, 46Vocabulary resources 61Voluntary groups 218

Word families 42, 61Working memory 11, 12Writing centre 18, 129, 183


contents€¦ · list of figures and tables figure 2.1 types of memory 12 figure 2.2 the importance...

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