ADVANCED LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR ACADEMIC, RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module builds your awareness and knowledge of the diverse linguistic expectations of the academy and professional contexts and develops your written and spoken communication skills to operate within these diverse contexts.

University campuses are international and multilingual resulting in a diverse linguistic environment. At the same time, the academic and professional expectations for diversity of language outputs is growing. Higher education genres, both written and spoken, are in constant development. Students and teachers need to be able to navigate these genres and communicate effectively in a variety of professional and academic contexts.

In this module you will focus on the language of higher education through a genre lens. You will become aware of different genres and will develop the tools to communicate effectively in a variety of different genres in a confident and appropriate manner.

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

HERON Marion (Sy Inst Educ)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Genre pedagogy


• Genre analysis


• Genre knowledge


• Oracy


• Writing for publication 


• Speaking and writing for different audiences


• Intercultural Communication

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Self-evaluation of oral presentation: Students will video-record (via Panopto or PowerPoint) a presentation and write their self-reflection based on this.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes as well as developed employability skills, global and cultural capabilities, and resourcefulness and resilience.

Summative assessment

The summative assessment consists of: 

• Coursework: Text analysis using the genre approach. 1,500 words in total, addressing learning outcomes 1,2,3. You will analyse one short written text and one short spoken text (transcription) using frameworks of genre analysis and oracy skills framework. As part of the analysis, you will provide a rationale for the frameworks chosen, the analysis itself and a discussion of the implications of the analysis on learning and teaching effective communication skills. Through this assessment you will demonstrate your understanding of genre (sustainability) applications to teaching (employability skills).


• Coursework: Self evaluation of an oral presentation, 1,500 words, addresses learning outcomes 4,5,6,7,8. You are required to give an oral presentation of a scholarly paper from the module. You will receive feedback from your peers and tutor. You will use these evaluations to write a critique / evaluation of your performance and an action plan based on the feedback provided. Through this assessment you will demonstrate your employability skills (communication), your resourcefulness and resilience (presentation and peer evaluation) and global and cultural capabilities (spoken communication and peer evaluation).

• Coursework: You will have the opportunity to receive peer review on your genre analysis. There will be a dedicated 1 hour slot in a seminar session for group discussion and feedback at the draft stage.


• Coursework: Critique of outputs - you will have the opportunity to receive feedback on a draft reflection from your module tutor.

Module aims

• Consider genre analysis as an approach to understanding language
• Explore authentic discourse in academic and professional contexts
• Apply the Oracy Skills Framework to developing understanding of effective communication
• Develop students' own spoken and written communication for a variety of contexts

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to encourage interaction and communication with all group members. The mode of study is online and therefore the synchronous seminars and discussion board activities are crucial to the development of a group identity.

Captured content

You will have access to pre-recorded short videos and different supporting resources such as pdf slides, short articles and resources for genre analysis. The captured content aims to develop understanding of key concepts and theories. In order to maximise the learning opportunities from the captured content, and to make links to the in-session material, you will be expected to engage with the captured content prior to the synchronous sessions. All the captured content will be accompanied by a guided learning worksheet which you will be expected to complete prior to the synchronous sessions. Engagement with the captured content and other online resources support the development of your digital capabilities and ability to work autonomously.

Weekly synchronous seminar sessions

The synchronous seminar sessions will build on the captured content and will allow students to explore issues and reflect on their own practices. It is expected that you will bring your completed guided learning worksheet to these sessions. These synchronous seminar sessions will involve interactive tasks either whole class or in break out rooms, quizzes and presentations. The aim of the seminar sessions is to apply the theories, concepts and frameworks from the captured content to your own learning and teaching contexts and to analyse texts in their specific professional and academic contexts. To maximise the potential for sharing ideas and learning from others, you will be expected to participate in whole group and smaller group activities and discussions based on the pre-session and in-class material. Discussions and other interactive activities with classmates supports your development of global and cultural awareness and understanding of how to work in multilingual contexts. These skills are also key for your employability.

Guided study

The guided study comprises a number of reading activities drawing on the key literature in the field. All readings are accompanied by a reading comprehension worksheet which will allow you to read key texts and engage with theories in their own contexts. Guided study aims to encourage independent work and develop planning and monitoring skills, which supports your resourcefulness and resilience

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ELAM025

Other information

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability: This module provides you with an understanding of genre in both academic and professional contexts. This understanding allows you to employ genre tools to new and unexpected professional contexts such as writing reports or giving policy debates. The oracy skills framework also provides a strong basis on which to further develop your professional communication skills (spoken) for a range of contexts and for diverse audiences, reflecting the reality of the professional world. The module also builds confidence in using communication skills in new and unfamiliar contexts.

Digital Capabilities: You will be expected to engage with all the online materials and resources through Surrey Learn. You will be participating in regular synchronous seminar sessions as well as contributing to the online discussion boards. The module takes a flipped learning approach and as such you will be engaging with captured content in a variety of different modes. You will work in collaborative groups in Teams break out rooms and you will use PowerPoint and other Microsoft software.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: A key theme of this module is understanding the linguistic and cultural diversity of students in the classroom. As a result, you will be considering how to support linguistic diversity in the classroom and how to maximise the potential for a diverse student backgrounds in terms of both language and culture. At the same time, you will be considering how to support students and you will learn how to use different teaching methodologies to ensure that all students have access to the learning opportunities. You will develop your own communication skills as you interact and work with students from different language and cultural backgrounds.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: You will be required to share your work, both written and oral with peers for feedback and evaluation. This may be difficult to navigate and perhaps unsettling at times, but reflects the reality of the academic and professional world. You will build skills to manage feedback both cognitively and affectively and develop action plans for further development.

Sustainability: Activities which are carried out in this module will give you the awareness of genre and the power of using genre analysis to navigate new communication contexts and diverse audiences. An awareness of genre will support the sustainability of your own practices, whether they be genres of writing, genres of speaking or teaching genres

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.