Undergraduate Course: English for School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) (LLLG07156)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 0 |
ECTS Credits | 0 |
| Summary | ESALA is a six-week, full-time course for international students. It aims to develop academic language and literacies in preparation for entry to postgraduate degree programmes in the subject area of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. The course will support students' progression onto a range of postgraduate programmes, such as Advanced Sustainable Design, Architectural Theory, and Landscape and Well-being. |
| Course description |
Broadly, ESALA provides opportunities to perform academic activities typical of the subject area in a supported environment.
Key aims of ESALA are:
- to build confidence in using English to express knowledge in the subject area;
- to develop academic language and literacies skills to a level sufficient to enable successful participation in destination postgraduate programmes;
- to raise awareness of students' expectations of future programmes.
Writing: guided work on Specialist Written Assignment; sessions on Annotated Bibliography and Discipline Specific Writing focused on genres common in ESALA;
Reading: engagement with and critical evaluation of discipline specific source texts;
Speaking: a range of opportunities to practise seminar and presentation skills involving research output in various formats;
Listening: Academic lectures in the subject area, including lectures delivered by University of Edinburgh subject specialist.
Much of the above will involve preparation and practice for the end-of-summer, pre-sessional assessments in all four skills.
Introduction to living and studying in Edinburgh: input from and interaction with Course Organisers, subject specialists and students; exploring Edinburgh locations - non-funded activity - such as museums (e.g. National Museum of Scotland), cultural heritage and artistic sites of interest (e.g. Jupiter Artland, Talbott Rice Gallery) for the purpose of primary research for final week conference on ESALA.
ESALA provides extensive opportunities for working with peers, ELE teachers, and University of Edinburgh students and academics. There is also independent study, including engaging with academic texts, tasks and additional digital materials.
Aspects of course delivery:
- The course is a mix of lectures, self-study and classroom-based learning with intensive small group and whole class activities.
- There is participation in small group and 1:1 tutorial with class teacher to discuss progress.
- Written and spoken formative feedback and feedforward from both teachers and peers;
- Opportunities for developing transferable skills and autonomous learning strategies to support successful transition to the degree programme
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Flexible |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities |
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Reading into Writing
1400-word piece of source-based academic writing; choice of questions appropriate to students' disciplines. Students demonstrate their ability to combine reading and critically evaluating academic texts in their disciplines (ILO 1), with writing clearly and appropriately in genres common in their discipline, synthesizing and critically evaluating content from sources to create their argument (ILO 2). Reading and Writing aspects of this integrated task will be assessed through discrete and equally weighted elements of the criteria, and separate scores for each skill will be reported.
Formative feedback loops including both reading and writing tasks are built into the writing process. Formative stages include a draft plan and a sample paragraph, and a reading task in which students use a CRAAP analysis (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) of source texts to evaluate potential sources for the assignment. Individual and group tutorials are scheduled for discussion of formative feedback.
Listening
A time-limited online test based on a recorded lecture in which students demonstrate their ability to understand and respond critically to academic lectures (ILO 3). The lecture recording is released online for a limited time, together with an editable test paper which students submit by a given deadline.
Speaking
Through delivery of an individual, live oral presentation of 7-8 minutes duration to their class group, and the student's response to audience questions / participating in a follow-up Question-and-Answer session (7-8 minutes), students demonstrate their ability to use clear and appropriate English to deliver an effective presentation in their disciplinary field and participate effectively in academic discussion (ILO 4).
Students need to meet their degree programme English Language requirements in all four components and overall, in order to progress.
Some aspects of the Intended Learning Outcomes are not formally assessed but are developed through formative feedback cycles. For example, the critical use of genre knowledge and strategies to read and evaluate texts (ILO 1) is not directly assessed through the final summative Reading-into-Writing submission but is addressed through course input and the formative reading task mentioned above.
The Listening assessment measures understanding, but not critical response (part of ILO 3), as critical response to a lecture is highly subjective and context-dependent, and the test subject matter is necessarily generic and, though chosen to be very relevant to the students' needs, not directly related to the main strands of the course. Students are, however, helped to develop a critical approach to input throughout the Programme by means of, for example, a lecture on the topic, and formative feedback discussions.
Development of ILO 5, the ability to 'reflect on and make autonomous decisions regarding their learning', is not formally assessed but achieved through the nature of the tasks set and the formative feedback provided, which are designed to foster learner autonomy.
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| Feedback |
Informal feedback is given on language - spoken and written - in every class.
Spoken and written feedback from tutor and peers on formative speaking and writing tasks.
Progress is discussed in regular tutorials (small group tutorials and 1:1 tutorials).
Students also receive general feed-forward comments on their performance on the summative assessment of Reading-into- Writing.
Teaching staff receive training in appropriate formative feedback during induction and are monitored throughout the programme.
Marking of the summative assessments is carried out following standardisation exercises led by Course Organisers and is moderated by Course Organisers in accordance with University of Edinburgh guidelines.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Read academic texts in the subject area, making critical use of genre knowledge and strategies appropriate to their purpose.
- Write clearly and appropriately in genres common in the subject area, synthesizing and critically evaluating content from sources to create their argument.
- Understand and respond critically to academic lectures in their discipline.
- Use clear and appropriate English to respond critically and contribute meaningfully to group discussions and deliver academic presentations in their subject area.
- Reflect on and make autonomous decisions regarding their learning.
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Reading List
All the materials used for delivery of the course are provided electronically, and there is no need for students to buy any books. We will also give students advice on useful online resources. However, the following recommended resources may also help in addition to course content.
Bailey, S. (2003) Academic writing. a handbook for international students. UK: Routledge.
Davies, N., and Erkki. J. (2008) Dictionary of architecture and building construction. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Architectural Press.
Harris, C. M., (2000) Dictionary of architecture and construction. 3rd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Harrison, D. (2007) A dictionary of architecture and landscape architecture. 2nd Edition. UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
Jodidio, P. (2005) Architecture now! Ko'ln: Taschen.
McCarthy, M. and O'Dell, F. (2008) Academic vocabulary in use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Paterson, K. (2013) Oxford grammar for EAP. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Swales, J. and Feak, C. (1994) Academic writing for graduate students. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
Postgraduate Transition Courses https://www.ed.ac.uk/students/new-students/ready-university/hybrid-learning/short-courses/pg-courses
Institute for Academic Development (IAD) Study Hub
https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/study-hub
Institute for Academic Development (IAD) workshops, resources and advice for postgraduates
https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/postgraduate
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Enquiry and lifelong learning; aspiration and personal development; outlook and engagement; research and enquiry; personal and intellectual autonomy; personal effectiveness; communication. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Miss Jill Haldane
Tel: (0131 6) 51 1186
Email: Jill.Haldane@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr John Ethcuit
Tel: (0131 6)50 3409
Email: jethcuit@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
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