Cara Webinar March 2023: Increasing visibility of Academic English learning in adult researchers
Background: Learning Academic English is not something that only younger students engage in. Experienced senior researchers from non-Anglophone countries also need to use Academic English, and will need to acquire and practice it. Their academic performance and career progress may depend on competence in Academic English (publications, peer reviews, promotions). The difficulties associated with publishing in a medium other than one’s first language may not be recognised by colleagues and employers who have English as their first language. This initiative is intended to produce some helpful resources for researchers using Academic English, and to help their native-speaker colleagues and employers understand some of the difficulties they face.
Cara, the Council for At-Risk Academics, is an international organisation that provides support for individuals working in higher education in regions where such work is difficult. For further information, see the Cara website
Presenters: We are five experienced teachers of English and learners of English and other languages; two of us are involved with Cara: Amin Ali Al-Solel (University of Thamar, Yemen), Kees Dekker (University of Groningen, The Netherlands), Christopher Forlini (University of Erfurt, Germany), Judith Kaup (University of Surrey, United Kingdom), Christine Rauer (University of St Andrews, United Kingdom)
Webinar Structure:
- Introduction: the difficulty of producing academic work in a second language; 10 minutes, Christine Rauer, powerpoint
- Case studies: a Cara fellow reports on his students learning English in Yemen; 10 minutes, Amin Ali Al-Solel, powerpoint, Questionnaire, Analysis, Answers
- Strategies for sentence structure: disciplining thought and clarity of argument; 10 minutes, Christopher Forlini, powerpoint
- Improving one's personal writing style: theory and practice on finding your own voice; 10 minutes, Judith Kaup, powerpoint
- Tools and reference works: vocabulary and set phrases; 10 minutes, Kees Dekker, powerpoint
- Questions and Answers
Webinar Materials:
General Writing Tips (Oxbridge Editing Blog): general advice on structuring, presentation, vocabulary and other topics
Academic Writing Style Workshop (Queen's University Belfast Learning Development Service): Video Introduction to Academic English
Thesaurus (Cambridge Dictionary): helps you find alternative vocabulary and synonyms for more varied and more accurate phrasing
Thesaurus (Collins): another tool for finding synonyms
Just the Word: gives you synonyms / help with collocations. A great tool pointed out to me by a Cara webinar participant - thank you!
Collocation Dictionary (Ozdic): helps you find correct word combinations
Academic Phrasebank (Trinka): helps you find typical phrases used in academic publications
Academic Phrasebank (University of Manchester): similar to the Trinka Phrasebank website, with more sample sentences
Questionnaire used for self-assessment for his students by Amin Ali Al-Solel, March 2023 Webinar
Sentence Checker (Language Tool): free online spelling and grammar checker
Google Advanced Search: use search window for 'this exact word or phrase' to see if a phrase is commonly used
Google Translate: use search window to translate between English and other languages
Contacts:
In case of questions about the webinar, the resources discussed, or other matters related to Academic English, feel free to contact Christine Rauer by emailing cr30@st-andrews.ac.uk. My colleagues and I would love to hear about your experiences.
Last updated 06 March 2023