Subject:Advanced Oral Skills for ResearchStudents

Subject code:ENGL6004

Compulsory/Elective: Compulsory

Deferrable/Non-deferrable:Deferrable

Prerequisites:None

Co-requisite:None

Recommended Stage:

Recommended level:6

Hours assigned:42 hours (lectures and seminars)

Method of assessment:100% Coursework

Number of credits:3

Aims:

It is hoped that the subject will generally enhance students’ confidence in English speaking in an academic context.

Objectives:

  • To help students overcome their difficulties with English pronunciation by concentrating both on common and individual pronunciation problems;
  • To help students appreciate the difference between spoken and written communication in English;
  • To enhance students’ ability to structure and deliver oral presentations in English;
  • To develop students’ ability to participate in seminars, workshops and other kinds of academic discussions.

Syllabus Outline:

  • Introduction to the sounds of English, and those that cause the greatest problems for non-native speakers;
  • Ways to correct fossilized errors in pronunciation;
  • The differences between oral and written communication in English;
  • Structuring and delivering oral presentations;
  • Interacting with an audience and responding to questions;
  • Participating in seminars, workshops and tutorials which require spoken English.

Learning & Teaching Pattern:

TypeNumber of StudentsContact Hours

Seminar202 hours per week

Tutorial Groups 6-71 hour every three weeks

WebtasksIndividual2 hours every three weeks

Scheme of assessment:

Three oral assignments weighted 30%, 30%, 40%.

Indicative Reading List and References:

Pronunciation: General:

Dalton, C. & Seidlhofer, B. 1994. Pronunciation. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press

Gimson, A. C. 1994. Pronunciation of English (5th edn). Revised by A. Cruttenden. Edward Arnold.

Jenkins, J. 1996. Changing pronunciation priorities for successful communication in international contexts. Speak Out!17: 15-23.

Jenkins, J. 1998. Which pronunciation norms and models for English as an International Language? English Language Teaching Journal52(2): 119-126.

Jenkins, J. 2000. The Phonology of English as an International Language. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.

Jones, D. 1997. English Pronouncing Dictionary (15th Edn.). Edited by P. J. Roach & J. W. Hartman, with J. Setter. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Roach, P. 2000. English Phonetics and Phonology (3rd Edn). Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press

Pronunciation: Hong Kong English:

Bolton, K. & Kwok, H. 1990. The dynamics of the Hong Kong accent: social identity and sociolinguistic description. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication1(1): 147-172.

Chan, A. Y. W., & Li, D. C. S. 2000. English and Cantonese phonology in contrast: explaining Cantonese ESL learners’ English pronunciation problems. Language, Culture and Curriculum.

Hung, T. 2000. Towards a phonology of Hong Kong English. World Englishes19(3): 337-356.

Luke K. K. & Richards, J. C. 1982. English in Hong Kong: functions and status. English World Wide3: 147-64.

Walmsley, J. B. 1977. Cantonese English: an essay in diagnostic linguistics. In Nickel, G. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 3rd AILA Congress Copenhagen, Volume 1. Heidelberg: Groos, pp. 261-277.

Wong, C. S. P. & Setter, J. 2002. Is it ‘night’ or ‘light’ – how and why Cantonese-speaking ESL learners confuse syllable-initial [n] and [l]. New sounds 2000: Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on the Acquisition of Second-Language Speech. University of Klagenfurt.

Academic Speaking Skills:

Jay, Antony and Ros Jay (2000). Effective presentations. London: Prentice Hall.

Kline, J. A. (2004). Speaking Effectively: Achieving Excellence in Presentations, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Madden, Carolyn G. and Theresa N. Rohlck (1997). Discussion and interaction in the academic community. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Reinhart, S. M. (2002). Giving Academic Presentations,Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Thompson, S. (1994). Frameworks and Contexts: A Genre-Based Approach to Analysing Lecture Introductions, English for Specific Purposes, 13 (2), 171-186.

Thompson, S. (2002). ‘As the story unfolds’: The Uses of Narrative in Research Presentations, In E. Ventola, C. Shalom & S. Thompson (eds). The Language of Conferencing (pp.147-167), Frankfurt am Main; New York: Peter Lang.

Date first proposed:19 May 2004

Date revised:23November 2005

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