English for Effective Communication I: Reading and Writing

Welcome to ENGL E120 English for Effective Communication I: Reading and Writing.

This course is a five-credit, post-secondary education foundation course which aims to improve students' reading and writing skills. These two components are integrated in both teaching and assessment through practice and use in simulated study, work and social contexts. The course is especially intended for students who plan to continue their education at the tertiary level through the medium of English.

Credits gained from completing this course may be counted towards the 'free choice credit' component of most degree programmes. Successful students will receive a certificate in addition to the credits awarded. Alternatively, students may choose only to sit the end-of-course examination on a non-credit basis. Successful examination candidates are awarded a certificate.

It is recommended that students have studied English up to at least Secondary 5 or 6/7 level, or its equivalent, prior to commencing the study of this course, although this is not an essential requirement.

Before you begin to study the course content, you need to understand how ENGL E120 operates and how its various parts fit together. You will find the answers to these questions in this Course Guide. Please read it thoroughly now and refer to it while you are studying the course.

ENGL E120 aims to:

• develop your basic skills and knowledge in English reading and writing; and
• enhance your English proficiency in reading and writing in academic, social and workplace contexts.

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the basic functional and structural properties of the English language.
2. Use English effectively for study purpose and social communication.
3. Read and write English texts effectively in both academic and workplace contexts.

The following table provides an overview of the course and suggests the amount of time to allow for completing each unit. However, as we each have our own pace of study, this schedule is only a guide. You can adjust it to fit your personal needs more closely. The estimated time, on average, which you need to spend on this course is eight to ten hours per week — although this will clearly vary depending on your proficiency in English. This estimate includes time for reading the study units and carrying out the practice activities in them, writing your assignments, reviewing the study materials, attending the tutorials and preparing for your final examination.

ENGL E120 consists of this Course Guide, five study units, a set of readings collected in The Penguin Modern English Language Reader and three assignments — all of which are provided by HKMU.

Course Guide

The Course Guide tells you briefly what the course is about, what it contains and how you can work through it. It also gives you some information about tutorials and assessment.

Study units

As you saw in the 'Course overview', ENGL E120 contains five study units involving three to four weeks' work each. In total, the course involves 150 study hours including eight two-hour tutorials.

Unit 1 covers the basic skills that are essential in effective reading and writing. The general focus is on developing skills in identifying, understanding and constructing sentences and paragraphs as well as identifying text types and planning a short essay.

Unit 2 builds skills in understanding vocabulary in context and using persuasive language in writing. The focus of the unit is on reading passages with unfamiliar vocabulary as well as writing advertisements, newspaper editorials, letters to the editor and reviews.

Units 3 and 4 are concerned with academic reading and writing. The focus of the units is on effective comprehension of academic texts as well as effective academic writing skills, including citation, summarizing and paraphrasing skills.

Unit 5 introduces reading and writing in the workplace. The focus is on understanding the language and organization of job advertisements as well as writing a curriculum vitae, job application letters, memoranda, emails and reports.

Each unit includes specific objectives as well as a very wide range of practice activities to help you to improve your English language skills and develop effective communication skills in academic, work and social settings.

Set text and recommended books

There is no recommended set text for the course.

However, for ENGL E120 — and indeed all your degree courses in English — you will need a good English dictionary. We recommend either the current edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English or Collins Cobuild English Dictionary or the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

Also, if you feel the need to improve your grammar, we suggest you consult: Collins Cobuild English Grammar (2011), London: HarperCollins.

Assignment File

This file gives you details of what is required in your assignments, their due dates, how many marks each is worth, and how each will be graded. Assignments must reach your tutor on or before the due date. Please read the Student Handbook for the University's policy on late assignments.

Your tutor

Before the course starts you will be advised by the HKMU Registry of the name, address and phone number of your tutor. Your tutor will:

• conduct tutorials for your group;
• organize discussion forums on the OLE (Online Learning Environment) to which you are expected to make active contributions;
• assess and comment on your assignments;
• be available at certain times to help you by phone. (You will be advised of these times separately.)

Tutorials

There are eight tutorials of two hours to be conducted at regular intervals throughout the course. They are intended to supplement what has been studied in the units. Tutorials also provide the conditions for developing a community whose aims are to support independent learning efforts, collaboratively find answers to questions or problems, and generally motivate learning. For this reason, students are strongly encouraged to attend tutorials.

The first session will be an introduction to the course and may take a different form from that of the other tutorials. The times, dates and locations of the tutorials will be sent to you before the semester starts. To benefit fully from the tutorials you will need to have studied the relevant unit(s), including the practice activities, beforehand.

We recommend the following strategies for working through ENGL E120. Remember to contact your tutor for assistance and advice if required.

1. Read this Course Guide thoroughly.
2. Organize a study schedule. Refer to the course overview and to the suggested Study Schedule provided by your Course Coordinator for more details. Note the minimum time you are expected to spend on each unit and how the assignments relate to the units. You need to gather together all this information in one place, such as your diary or a wall calendar.
   When you have created your own study schedule, do all you can to stick to it. The major problem that students face is falling behind with the course work. If you get into difficulties with your schedule, please let your tutor know before it is too late to help.
3. Turn to Unit 1 and read the overview for the unit.
4. Work through the unit, carrying out the activities. Attempting the activities, and checking your responses against the feedback provided, is very important for developing your language skills. Check your understanding at the end of each section of the unit.
5. Keep a note of any problems and discuss them with your tutor as soon as possible. We also recommend that you form a study group with students on the course to practise with, discuss course content with or get support from when you are facing some difficulties or lack of motivation. It is important to create a strong support network when studying alone and to gather several types of advice or ideas, including that of the tutor.
6. Follow the same strategy for each unit in the course, submitting the assignments when required. You will learn a lot by doing the assignments and by studying carefully your tutor's comments on them. The assignments have been designed to help you to meet the objectives of the course, and therefore to pass the examination. The assignments are also closely linked to the activities in the units so you get several opportunities to practise before submitting your assignment tasks.
7. After completing the last unit, review the course and prepare for the final examination.

Assignments

There are three assignments for continuous assessment purposes in this course. Each assignment is worth 12% of the total score for continuous assessment and this total score accounts for 36% of the final course grade. Detailed information on the questions, how to approach them and the submission dates are provided in the Assignment File.

In addition, students are expected to participate in the online forum discussions set by the tutor throughout the course on the Online Learning Environment (OLE) platform. Active participation will help them to meet the overall course objectives as well as to get useful practice in gathering ideas, answering questions and developing a point for the final examination. Active and meaningful participation in the forums will count for 4% of the total score for continuous assessment.

Final examination

The examination at the end of ENGL E120 lasts for two hours and has a value of 60% of the total mark for the course.

The final examination assesses reading and writing skills. If you have completed the assignments, have actively participated in the online discussion forums and have acted on the tutor's feedback on your assignments, you should be well prepared for it. Further information about the examination, including a specimen examination paper, will be sent to you later in the course.

We hope that you find the course interesting and useful. The effort you put into studying it will be worthwhile, as good reading and writing skills can help you to perform more effectively in academic, and workplace situations.

We wish you the best of luck with your studies.

Miss Rosalind Wong, BA & BEd (University of Hong Kong); MALCS (University of Hong Kong).

Miss Rosalind Wong is currently teaching at Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU). Before joining HKMU, Miss Wong worked as an English Speech and Drama coach and programme head in a variety of educational settings. She is also the editor of a series of grammar books. In her free time, she enjoys acting and directing, recently winning acting awards in the Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival and The Heckler. Her research interests include: Shakespeare on screen, Shakespeare adaptations in Asia, shadow education and independent learning.