UNIcert III/2 Englisch der Naturwissenschaften - Einzelansicht

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This is the second semester of a two-semester language for specific purposes course that prepares students for the UNIcert III® exam (English for the Natural Sciences). Students with a placement test result of 80 and more points can take this course without taking UNIcert III/1.

Prerequisites: Placement test result of 80-100% or successful completion of any UNIcert III/1 English course

Certificate of Achievement: Course mark, 6 ECTS points / 6 credits (Leistungspunkte) for BA
Optional UNIcert III exam ”English for the Natural Sciences” (C1 certificate, examination fees apply)

Registration: ONLY via PULS (after placement test or as a follow-up course to a UNIcert III/1 level English course)

SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTAL READING:

PREPARING SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS (2d ed) by Mary Helen Briscoe.  Springer 1996.  978-0-387-94581-1. 

ACADEMIC AND SCIENTIFIC POSTER PRESENTATION by Nicholas Rowe.  Springer 2017.  978-3-319-61278-2.

PRESENTATION ZEN (2d ed) by Garr Reynolds.  New Riders 2012.  978-0-321-81198-1.

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH: Vocabulary Exercises by Adrian Wallwork.  Springer 2013.  978-1-4614-4267-7.

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH: Writing Exercises by Adrian Wallwork.  Springer 2013.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE (3rd ed.) by Raymond Murphy. Cambridge 2004. Third edition.

UNIcert® III English for Natural Sciences is a year-long program consisting of two consecutive semester-long courses:

• the non-certificate course, UNIcert® III/1 (or achieving an appropriate score on the Einstufungstest),  and
• the certificate course (UNIcert® III/2).

The number of credit points awarded for successful completion of each course is determined by the Course and Examination Regulations (StPO) of each student’s degree program.

Both courses are supported by a course-specific E-Learning course as well as additional practice materials on "Moodle 2.UP".

Certificate: The UNIcert® III English for Natural Sciences certificate is awarded upon successful completion of the UNIcert® III Certificate exam following the UNIcert® III/2 course.

Testing Fee: There is a testing fee of 20 Euros for all UNIcert® Certificate exams.

The aim of this course is to strengthen a student’s English language skills to a proficient academic level.  

Authentic texts from professional and academic publications form the foundation for reading comprehension and text analysis, focusing on the disciplines represented in class, while podcasts provide listening comprehension opportunities.  

Students will have several choices to practice their speaking and presentation skills as well as develop analytical and critical thinking abilities, reasoning skills (deductive reasoning), and rhetorical constructions in their choice of academic and/or professional contexts.  

Students will practice skills and practice to write at a proficient academic level, 

Final Exams: Successful completion of the examinations at the end of this course leads to a UNIcert® III Certificate in English language proficiency.

For the final oral exam, the student prepares an oral presentation under a strict time frame and supervised testing conditions using the skills and procedures practiced in the UNIcert® III/1 and UNIcert® III/2 courses.

The final written exam tests the student’s reading comprehension skills, and written expression incorporating critical thinking, analytical and rhetoric skills. There is also an extensive, timed listening comprehension test. 

The four test scores (reading comprehension, written expression, listening comprehension and oral expression) are weighted equally and averaged to determine the final grade for this course and the level of proficiency to be indicated on the UNIcert® III certificate.

Testing Fee: There is a testing fee of 20 Euros for all UNIcert® Certificate exams.

The course is aimed primarily at students of the natural sciences, but is also open to interested students from other disciplines.