Academic English Courses for PhD students – 37th cohort – A.A. 2021/22
Purpose of the Courses: to review and develop English language competence in academic speaking and writing contexts with a view to identifying and resolving areas of individual concern. To explore a variety of formal academic speaking situations and more informal academic occasions. Tasks will also focus on raising individual awareness of abilities and on strategies for further developing skills.
The courses listed on this page are free and are solely for PhD students of the 37th cycle. Starting from the 2021/22 a.y. the number and variety of courses has increased, as indicated below. Attendance will be over zoom. Compulsory ENTRY test – Registration to the entry test (and the course) is open from 16 to 28 November (DEADLINE). THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER TEST DATES for the 37th cycle.
Course type and content
Each type of course has a minimum entry level of English. It is not possible to attend a course without having first taken the entry test.
INTRO TO ACADEMIC ENGLISH (30 academic hours course) – Level: B1 – Basic structures of Academic English: nominalization, recognizing sentence structure, recognising tense usage and appropriacy of lexis and register. Argumentation. Focus on pronunciation and conversation in certain contexts (confidence building). Promotion of passive skills to develop understanding and lexis.
ACADEMIC ENGLISH (30 academic hours course) – Level: from B1+ to B2 or higher. The courses are divided into upper and lower groups. The same topics are covered in different ways and at different speeds according to the level. WRITING: writing emails to academic peers, writing abstracts and structuring research papers; the moves, coherence and cohesion, stance. SPEAKING: presenting research papers at seminars/conferences, dealing with questions and strategies for interrupting politely, active listening and turn taking.
MINI COURSES on specific topics (10 hour mini courses) – Level: B2 or higher
- WRITING 1 Describing data (results, findings)
- WRITING 2 Conference abstracts and research article abstracts (exploring the differences between conference and research article abstracts, analysis of structure and language use)
- WRITING 3 Writing cover letters and research proposals
- SPEAKING 1 3-minute thesis competition presentation
Course duration and dates
The first courses will take place from January to February 2022. The remaining courses will take place during 2nd semester. Some of the mini courses may also take place during the summer period (June/July 2022). Preference will be given to the 8.30-10.30 and 16.30-18.30 time slots when scheduling. When registering, participants can indicate a preference regarding course type, timetable and period. The CLA will attempt to satisfy requests but the final decision will also be based on the entry test results and on organisational factors.
| Course type | Duration | Entry level required | Course dates |
| Intro to Academic English | 30 academic hours, twice a week for 6-7 weeks over zoom | B1 | Jan/Feb 2025 |
| Academic English (writing and speaking) | 30 academic hours, twice a week for 6-7 weeks over zoom | from B1+ to B2 or higher | Jan/Feb 2025 and 2nd semester (40th and 39th Cohort) |
| Mini courses on specific topics | 10 academic hours (intensive, one week) over zoom | from B1+ to B2 or higher | From April to July 2025 |
Which and how many courses can a person attend?
Depending on the level attained during the entry test, it will be possible to attend more than one course.
Participant with a level lower than a B1+: 1 INTRO to Academic English course + 1 Academic English course (the AEc can also be attended at a later date. The INTRO course is preparatory to the AE course).
Participant with a B2 level (lower): 1 Academic English course + a mini course (the Academic English course must be taken before the mini course).
Participant with a B2 level (upper): 2 intensive seminars (mini courses) or 1 Academic English course (upper) + 1 mini course.
Based on the results of the test, the Language Centre will inform each participant of the course which is most suitable to their level (which may not coincide with that given as a preference in the registration form).
Entry test and registration
In order to evaluate whether each participant’s language level is suitable to attend the courses, an obligatory entry test is required. When registering, each participant can indicate a preference regarding the type of course, timetable and period. Based on the test results the Language Centre will inform each participant of the course which is most suitable to their level (which may not coincide with that given as a preference in the registration form). The CLA will do what it can to satisfy requests and preferences but the final decision will be based on the level attained during the entry test and on organisational factors. It is not possible to attend a course without having taken the entry test. TEST STRUCTURE: The test comprises a written and oral component. The written test, which lasts 60 minutes, requires participants to write an email (semi-formal) and a summary/report (formal/academic) based on a diagram. The oral test involves a brief interview, lasting approximately 15 minutes.
TEST - DATE AND TIME
(WHEN) | TEST TAKERS
(WHO can apply) | WHERE | REGISTRATION DEADLINE | Publication and Confirmation of the Classes | COURSES START |
| 16 October 2024 - 11:30 | 39th Cohort students, who started their PhD in January or February 2024. | IN PERSON
LAB. 2E, CLA Via Venezia 16 (2nd floor).
| Registration will be open from 1 to 10 October.
| End of October in Moodle. | End of October (8 weeks) |
| 28-29 November and 4 December - several time slots | 40th Cohort students (starting on 1st November 2024) | IN PERSON
LAB. 2E, CLA Via Venezia 16 (2nd floor).
| Registration will be open from 8 to 22 November. DEADLINE EXTENDED until 28th November.
REGISTER FOR THE TEST
If this is your first access to moodle CLA, a bug could occur just after the Single Sign On. You may be asked to update your personal data. In this case you have to log out from moodle and then log in again using the same link. | 15 December - 8 January in Moodle | 9 January 2025 (8 weeks in January/February) or
March 2025
(8 weeks in the 2nd Semester) - according to your choice. |
January 2025 - date to be defined.
Students must in any case register by the stated deadline in November. Afterwards, they will be informed about the exact date of the test by the middle of December. | 40th Cohort: this session is ONLY addressed to International students not yet in Padova in November/December or for students who are abroad for research purposes in November/December | IN PERSON
LAB. 2E, CLA Via Venezia 16 (2nd floor).
| Registration will be open from 8 to 22 November.
REGISTER FOR THE TEST
If this is your first access to moodle CLA, a bug could occur just after the Single Sign On. You may be asked to update your personal data. In this case you have to log out from moodle and then log in again using the same link. | to be defined. | March 2025 (8 weeks in the 2nd Semester) |
Based on the results of the entry test, participants will be split amongst the various course types. The list of the first classes which will start in January/February 2022 will be available by 22nd Decemmber in the section entitled “classes”. Timetables will be made available as the classes are published.
Attendance and certificates
PhD students who would like to receive a certificate of attendance will need to attend at least 70% of the lessons (21 hours)
Classes
The names of the participants admitted to the January/February 2022 courses will be made available in this section by 22nd December. The timetables will be made available at the same time as the class lists. The names of the participants admitted to the courses following January/February courses courses will be made available by the same date.
Results, timetable, courses are available at this moodle link. Courses are starting on 10th January 2022.
Class confirmation in moodle is mandatory.
Applicants whose level is considered too low to attend the courses will be contacted individually via email (institutional email address @studenti.unipd.it).
Contacts
For further information you can contact elisabetta.divenere@unipd.it, tel. 0498276277 – 6185 (09:30 – 13.00).
