39th cohort and 38th cohort (PON scholarships)
The courses listed on this page are free and priority will be given to PhD students of the 39th cohort (first year) and to those of the 38th cohort who started their PhD in January 2023 (PON scholarships).
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.
Course attendance: over ZOOM.
Compulsory ENTRY test on 19-20-27 October 2023 – (see the specific section below). An EXTRA SESSION of the ENTRY TEST will be held on 14th December. This session is ONLY addressed to 39th Cohort students who started on 1st November 2023 and to international students who were NOT yet in Padova in October. 39th students who will start in 2024 can join the next year courses (a.a.24/25)
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:Not lower than B1. Basic structures of Academic English: nominalization, recognizing sentence structure e.g. the use of noun phrases, 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. Addressing typical issues in language and pronunciation which may impede comprehension. Students with a level lower than B1 may be addressed to general english courses (
basic courses – A2)
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; introduction to writing abstracts, structuring research papers, describing data e.g. from graphs or tables; rhetorical 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: from B1+ to B2 or higher. The same topics are covered in different ways and at different speeds according to the level.
- ACADEMIC WRITING/ABSTRACT: Conference abstracts and research article abstracts (exploring the differences between conference and research article abstracts, analysis of structure and language use).
- ACADEMIC SPEAKING/PRESENTATION: Aspects of formal/professional vs. informal/friendly language; language for debate and discussion, interaction between the presenter and audience, dealing with questions appropriately; organization of the presentation, signposting language; typical pronunciation issues e.g. key vowel sounds; each student will have the opportunity to give a presentation with the aim of improving their delivery and pronunciation as well as building confidence.
Which and how many courses can a person attend?
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). 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 INTRO course is preparatory to the AE course).
Participant with a B2 level (lower and upper): 1 Academic English course + 1 mini course (the Academic English course must be taken before the mini course).
Participant with a level higher than B2 (upper +) : 2 mini courses ore 1 Academic English course + 1 mini course.
(which may not coincide with that given as a preference in the registration form).
Course duration and dates
The first 30-hour courses will take place from November to December 2023. The remaining 30-hour courses will take place between January and March 2024 and possibly in the 2nd semester (depending on the request). Mini courses will be held from end of March to July 2023. 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 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 | Attendance | Entry test |
| Intro to Academic English | 30 academic hours, twice a week for 6-7 weeks | B1 | Nov/Dec 2023 - Jan/Feb 2024 | Twice a week/Online over zoom | Obligatory, 19, 20 or 27 October |
| Academic English (writing and speaking) | 30 academic hours, twice a week for 6-7 weeks | from B1+ to B2 or higher | Nov/Dec 2023, - Jan/Feb 2024 | Twice a week/Online over zoom | Obligatory, 19, 20 or 27 October |
| Mini courses on specific topics | 10 academic hours (intensive, one week) | from B1+ to B2 or higher | From end of March to July 2024 | Twice a week/Online over zoom | Obligatory, 19, 20 or 27 October |
ENTRY TEST and REGISTRATION
The entry test is necessary in order to evaluate whether each participant’s language level is adequate to attend the courses and to ensure each participant attends the class which is most suited to their level. It will be held at the Language Centre. Based on the test results the Language Centre will split the participants into 3 groups: “Intro”, “Lower” and “Upper”. 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, which lasts 10 minutes in total, requires participants to record and upload a 2-minute monologue in response to a prompt. The recording for the oral test will take place via Moodle. The whole entry test (written and oral) lasts about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
| TEST | DATE AND TIME | WHERE | REGISTRATION |
| WRITTEN and SPOKEN PRODUCTION | 19-20 or 27 October, different time slots, depending on the date.
ONLY for international students who are NOT in Padova yet and for students who are abroad for research purposes/conference and will not be in Padova in October: another test date will be organized by the end of November. In this case you must register by the 15th of October anyway, filling in the form and indicating the reason for your absence from Padova (in the notes field). We will contact you with the new date after the registration deadline. | IN PERSON
LAB. 2E, CLA Via Venezia 16 (2nd floor).
| Registration open from 4 to 15 October.
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. |
| WRITTEN and SPOKEN PRODUCTION | 14th December.
this session is ONLY addressed to 39th Cohort students who started on 1st November and to those International students who were not yet in Padova in October. | IN PERSON
LAB. 2E, CLA Via Venezia 16 (2nd floor).
| Registration open from 29 November to 10 December (the opening has been POSTPONED due to a moodle update).
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. |
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)
Results/Classes
The test results will be made available by the 3rd of November on Moodle, the link to which will be published here. Based on the results of the entry test, participants will be split into three groups (Intro, lower, upper). In the same Moodle course, participants will be able to see the results and confirm/register for one of the available courses. Each participant will only be able to see and access the courses (or course) allotted to him/her.
Contacts
For further information you can contact didattica.cla@unipd.it or elisabetta.divenere@unipd.it, tel. 0498276277 – 6185 (09:30 – 13.00).
As far as the CLA is concerned, these courses are not mandatory. However, the CLA is not in a position to know what each School’s Phd study plan includes or requires as mandatory (some schools may require an academic English course as obligatory). Each student should make sure that they are fully informed about this by contacting their specific school/phd student office.
