DACSE Academic Communication Skills in English

Faculty of Informatics
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Joseph Lennon, Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Mgr. Libor Štěpánek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. RNDr. Barbora Kozlíková, Ph.D.
Faculty of Informatics
Supplier department: Faculty of Informatics
Prerequisites
English - B2 CEFR level and above
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 14 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/14, only registered: 0/14
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This is a blended-learning course intended for students of postgraduate programmes and novice academic professionals who want to become acquainted with the basic principles of academic speaking and effective communication skills in English language. The class meets in block sessions to undertake team, collaborative and individual activities with the aim to learn about formal/informal oral communication; complex lecturing and presentation skills; and feedback giving and accepting. Active participation (spoken production and interaction) is practiced in contact lessons while the distance learning component is mediated through the IS discussion forum. At the end of the course, the participants will be able to take an active part in discussions in academic contexts of their interest, to account for and sustain their views; and to interact with a high degree of fluency and spontaneity. They will also be able to present clear, smoothly-flowing presentations or arguments in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
Learning outcomes
Successful participants will be able to present clear, smoothly-flowing presentations, arguments or other types of academic spoken productions in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
Syllabus
  • I. Introduction to the course and communication skills in academic context; genre analysis; II. Spoken interaction – basic principles; feedback – giving and accepting; III. Lectures and interactive seminars; writing skills – basic Info; IV. Structure, Intro, Conclusion of conference presentation/academic talk; V. Main Body, Audio-Visual Aids of conference presentation/academic talk; VI. Complex preparation of conference presentation/academic talk; VII.-XII. Practical training with critical reflection
Literature
    recommended literature
  • ŠTĚPÁNEK, Libor, Janice DE HAAFF, Alena HRADILOVÁ and David SCHÜLLER. Academic English – Akademická angličtina: Průvodce anglickým jazykem pro studenty, akademiky a vědce (Academic English: a guide for students, academics and scientists). Praha: Grada, 2011, 224 pp. ISBN 978-80-247-3577-1. info
    not specified
  • POWELL, Mark. Presenting in English :how to give successful presentations. Boston: Thomson, 128 s. ISBN 1-899396-30-6. info
  • NICOL, Adelheid A. M. and Penny M. PEXMAN. Presenting your findings : a practical guide for creating tables. 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2010, viii, 171. ISBN 9781433807053. info
  • NICOL, Adelheid A. M. and Penny M. PEXMAN. Displaying your findings : a practical guide for creating figures, posters, and presentations. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2003, vii, 195. ISBN 1557989788. info
Teaching methods
lectures, interactive seminars, online communication
Assessment methods
Successful completion of this course involves giving an academic presentation/lecture; contributing to discussions in contact lessons as well as virtual forums, participating in the IS discussion forum activities.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught each semester.
The course is taught: every week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2013, Spring 2014, Autumn 2014, Spring 2015, Autumn 2015, Spring 2016, Autumn 2016, Spring 2017, Autumn 2017, Spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Spring 2019, Autumn 2019, Spring 2020, Autumn 2020, Spring 2021, Autumn 2021, Spring 2022, Autumn 2022, Spring 2023, Autumn 2023, Spring 2024, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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