Academic Language and Development study guide 2023/24
Centre for Academic Language and Development at Bristol
'Academic language... is nobody's mother tongue.' – Bourdieu et al., 1994
As a study abroad student, you can enhance your UK studies with one of our academic language and development units. These units will develop your academic skills, helping you thrive in the UK higher-education context.
You will be taught by staff from our Centre for Academic Language and Development. The centre has more than twenty years’ experience in helping students at all levels learn to communicate more effectively between and within disciplines.
Each week, you will:
- attend a two-hour, in-person session taught by specialist staff
- receive materials with which to complete tasks in your own time.
In 2023/24, we are offering the following units in both the spring and autumn semesters:
Academic Listening and Speaking (TB1 and TB2) - LANG10007
This 10-credit unit will develop your academic listening and speaking, focussing on skills that all students need in the UK higher education context. You will learn to:
- use a variety of strategies to better manage the demands of different academic listening contexts and tasks
- interact in academic contexts on complex topics, building on the contributions of others and justifying personal contributions with appropriate evidence
- manage the knowledge acquired through listening so as to contribute effectively to future study
- summarise and synthesise knowledge from a variety of sources into an original text that demonstrates critical thinking
- engage an international audience and manage their attention in a variety of academic contexts through a variety of vocal and physical techniques.
Academic Reading and Writing (TB1 and TB2) - LANG10008
This 10-credit unit will develop your academic reading and writing, focussing on skills that all students need in the UK higher education context. You will learn to:
- read academic texts efficiently, effectively and evaluatively
- manage the knowledge acquired through reading so as to contribute effectively to future study
- summarise and synthesise knowledge into an original text that demonstrates critical thinking
- produce a text that exhibits the features and follows the conventions of academic English for the appropriate audience and purpose
- produce a text that demonstrates a clear stance in relation to other texts, incorporating sources and evidence to support that stance.
Please note: these units will only run if we get enough applications. You will be contacted if required to choose an alternative unit.
For more information about each unit, check the University's unit catalogue for 2023/24. The unit catalogue for 2023/24 is updated by April 2023.
Application queries
Contact the Centre for Study Abroad inbound team if you have any queries about the application process for the study abroad programmes:
Phone: +44 117 39 40207
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk
Auditing
Students cannot audit units. Study abroad students are fully registered on units for credit purposes and must attend teaching only for classes that they are registered on.