Graduate Programmes offered by CELC

International graduate students from non-English medium universities who take the Diagnostic English Test (DET) will, if not exempted from the programme, generally be channelled to the relevant level of the Graduate English Course, depending on their results. They must pass that level before being allowed to move on to the next. However, some faculties have special requirements about which modules should be taken and the order in which their students should take the modules.

The intermediate level module, ES5001B, Speaking & Listening, is open to any international graduate student from a non-English medium university registered at NUS, regardless of whether they have to take the DET or not. However, students who are required to take the DET must do so before they can take ES5001B in case their DET result requires them to take ES5000 first, as this is a pre-requisite for ES5001B.

GEC modules aim to develop international graduate students’ English writing and speaking skills in order to maximise their communicative competence within the academic and professional fields. To this end ES5000 (Basic English) enhances students’ basic academic language competence in writing, while ES5001A (Intermediate English) builds on this competence and prepares students for specific writing tasks at the graduate level, such as writing critiques, data commentaries and reports. ES5001B complements these modules by developing the students’ listening and oral communication skills. Finally, ES5002 assists research students in writing their Ph.D. theses.

Basic Level Writing (ES5000)

Module Description

This module is the first level of the Graduate English Course to which international graduate students from non-English medium universities may be channelled, depending on their results in the Diagnostic English Test.

It is a 48 hour module taught over 12 weeks with 2 two-hour tutorials per week.

The module aims to help graduate students from non-English speaking countries enhance their basic academic language competence in writing and reading and acquire a wider academic vocabulary.

Modular Credits: Nil

Workload: 0-4-0-2-2

Objectives

At the end of the module, students should be able to:

• minimise basic grammar errors in their writing;
• use a wider academic vocabulary;
• write well-structured paragraphs using specific organisational patterns;
• write well-organised long texts in response to research issues; and
• use common reading techniques to comprehend academic texts.

Format

Throughout the semester there will be tutorials, student-teacher conferences, writing workshops and visits to the Centre for English Language Communication´s Self-Access Learning Facility (SELF).

In addition, students are encouraged to access independent learning materials on the IVLE and the SELF´s virtual learning resource, ITSELF.

Assessment

The final grade for this module will be based on 50% continuous assessment and 50% final examination.

The continuous assessment (50%) will include:

• Cause-Effect Paragraph 20%
• Problem-Solution Paragraph 30%
• Problem-Solution Long Text 30%
• Quizzes 10%
• Presence & Engagement in Classes 10%

The final examination (50%) will include:

• Text Editing 10 %
• Written Text 90 %

Prerequisites

To enter this module, students must have taken the Diagnostic English Test and received a Band 1 result.

Intermediate Level Writing (ES5001A)

Module Description

This module is the intermediate level of the Graduate English Course. Some students will be channelled to it based on their results in the Diagnostic English Test. Other students, who are required to take ES5000, must pass that module before being admitted to this one.

It is a 48-hour module taught over 12 weeks with 2 two-hour tutorials per week.

The module provides the opportunity for postgraduate students from non-English medium universities to develop their academic writing skills by writing several academic texts and to explore the grammar and style of academic writing in their own discipline.

Objectives

At the end of the module students should be able to:

• recognise the general characteristics of academic writing;
• recognise the style of academic writing in their respective disciplines;
• write with greater grammatical competence;
• express well-organised ideas in academic English; and
• interpret data and academic texts.
  

They should also be able to write the following texts with minimal support:

• a simple critique;
• a data commentary; and
• a simple research report.
  

Modular Credits: Nil

Workload: 0-4-0-3-3

Format

This module will give instruction and practice in writing academic texts and encourage students to review their own and their peers’ writing.

Assessment

The final grade for this module will be based on 60% continuous assessment and 40% final examination.

The continuous assessment grade will be made up of:

• Data Commentary 15%
• Critique 20%
• Report 20%
• Presence & Engagement in Classes 5%

Prerequisites

To be admitted to this module, students must have taken the Diagnostic English Test and received a Band 2 or passed ES5000, if required to do so.

Students may, if they choose, take ES5001B before they take ES5001A.

Intermediate Level Speaking and Listening (ES5001B)

Module Description

This intermediate level module is open as an elective to any international graduate student registered at NUS, regardless of whether they are required to take the Diagnostic English Test or not. Some students from the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences and the School of Medicine are required to take ES5001B.

It is a 48-hour module taught over 12 weeks with 2 two-hour tutorials per week.

This module is designed to help graduate students from non-English medium universities improve their oral and aural skills in English. Students should increase their competence in listening and speaking so they can participate easily in general conversation and in academic discussions and comprehend most educated English speech. They should also learn the techniques of preparing and skills for delivering an academic presentation.

Objectives

By the end of the module the students should:

• have improved their listening skills for dealing with academic discourse;
• have improved their general listening skills;
• be able to express their ideas and thoughts in a natural and confident way;
• be able to give a well organised, competently delivered "professional" presentation; and
• be able to pronounce problematic English sounds with greater clarity.

Modular Credits: Nil

Workload: 0-4-0-2-1

Format

The module will include a variety of oral presentations, listening exercises, videos, discussions and pronunciation practices with self, peer and tutor evaluation.

Assessment

ES5001B is a 100% continuous assessment module. The assignments are:

• Mini Presentation (Individual) 5%
• Oral Presentation (Team) 25%
• Oral Presentation (Individual) 25%
• Listening Exercises 35%
• Presence & Engagement in Classes 10%

Pre-requisites

To be admitted to this module any student required to take the DET must do so and, if placed in ES5000, must pass that module before taking ES5001B.

ES5001B, when taken as an elective, can be taken before or after ES5001A.

This module can be taken by any international graduate student from a non-English medium university regardless of whether they have to take the Diagnostic English Test or not.

Advanced Level Writing (ES5002)

Module Description

This advanced level module is designed for international students who are pursuing a PhD in NUS by research. All international PhD students who are not exempted from Graduate English Courses (based on their results for the Diagnostic English Test) are required to take ES5002. All PhD students from non-English medium universities in the School of Medicine are required to take ES5002,

It is a 48-hour module taught over 12 weeks with 2 two-hour tutorials per week.

ES5002 teaches the organisational structure and writing conventions of research papers and theses (with the primary focus on thesis writing).

Modular Credits: Nil

Workload: 0-4-0-3-3

Objectives

At the end of this module students should be able to:

• identify and write the four main structural elements of an Introduction;
• identify and write the six main elements of a Conclusion;
• identify the four main elements of an Abstract;
• use transitional devices appropriately and effectively to maintain continuity;
• use correct tenses for different sections of a research paper or a thesis chapter.

Format

• Tutorials: Eight tutorials highlight important information on the structural and linguistic aspects of writing the main sections of a research article and a thesis: Introduction, Results, Discussion/Conclusion and Abstract.
• Workshops: Four workshops are devoted to students’ analyses of thesis portions and samples of abstracts of research articles and theses.
• Pre-writing: Two pre-writing sessions discuss students’ outlines for the first two assignments (introduction sections) i.e. the writing of Context (the first assignment) and Review (the second assignment).
• Peer review: Four peer review sessions allow the first draft of students’ assignments to be read and commented on by fellow classmates.
• Tutor feedback sessions: In the six tutor feedback sessions, students will be given opportunities to ask questions about their tutor's comments on their drafts and to make revisions based on such comments.

Assessment

ES5002 is a 100% continuous assessment module.
Students are required to:

• write four assignments for different sections of a thesis: Introduction, and Discussion/Conclusion (70%);
• analyse the structural and linguistic features of different portions of a research paper and/or a thesis (20%); and
• engage in their learning process by participating in classroom discussions and group activities (10%).

Prerequisites

Students need to complete ES5000, if required, and ES5001A before taking ES5002.

PhD candidates generally take ES5002 in the fourth year of their candidature when they are writing their thesis.

Law Intensive English Course (IEC Law)

The Intensive English Course for international graduate students in the Faculty of Law focuses on academic writing, with grammar instruction focusing on frequently occurring error types in student texts.

Objectives

Writing instruction, which is designed to raise student awareness of transfer errors, common sentence problems, and organisation of information, is organise in three phases: individual and group pre-writing activities, in-class writing assignments, and homework rewrites. Grammar activities are aimed at raising student awareness of (a) patterns of error or recurring errors in their class-produced texts and (b) repair strategies that will help them correct these errors.

Format

The course structure is largely based on the structure and content of the Law summer course on Common Law Reasoning and Writing (CLRW). Writing academic texts comprises the following stages in recursive fashion, with conceiving ideas, drafting, and rewriting occurring in recursive moves.
(a) Pre-writing

• Development of content and cultural schemata and vocabulary via law-related readings and small or general class discussion of these readings
• General class discussion of homework

(b) Writing Stage

• Direct instruction on writing
• Writing exercises using information from readings and discussions
• Immediate teacher feedback on class writing exercise
• Writing assignments - in-class draft and take home rewrites

(c) Post-writing

• Peer reviews (i.e., where appropriate)
• General teacher feedback on in-class draft (with a focus on grammar and sentence structure)
• Immediate individual conferencing on draft
• Take home rewrites (more than one rewrite for some students) and further conferencing (includes conferencing on CLRW writing assignments)
• Assessment of student writing

Duration of programme: 45 tutorial hours

Assessment

Continual Assessment : 60%                  In-class writing assignments 50%                  Class Participation 10% Participation consists of student contribution to class discussions and in-class group activities, preparedness and participation in individual conferencing, and attendance.

Final Examination : 40%