Academic English

Academic English

English has become the language of the academic world and will continue to be the leading lingua franca for decades to come. In consequence, all researchers and university graduates – regardless of their specialty or country of origin – need to be able to communicate about their field of interest and understand complex presentations and papers in English.

This workshop focuses on these language needs of young scientists. It introduces them to research-related communicative situations such as project communication, presentations or controversial discussions. Participants will practice defining and refining topics, developing and supporting ideas, as well as interacting with colleagues in different contexts.

The fundamentals of academic writing will also be addressed. In addition, the course deals with the academic culture in English speaking countries, which emphasizes comprehensibility, clearness and humor much more than German academia.

The workshop follows a practical, needs-oriented approach and aims at strengthening participants' communication skills in academic English through various task-based exercises.

The workshop is open to all doctoral researchers of Saarland University. Participants are welcome to suggest topics or submit questions in advance. In addition, they are required to pass a placement test in English prior to the workshop.

Placement test

Prior to the workshop, participants are asked to take a placement test in English. There are two exclusive test dates for GradUS:

• Monday, 8 November 2010, 13:00 hrs.
• Monday, 15 November 2010, 13:00 hrs.
  

Please contact the "Mediothek" of the Language Center (building C5 4, room 3.20, tel. 0681/302-5432) to register for the placement test (please go there ca. 15-20 min. earlier to register especially if you are not pre-registered at the Language Center). You will need to bring your student or staff ID-card to the test. If you are neither enrolled as doctoral student nor employed by the university, please contact the GradUS team.

If you are unable to take the test on either of these two days, please consult the website of the Language Center for further test dates. If you have already taken a test, simply e-mail your results, your matriculation number and - if applicable - your registration number at the Language Center to the GradUS team.

Information on the workshop

Important:

• For each PhD student, participation in the GradUS workshops is sponsored with 100 euro per year by the presidium of Saarland University, which are considered when calculating course fees (50 euro are considered each semester).

  
  
• Participation in every workshop is certificated.
  
  
• Childcare can be provided for doctoral researchers with children for the duration of a particular GradUS event at no charge (see website Kinderbetreuung).
  
  
• Tax deductibility: we recommend that you try to claim tax deduction for GradUS workshops' participation fees. Usually, further training fees are considered allowable expenses and hence reduce the taxable income. However, a general regulation does not exist and decisions are made in this context case by case. Saarland University does not provide particulars on that issue.