Passed your exams? Great! Got a place at an overseas university? Fantastic! But is your English really up to the task? To get the most out of your education in the UK or US, your academic English needs to be solid. In this study guide, our experienced EAP tutor Holly N. will give you her best tips to make sure your English is good enough for life at university. Let’s take a look!
Many of my students say: “I’ve passed my IELTS exam, so I don’t need to work on my grammar!” Yes, the IELTS exam gives you a good foundation for the English you will use on your university course, but it’s a good idea to keep improving your grammar even after you have met the basic language requirement to enter university.
Well, most international students know what their weak areas are, and for a lot of students this is writing. It’s likely that you made some grammar mistakes in your writing exam and it’s important to know what tenses you should improve on before you start to write academic essays. You don’t want these errors to become “fossilised mistakes” (bad habits), which are then very difficult to correct.
If you are confident that you can use grammar accurately and can express your ideas clearly in English, then this will mean you can dedicate more time to all the other stages of the academic writing process – research, formatting, paraphrasing, etc.
Academic writing doesn’t always mean lots of long, complicated sentences! You can still get good marks if you write in a relatively simple way. If you make mistakes with your grammar, it might have a negative impact on the reader, who might feel frustrated by the mistakes or might not understand what you are saying. This is why it’s important to keep things simple.
Before you start your university course, make sure you’re really confident using simple grammar structures. Below are a few examples of tenses that are frequently used in academic writing. If you can use these accurately, then you will definitely be at an advantage when you start your university course.
At university, you will be expected to read a lot and you will also need to show in your academic writing that you have read widely. It can be a shock for many students when they arrive at university and are given a very long reading list for their course. If you’re not in the habit of regularly reading books, articles and websites in English, then reading for university can be a slow and painful process!
Yes. At times, skimming (when you read superficially to get a general understanding of an article) is going to be more useful than scanning (when you try and understand every single word). This will be the case when you need to find your own sources to support your ideas.
Sometimes you might choose to read an article because you think it is relevant to your argument, but then you might realise that the article isn’t going to help with your essay. If you have spent a long time reading this article in detail and looking up every new word in the dictionary, it can be frustrating when you have to then disregard it.
So save some time and get into the habit of reading for a general understanding only at first. If there are individual words that you don’t know, try to work out the meaning from the context. This will increase your reading speed and you can then read the article again in more detail if you decide you can actually use it in your essay.
Academic listening can be a problem for many international students. There are two reasons for this:
i) Students have to listen to very long lectures, instead of short extracts
ii) Students have to listen in a new way
As you know from personal experience, listening exercises at school, with a private teacher or in exams tend to involve some advanced preparation. You may be given a list of questions, a specific task/context or even an answer sheet with multiple choice options. This is very different from listening to spontaneous speech in English, especially native English speech delivered at speed.
Listening to a lecture means you need to “listen in a different way” because there isn’t a list of questions and you have to write AND listen at the same time. You need to understand which points or fact are most important (and write these down). However, while writing, you must also keep following what the lecturer is saying. It’s not easy to do!
On some courses this might be possible, but it’s best to check with your department first. Even if the rules state that lectures can be recorded, you will still need to have good listening skills in order to understand other students in seminars, and to be able to respond to what they say.
For many students (including native speakers!), listening and note-taking are new skills that they need to develop when they go to university. It takes time and effort to master these new skills so you should start practising early.
Before starting your uni course, you should already know the answers to questions like these:
* What’s an in-text citation?
* What’s a reference list?
* Do I need to include a page number?
* Do I need to include the author’s first name and surname, or just the surname?
* Is it correct to write “Huang and Anderson” or “Huang & Anderson”?
* If my academic article was written by twenty different people, do I need to write all of their names in my in-text citations?
* What order do I put the reference list in?
* When do I need to use italics?
These are questions that students often ask when they need to use academic sources in their writing. Why not start to think about citations and references before you start your course? This will mean less stress for you later.
I CAN’T SUBMIT MY ESSAY! I was not well at the weekend.
Thanx so much!
J.
This is an email from a student to their tutor. It was sent 5 minutes before the deadline for the essay. Do you think this is acceptable? How would you feel as the tutor receiving this message?
Unfortunately, most students have not had much practice writing formal emails before they arrive at university. International students may also struggle with selecting the right level of formality to use when speaking and writing in English. It’s important that you give the right impression when corresponding with university staff and other students.
Living overseas provides a great opportunity to improve your English speaking skills. However, many international students fail to fully integrate or make friends with students from their host country. This is often because they lack confidence with their spoken English or experience “culture shock”. Try to improve your spoken English and knowledge of the local culture BEFORE you arrive at university.
Writing essays and assignments for university takes a lot of time and effort. This is especially true if English is not your mother tongue. You may even find that you make basic mistakes with your English writing because your attention is focused 100% on the content/material. This isn’t a problem, but you do need to proofread your work thoroughly before you submit it!
Many universities provide a proofreading checklist. However, if you already know the types of mistakes you make most often, this can help you save time when editing. For example, if you often make mistakes with tenses, then you should pay particular attention to these when proofreading.
Perhaps also consider a “proofreading exchange” with a fellow student from your course. Take it in turns to edit each other’s essays. Two pairs of eyes are better than one!
When it comes to EAP vocabulary, there are terms connected with your specific technical subject (e.g. Medicine) and more general Academic English words used on all degree courses. You will need both during your time at university.
If you have an extensive vocabulary, it will help you when reading, writing, speaking and listening in English. Like grammar, this skill covers every base. You should think of vocabulary/words as bricks in your “English house”. If you have too many missing bricks, then your house will fall down. Keep building your vocabulary!
Most universities provide a number of services especially for overseas students. When you arrive, you should get in contact with your university’s international department. Their staff can give you practical advice on how to set up a student bank account, manage your finances, register with a local doctor, etc.
University international departments also bring together local and overseas students via a range of social activities and events. These can be a great place to practise your English and to meet new people!
You may also be able to benefit from a mentoring scheme. These pair you up with a second or third year student who knows more about the university/city and can answer your questions or give helpful advice.
Visit your university’s official website to find out more about this before you arrive.
University encourages students to be very independent in their studies and to decide by themselves how to structure their study time. For some students, this can be difficult at first and they can get distracted easily. In contrast, other students may spend all their time studying, but with zero downtime. Getting the right balance is important, both for your health and for your studies.
Want to improve your Academic English for university? You’re in the right place! Contact us today for your free consultation with one of our experienced British English teachers. Find out how we can help you succeed with your English and get the most from your higher education.
