AIM OF THE COURSE The course aims at providing students with the knowledge of the English language necessary to comprehend, analyze and write short technical documents pertaining to the environmental engineering sector as well to present reports or research projects orally. LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of the course, the students will be able to: - communicate in English at B2 level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages); - understand and analyze short technical-scientific texts relating to the environmental engineering sector; - manage the content of a research project in English; - write a short text on a technical-scientific topic relating to the environmental engineering sector: - present orally a project or an engineering report with the appropriate terminology.
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites
Contents
The course will focus on the analysis of scientific articles and technical-scientific texts provided by the teacher and will cover: - Features of the technical-scientific literature, textual typologies and purpose; manuals, technical-scientific articles, abstracts. Main vocabulary-grammatical characteristics. Formal academic scientific English. Specific terminology and linguistic functions: formulating definitions; research and development; measurements, reporting data, describing processes, risk assessment and prevention. (16 hours) - Abstract analysis: Moves structure (Introduction, purpose, methods and materials, results, conclusion and implications). Syntax: Noun phrases and compound nouns, nominalization. Word formation and affixation. Reducing clauses. Hedging language. Passive voice. Exercises. Guided reading and comprehension exercises and analysis aimed at acquiring linguistic awareness and writing short texts. Exercises. (8 hours) - Oral presentation of technical reports or scientific projects: content, structure, audience, use of slides, purpose. Illustration of images, tables and graphs. (8 hours).
