English for Academic Studies
Listening
Everyday listening is usually done for entertainment like watching TV, having conversations, or listening to music.
In academic studies, listening demands careful attention to understand lectures and seminars about subject-specific topics.
Listen for signposting words like, “firstly”, “secondly”, and “now” because these indicate the introduction of a new topic or idea.
Phrases, “for instance”, “for example”, and “as can be seen” are usually followed by explanations and examples.
Note: Lectures are often recorded on ReCap and you can listen to the recording at your own pace after the lecture.
Top Tip: One way to improve your listening skills is to listen to the audio versions of academic texts. You can find these via LibrarySearch by limiting to Ebooks in the left-hand pane.
Speaking
Speaking in everyday English is about sharing stories with friends, ordering food in a restaurant, or catching up on recent gossip.
In academic studies, speaking is more formal and requires describing, comparing, and criticising ideas.
You might be asked to discuss complex concepts during class discussions, presentations, and debates.
You might use lots of descriptive adjectives in everyday English but use them sparingly when expressing ideas in academic contexts.
Academic speaking is usually purposeful and does not require emotive language.