Singapore University of Social Sciences

Academic Discourse: English in a Global Context

Academic Discourse: English in a Global Context (TSL571)

Applications Open: 01 October 2023

Applications Close: 15 November 2023

Next Available Intake: January 2024

Course Types: Modular Graduate Course

Language: English

Duration: 6 months

Fees: $2200 View More Details on Fees

Area of Interest: Linguistics and Languages

Schemes: Alumni Continuing Education (ACE)

Funding: To be confirmed

School/Department: School of Humanities & Behavioural Sciences


Synopsis

TSL 571 Academic Discourse: English in a Global Context provides students with a critical understanding of academic discourse as a type of discourse characterized, in its idealized form, by rational thinking and detached reasoning. The course also examines critically the notion that academic discourse is not only concerned with the dissemination of knowledge, but also with the construction and maintenance of social roles and relationships of academics and students, and their relationships to the global academic community and beyond. The course then explores the privileged status of English as the lingua franca of academia and its impact on the academic practices of ESL/EFL learners. The course ends with a detailed investigation of various types of academic discourses of particular relevance to students.

Level: 5
Credit Units: 5
Presentation Pattern: Every 2 years

Topics

  • Academic discourse: Main concepts; local and global academic communities and cultures; academic identity, conformity and power
  • The privileged status of English as the lingua franca of academia and its impact on the “internationalization” of higher education
  • Textual approaches to the study of academic discourse
  • Contextual approaches to the study of academic discourse
  • Academic integrity: Plagiarism and collusion; APA convention
  • Academic genre: Rhetorical goals and moves
  • Computer text corpora of written and spoken academic discourse
  • Type of research discourse: The research article
  • Type of research discourse: The thesis/dissertation
  • Type of research discourse: The conference presentation
  • Type of instructional discourse: The university lecture and seminar
  • Type of instructional discourse: Tex

Learning Outcome

  • Discuss critically the main concepts in the study of academic discourse
  • Examine critically the status of English as the lingua franca of academia and its impact on the “internationalization” of higher education
  • Distinguish between different approaches to the study of academic discourse
  • Evaluate different types of instructional discourses in terms of their alignment to conventions of academic discourse
  • Critique different types of research discourses in terms of their alignment to conventions of academic discourse
  • Prepare a research discourse document in accordance with prescribed academic discourse practices
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