Course Description: English for Science

 

Courses	Brief Description	Teaching plan
	NGM 121 is an English for Special Purposes (ESP) course. The course focuses on developing and extending students’ reading fluency in scientific texts. (further info.)	Fall (2007/2008)
	This course is the continuation of Najm 121 . It aims to assist students to further develop their general language skills within the context of scientific English. (further info.)	Fall (2007/2008)

King Saud University

College of Languages and Translation

Language Unit

Course Description: English NAGM 121

 

Course Description

NGM 121 is an English for Special Purposes (ESP) course for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science program at King Saud University, Riyadh.

The course focuses on developing and extending students’ reading fluency in scientific texts by exposing them to scientific terminology and contextualizing this vocabulary knowledge in real scientific passages. There is special emphasis upon reading comprehension skills and the course is designed around a series of graded reading selections in core science.

The book contains eighteen units. The first nine units focus on the basic English grammar and the core vocabulary in a scientific discourse. In the second nine units, emphasis is put upon the reading skill in science contexts. Reading selections taken from a wide range of scientific disciplines are presented and the students study reading techniques of scanning, skimming, guessing meaning from the contexts, etc. These reading selections are intended to build the students’ confidence in coping with the science texts in their science books.

This course also includes basic scientific numeracy including the expression of math functions, fractions, units measure, and the reading of elementary chemical formulae.

By the end of the course students should have mastered a core vocabulary of at least 1000 words and be able to read elementary scientific texts competently and with understanding.

Course assessment is by examination. Continuous assessment activities like two midterm exams, homework assignments and other class activities are given throughout the course. This assessment carries 50% of the general assessment record. A conclusive final exam is given at the end of the semester which carries 50% of the course grade.

Students who fail to score 60% fail and repeat the course in the second semester. Those who make take the next ESP course, Najam 122, which is given in the following semester.

Course Description

          Najm 122 is English for Special Purpose (ESP) course for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science Degree at King Saud University in Riyadh.  The course is the continuation of Najm 121 which is given in the first semester. It aims to assist students to further develop their general language skills within the context of scientific English. Special emphasis is put upon reading comprehension skills and scientific terminology intended to help the students cope with the science textbooks taught in their respective disciplines. The course is designed around a series of graded reading selections in core science subjects and the relevant scientific terminology and grammatical structures common in the scientific discourse. Grammar is skimpily presented with particular emphasis on passive transformations of the English language which are relevant to the scientific discourse.

The course book is Nucleus: English for Science and Technology, which is a well-written book. It consists of twelve lengthy units. Each unit is divided into sections of increasing difficulty and takes about six 50-minute period to be completed. It takes seven or eight units of this book to be completed by the time the semester comes to its end.

By the end of the course, students should have mastered a core vocabulary of at least 3,000 words and be able to read lower intermediate scientific texts competently and with understanding.

Course assessment is by examination. Two midterm exams evenly timed in the course duration and a final exam given towards the end of the semester determine the outcome of this assessment. Those students who score 60% or above pass the course.                               

    Teaching Plan: 121   

Week	Date		activity	Remark
1	8/9/2007	26/8/1428	Registration
2	15/9/2007	3/9/427	Unit 1	Ramadan
3	22/9/2007	10/9/1428	Unit 2	23 sept. is the national day
4	29/9/2007	17/9/1428	Unit 3
6/10/2007 ~19/10/2007  = 24/9/1428 ~7/10/1428 (The Ramadan Break)
5	20/10/2007	8/10/1428	Unit 4 and 5	Test I hand-in
6	27/10/2007	15/10/1428	Unit 6
7	3/11/2007	22/10/1428	Midterm Exam	Test I (7/11/2007)
8	10/11/2007	29/10/1428	Unit 7 and 8
9	17/11/2007	7/11/1428	Unit 9
10	24/11/2007	14/11/1428	Unit 10 and 11	Test II hand-in
11	1/12/2007	21/11/1428	Unit 12 and 15	Final exam hand-in
12	8/12/2007	28/11/1428		Test II (12/12/2007)
15/12/2007 ~ 28/12/2007 = 5/12/1428 ~ 18/12/1428 (Haj Break)
13	29/12/2008	19/12/1428	Unit 16	Debarred lists
14	5/1/2008	26/12/1428	General Revision
15				Final Exam

Teaching Plan: 122

Week	Date		activity	Remark
1	8/9/2007	26/8/1428	Registration
2	15/9/2007	3/9/427	Unit 1: Sections 1, 2	Ramadan
3	22/9/2007	10/9/1428	Unit 1: Sections 3, 4	23 sept. is the national day
4	29/9/2007	17/9/1428	Unit 2: Sections 1, 2, 4
6/10/2007 ~19/10/2007  = 24/9/1428 ~7/10/1428 (The Ramadan Break)
5	20/10/2007	8/10/1428	Unit 2: Sections 4, 5	Test I hand-in
6	27/10/2007	15/10/1428	Unit 3: Sections 1, 2, 3,4
7	3/11/2007	22/10/1428	Midterm Exam	Test I (5/11/2007)
8	10/11/2007	29/10/1428	Unit 4: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4
9	17/11/2007	7/11/1428	Unit 5: Sections 1,2
10	24/11/2007	14/11/1428	Unit 5: Sections 3, 4, 5	Test II hand-in
11	1/12/2007	21/11/1428	Unit 6: Sections 1, 3, 4, 5	Final exam hand-in
12	8/12/2007	28/11/1428		Test II (10/12/2007)
15/12/2007 ~ 28/12/2007 = 5/12/1428 ~ 18/12/1428 (Haj Break)
13	29/12/2008	19/12/1428	Unit 7: Sections 1, 2, 3	Debarred lists
14	5/1/2008	26/12/1428	Unit 7: Sections 4,5
15				Final Exam