COURSE DETAILS: Academic Writing: Language Advisory Service at the Mediothek
On-line Information and Communication Platform (MOODLE) and Registration in the Language Advisory Scheme
All participants need to register as members of the MOODLE communication platform because there, current information about the Language Advisory Service at the Mediothek Self-Learning Centre and self-learning material will be published as needed. There, you can make appointments with your Advisor and other participants of this Service and can actively participate in the learning process by contacting your fellow-students via Forums. You will be given the URL, the access key and more information by your Language Advisor when you meet the Language Advisor for the first time, and only then will you be asked to register in the scheme at anmeldung.sprachenzentrum.hu-berlin.de).
Fields covered: The Process of Academic Writing. You will receive individual or group guidance and advice according to what and how you would like to learn to write academic texts.
Types of texts you can learn to write: You can learn how to write personal and professional letters, including letters to your tutors or professors, application documents for an educational stay or work exchange abroad, short comments and essays about academic topics, information leaflets, letters of referral for your patients (for medical students), short research articles, research reports with abstracts
Methods of Advising and Guiding:After doing a short skills assessment test and registering in the scheme, you will be given some printed material dealing with academic writing conventions, and will then start working individually. Short writing assignments will help you develop your writing skills. On these, you will receive feedback that will show you what language problems you need to work on. In this way, you can revise important grammatical structures and relevant vocabulary according to your needs.
As the time of the Advisory Service (twice a week) will not be sufficient for your learning process you will be advised to go on working at home or can stay on at the Mediothek after the Service hours.
You will be obliged to register in the Moodle Communication Platform to make appointments with the advisor, to get information regularly and to be able to communicate with the advisor and fellow-students who are also using the Language Advisory Service.
Feedback on complete drafts or final versions of texts cannot be given, apart from Curricula Vitae and Application Letters. Instead, you will be given guidance during your learning process.
Materials used: As the Language Advisory Service is offered at the Mediothek Self-Learning Centre you will use its resources and computers there. Nothing can be borrowed from there but you can bring your USB memory sticks and prepare for doing more individual work at home. You can also download the KLEA Interactive Grammar from our homepage at http://www.sprachenzentrum.huberlin.de/selbstlernzentrum/online_angebote/klea/klea_start.htm ;. You can send results of your work on your individual writing process to your Email address.
Tests: If you want to receive a Credit (Leistungsnachweis or “Schein”), you will have to write one end-of-semester test that will be tailor-made to your needs. This will be a writing test in the form of a short report or essay, a letter or a comment.
Further Information: Current information about opening hours of the computer room (room 245) is available on the Language Centre web site at www.sprachenzentrum.hu-berlin.de
The Mediothek Self-Learning Centre can be accessed from the University Library on the first floor at Dorotheenstraße 65. Look at our web site for more information.
Requirements for a Leistungsnachweis (note that Teilnahmescheine are not issued):
- regular contact with the advisor and active participation in the advisory scheme
- having done at least one written assignment and discussed it with the advisor
- having kept your learner diary
- having achieved your writing goal using the advisor’s guidance and support
- having passed the final test in Academic Writing