SERVICES FOR Ph.D. STUDENTS
SERVICES FOR TEACHING STAFF
SERVICES FOR Ph.D STUDENTS, TEACHING STAFF, RESEARCHERS, RESEARCH FELLOWS AND RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS (borsista di ricerca)
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SERVICES FOR Ph.D. STUDENTS
Writing Scientific Papers in Engineering (WSPE) Writing Scientific Papers in Engineering (WSPE) is a course for PhD candidates who are beginning to publish their research in English. The course aims to help participants discover the conventions of research articles in English and to provide useful tools that will enable them to write academic papers independently in the future. WSPE is a soft skills course worth 15 hours. You are required to attend at least 70% of the lessons and complete the assigned course work.
IMPORTANT: absence from the first two lessons will automatically lead to exclusion from the course.
There are 4 iterations of the course every year, from January to June. Calendars are published on your PoliTo personal page, under the “Languages/Lingue” TAB, when they are available.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course focuses on conventional language and text structures which are commonly used in research articles in English, considering standard article sections such as Introductions, Methodology and Results sections. Participants are helped to build up the language resources necessary to write papers in their own field of research and have to complete weekly writing assignments.
Course book
GLASMAN-DEAL, Hilary (2020). Science Research Writing for Native and Non-Native Speakers of English. 2nd Ed. Imperial College Press. Participants are required to
bring the coursebook to all lessons. A limited number of copies for loan are available at the
CLA library.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course consists of an Induction lesson followed by 5 weeks of twice-weekly lessons, for a total of 11lessons.
REGISTRATION
You need to register for the course via the dedicated link you will find on your PoliTo personal page, under the “Languages/Lingue” TAB. This link will be active during the registration periods scheduled for each course. In order to be able to use the WSPE registration link, the course must be in your career plan for the current academic year. A maximum of 30 places is available for each iteration of the course.
IMPORTANT: Once each registration period is closed, no further students will be admitted.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
To register for a WSPE course you need to have presented one of the following certificates, with the following scores, to the Office of Student Services (Segreteria Didattica) or to SCUDO.
The certificate must be recorded on your personal page (Personal Details section).
- IELTS ≥6.0
- TOEFL IBT ≥80
- Cambridge FIRST Certificate in English (B) - score ≥173 (or Cambridge English FIRST (FCE) before January 2015 – score ≥75)
- Cambridge ADVANCED C1
- Cambridge PROFICIENCY C2
If you do not have any of the above certificates, or if you have a lower-level certificate, but you feel that your English has improved since you gained it, you should take the CLA level test available on the
CLA VIRTUAL LAIB and pass it with a minimum score of
65, prior to the beginning of each registration period.
Academic Writing for Urban Planning, Architecture and Design This course for
Urban Planning, Architecture and Design Ph.D. candidates in aims to develop your academic writing skills in English, in the context of your disciplinary area. Participants will first develop the ability to make suitable word and grammar choices and then to structure sentences and paragraphs in order to produce coherent texts. Useful tools will be introduced to support autonomy in academic writing in English. The course is takes place in class and lasts 15 hours. There are 20 places available. A B2 level of English proficiency is recommended.
Ph.D. thesis consultationThe CLA language experts are available to help Ph.D. candidates to identify their areas of difficulty when writing their thesis in English. The aim is to help authors improve their academic writing skills. It is not a proofreading service. The service is available by appointment, for a 30-minute session. To book a consultation, write to esperti.inglese@polito.it, stating your availability. Please come to the appointment with a clear idea of which sections of your thesis you would like to work on. SERVICES FOR TEACHING STAFF
Improve your Pronunciation for Teaching in English 1 This course is for teaching staff who teach in English and aims to improve aspects of pronunciation for the classroom. Participants will develop personalized lists of words/phrases frequently used in their own course(s) and learn their correct pronunciation. Each meeting lasts 1 hour and a half and can accommodate a maximum of 8 participants. Participants should book all four lessons in one edition. A minimum English level of B2 is recommended. When conversation sessions are available, book online from your personal page of the Teaching Portal under "My bookings/ Le mie prenotazioni".
Teaching through English 1 This course is for teaching staff who are currently teaching or are interested in teaching in English at PoliTo. It aims to improve aspects of language for teaching and provides an opportunity to reflect together and share ideas on issues and practices relating to the international classroom.
The course consists of one 90-minute meeting each week (total 4 meetings) with a maximum of 8 participants. When the course is available, book online from your personal page of the Teaching Portal under "My bookings/ Le mie prenotazioni".
A minimum English level of B2 is recommended.
English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) consultation CLA English language experts are available to provide individual consultation to Politecnico teaching staff who teach courses in English or are preparing to teach in English. The purpose of the service is to provide:- help with English for slides / lecture notes / exams / student information;
- support for improving your spoken English for teaching.
The service is available by appointment only, for a 30-minute session. Write to esperti.inglese@polito.it, specifying EMI CONSULTATION, indicating the times you are available and a contact number.
English conversation for teaching staff - Currently not available Conversations between teaching staff facilitated by an English language expert to improve fluency in English in informal academic settings. The one-hour meetings are for 3-4 participants.
When conversation sessions are available, book online from your personal page of the Teaching Portal under "My bookings/ Le mie prenotazioni". After booking, participants will receive a short pre-lesson task to prepare for the meeting.
SERVICES FOR Ph.D STUDENTS, TEACHING STAFF, RESEARCHERS, RESEARCH FELLOWS AND RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS (borsista di ricerca)
Academic paper consultation The CLA language experts are available to help teaching staff, researchers, Ph.D. candidates, research fellows and research grant recipients (borsista di ricerca) to identify their areas of difficulty in English when writing papers for publication. The aim is to help authors improve their use of English in academic articles and become more autonomous writers. It is not a proofreading service.
The service is available by appointment, for a 30-minute session. To book a consultation, write to esperti.inglese@polito.it, stating your availability.
Please come to the appointment with a clear idea of which sections of the paper you would like to work on.
Academic presentation coaching The CLA language experts are available to help teaching staff, researchers, Ph.D. candidates, research fellows and research grant recipients (borsista di ricerca) to prepare for an academic presentation in English. A CLA language expert will listen to the presentation, give advice on pronunciation, correct slides and help to develop a more confident presentation style.
The service is available by appointment only, for a 60-minute session.
To book for an academic presentation coaching session, write to esperti.inglese@polito.it, stating your availability.