2026/2027

Английский язык для специальных целей. Биология - 3

Статус: Факультатив

Кто читает: Школа иностранных языков

Где читается: Факультет гуманитарных наук

Когда читается: 1-3 модуль

Охват аудитории: для своего кампуса

Преподаватели: Захарова Анна Викторовна

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 3

Контактные часы: 48

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course “English for Biologists” focuses on the professional language and competences required for successful communication in the field of biology. The course aims to advance language proficiency to the level that enables students to listen to lectures on specific biology-related issues, participate in classroom discussions, make presentations, write reviews of academic articles, and describe complex processes, as well as perform adequately in other academic and professional contexts. The course covers a number of topics, ranging from cell structure to biotechnology. Primary attention is given to the development of professional vocabulary, as well as reading, writing, and speaking skills. This course is specifically designed for students of the upper-intermediate level (HSE Scale: 60-69) aspiring to excel in English for professional purposes. Within the course, students are expected to complete home assignments and take tests in various formats, including but not limited to lexical-grammar, reading, listening, writing, and speaking tests. The course grading formula does not include blocking elements.

Learning Objectives

• To improve students’ command of English for professional and academic communication in the field of cell and molecular biology.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Produce monologues (descriptive/informative/reasoning); write down notes for later reference; communicate spontaneously their opinions and reactions, providing explanations and examples, and invite others to join in; participate in debates (debate on abstract, complex topics)
• Understand academic/ professional presentations which are linguistically complex; use basic listening techniques (predicting, understanding main ideas and details); participate in conversations and discussions on a range of topics
• Understand text structure; understand lectures; following extended speech and complex lines of arguments; give clear and detailed talks on a wide range of topics, expanding ideas with relevant examples, evidence, or arguments; write clear, well-structured texts on a variety of subjects expanding points of view, developing arguments, synthesising and evaluating information (essays, reviews)
• Make presentations; give reasons in support or against a particular point of view, give the advantages and disadvantages of various opinions; participate in conversations and discussions on a range of topics in different contexts with good command of grammar and vocabulary; write clear and detailed lengthy texts summarizing the main ideas and selecting appropriate supporting details
• Understand the main ideas and certain details of relatively complex speech; understand dialogues and polylogues on both familiar and unfamiliar topics; read a variety of relatively complex texts on familiar and unfamiliar topics; use basic reading techniques, skimming & scanning (predicting, understanding main ideas, understanding details).

Course Contents

• What is Biology?
• The world of cells
• Molecular biology of the gene
• Inheritance
• Biotechnology

Assessment Elements

• Attendance
  Attendance grade is calculated using a 10-point grading scale based on a student’s attendance rate.
• English Grammar and Vocabulary Test
  Students take the English Grammar and Vocabulary Test in class. Time - 70 min.
• Home Assignment
  HA includes oral and/or written tasks that are assigned to students for independent completion and submission. Students do the tasks at home and either turn them in to their teachers or submit them via Smart LMS for grading.
• Written Assessment
  WA consists of minimum 4 tasks of different types, including interim ones (for example, essays, graph descriptions, reviews, reports). WA can also include annotations, listening and reading tasks, grammar and vocabulary tasks at the end of a section or topic. WA refers to written tasks that students do in class.
• Oral Assessment
  OA consists of minimum 3 tasks of different types, including interim ones (for example, monologues, presentations, and discussions) that students do in class.
• Final Assessment
  The exam consists of 3 parts: Listening (30%), Reading (30%) and Writing (40%) respectively in the total mark for the exam. 0 points in case of cheating. Time limit: 80 minutes.. Grading formula: L*0,3+R*0,3 +W*0,4 = 10.

Interim Assessment

• 2026/2027 3rd module
  0.1 * English Grammar and Vocabulary Test + 0.1 * Home Assignment + 0.2 * Oral Assessment + 0.2 * Written Assessment + 0.3 * Final Assessment + 0.1 * Attendance

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Cell biology : a short course, , 2022
• English for Biology Students and Postgraduates: учеб. пособие / Коротких Е.Г. - Новосиб.:Золотой колос, 2015. - 215 с. - Режим доступа: http://znanium.com/catalog/product/614906

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Зырянова, И. П. Speaking, Reading and Writing in English = Практикум по устной и письменной речи на английском языке : учебно-методическое пособие / И. П. Зырянова. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. — Нижний Тагил : НТГСПИ, 2024. — 101 с. — ISBN 978-5-907804-88-3. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/475937 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.

Authors

• Zakharova Anna Viktorovna