2026/2027
English for General Academic Purposes. Advanced Course - 1
Type:
Optional course
Delivered by:
School of Foreign Languages
Where:
Faculty of Humanities
When:
1, 2 module
Open to:
students of one campus
Instructors:
Кульков Даниил Андреевич,
Колмакова Анжелика Владимировна,
Кульков Даниил Андреевич,
Valentina Byvalina,
Daria Chikhacheva,
Ekaterina Gridneva,
Natalia V. Katasonova,
Elena Yurievna Mostacheva,
Maria Ovodova,
Marina Sildimirova,
Dzhuna Dzhumberievna Tsurtsumia,
Балакирева Юлия Александровна
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
48
Course Syllabus
Abstract
In compliance with "The Concept of Development of Foreign Language Communicative Competence of HSE University Undergraduate, Specialist and Graduate Students" and "Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at National Research University Higher School of Economics", «English for Academic Purposes. Advanced –1» course is designed to gradually build university freshmen’s understanding and using mainstream academic discourse for their study and research. Comprising authentic content with rigorous integration of core skills, the course engages students with real world academic contexts. Thus, students are expected to develop English-language communicative, integrated, critical, and creative thinking competences while exploring ‘Education’; ‘Language and Linguistics’; ‘Business Ethics’ subject areas. Specifically, students will enhance their essential receptive and productive knowledge and skills at high-intermediate level of English, that is annotating, extracting key information, paraphrasing, summarizing, integrating, and producing coherent and cohesive oral (monologue; group discussion, presentation) and written texts (e-mail, summary). To be admitted to the course, students must have at least 60 points on the entry test. To encourage intensive language and skills practice and acquisition, the course embraces independent work on the online platform SMART LMS as well as autonomous learning while completing creative assignments. Throughout the course various methods of assessment are used: Classroom Written Assessment (reading, listening, grammar and vocabulary tests, and written papers), Classroom Oral Assessment, Home Assignment (activities that students do at home and in class), and Final Assessment. There are no blocking controls. The final grade consists of the following elements: 0,1 – Attendance, 0,1 – English Grammar and Vocabulary Test, 0,1 – Home Assignment , 0,2 – Written Assessment, 0,2 – Oral Assessment, 0,3- Final Assessment. The use of artificial intelligence in the preparation of academic papers is prohibited.
Learning Objectives
- The course focuses on enhancing essential analytical and language skills to deal with basic reading, listening, writing, and speaking assignments in English for academic purposes at an advanced level, which would meet students’ immediate academic needs. While catering to different learning styles, the course fosters autonomous learning, team building and digital literacy competences. To achieve these goals, students are expected to - foster awareness of key concepts, challenges, trends, linguistic, cultural and ethical considerations pertaining to the topics of Education; Language and Linguistics; Business Ethics, while focusing on academic competences. - to increase awareness of and apply appropriate reading; writing; listening; speaking strategies and academic language command to extract and analyze necessary information and produce relevant oral and written responses, depending on the target audience/ interlocutor; purpose; topic and organization requirements; - reflect and enhance their style of autonomous learning, team building needs and digital literacy competences.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- students confidently demonstrate awareness of and convincingly respond to key contemporary debates on the topics of Education, Language and linguistics, Business ethics;
- students amply demonstrate awareness of and apply key academic conventions and language and functional grammar when dealing with written and oral information and assignment;
- students consciously employ active reading and listening strategies to understand an authentic printed or oral text more deeply i.e. activating prior knowledge before reading/ listening; skimming; scanning; annotating; using visual organisers; distinguishing between main and supporting details; creating an outline of a text, summarizing a text;
- students produce coherent and cohesive texts (e-mails; text-based summary; monologues; presentations), applying note-making; paraphrasing, paragraphing, making claims, providing supporting arguments and evidence; referencing
Assessment Elements
- AttendanceThe element’s weight in the final grade – 10% Attendance grade is calculated using a 10-point grading scale based on a student’s attendance rate. The element CANNOT be retaken.
- English Grammar and Vocabulary TestThe test corresponds to the course level and the studied materials. The test may include various tasks (E.g. multiple choice, paraphrasing, gap-filling, etc.). Students take English Grammar and Vocabulary Test in class.
- Written Assessment (WA)The element’s weight in the final grade – 20% WA CANNOT be retaken. WA consists of minimum 4 tasks of different types, including interim ones (for example, essays, graph descriptions, reviews, reports). WA can also include annotations, emails, listening and reading tasks, grammar and vocabulary tasks at the end of a section or topic. WA refers to written tasks that students complete in class.
- Oral Assessment (OA)The element’s weight in the final grade – 20% OA CANNOT be retaken. OA consists of minimum 3 tasks of different types, including interim ones (for example, a monologue for 1-year students as well as dialogues and presentations) that students do in class.
- Final Assessment (FA)FA includes: Listening tasks, summary The grading formula: 0,5 Listening + 0,5 Summary
- Home Assignment (HA)The element’s weight in the final grade – 10% 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.
Interim Assessment
- 2026/2027 2nd module0.3 * Final Assessment (FA) + 0.1 * Home Assignment (HA) + 0.2 * Oral Assessment (OA) + 0.2 * Written Assessment (WA) + 0.1 * Attendance + 0.1 * English Grammar and Vocabulary Test
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- University success: oral communication : advanced, Cavage, C., 2018
- University success: reading : advanced, Eickhoff, L., 2018
- University success: writing : advanced, Norloff, C., 2018
- Английский язык для академических целей. English for Academic Purposes : учебник для вузов / Т. А. Барановская, А. В. Захарова, Т. Б. Поспелова, Ю. А. Суворова ; под редакцией Т. А. Барановской. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. — Москва : Издательство Юрайт, 2025. — 203 с. — (Высшее образование). — ISBN 978-5-534-18544-7. — Текст : электронный // Образовательная платформа Юрайт [сайт]. — URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/560849 (дата обращения: 02.07.2026).
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Collins COBUILD English dictionary for advanced learners, , 2001
- Collins Cobuild English Grammar, , 1994