Description

Introduction to Scientific English – Speaking is a general course that trains listening, speaking, debate and presentation skills in the world of science. Throughout this course, your confidence and ability to contribute to scientific discourse will improve.

When will class start?

The next starting dates are below:

What topics does this course cover?

This course is taught over 10 lessons, featuring the following topics:

1. What is scientific English? Why is it important?
2. Determining the audience and sticking to the format
3. Setting the stage – visual materials
4. Flash presentations
5. Longer presentations
6. Informing vs persuading
7. Science communication
8. Debate strategies for science
9. Preparing for counterarguments
10. Science and ethics

Google Classroom content for Introduction to Scientific English – Speaking

Each lesson contains:

1. Warm-up: A question that gets you in the mindset of the lesson. Answer it to the best of your ability before looking at anything below it. No one else will see your answer. 
2. Vocabulary: This contains 10 vocabulary words that you may or may not already know that are related to the topic of the lesson. It also has an example of how it is used as well as some translations into other languages. 
3. Vocabulary quiz: This is for you to quiz yourself on the vocabulary. 
4. Forum: This is a question that you should answer that goes a bit further into the topic. Please answer the question and then respond to two (2) other students’ posts. 
5. Material: This is the information I give you about the topic, usually in the form of a presentation. 
6. Activity/quiz: This is either a Google Forms quiz or an activity (in Google Docs) that uses the knowledge you learnt from the material. 
7. Homework: This is the last task of the lesson and is a final synthesis task. It is meant to show me that you have learnt the material and can apply it. 

Google Meet content

For those that choose to have face-to-face classes, we will use Google Meet. These sessions are meant to extend and build on the Google Classroom content, giving learners extra practice, information and reinforcement of the information. These sessions will be 1 hour each. The focus will be on speaking and using the information learnt from the content on Google Classroom. Activities include discussions, debates, analysing presentations, creating scientific materials, etc. Classes will have no more than 8 students in each session.

We will schedule these via Calendly. You will receive this link after you have completed checkout.

Classes will be very interactive and users are expected to use their cameras and microphones to participate.

Introduction to Scientific English – Speaking: Intended Students

The audience for Introduction to Scientific English – Speaking is those who are interested in attending and participating in conferences, engaging with the general public about science, and scientific debates. Learners should be at the B1/B2 levels according to the  Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Alternatively, the table below shows B1 equivalencies for major English level tests:

As long as you are at the B1 (intermediate) level, you should not have any problems with this class. Native English speakers should have high school/secondary school-level reading comprehension skills. 

About the teacher

Jamie started teaching English classes back in 2016. He specialises in scientific and technical English and has taught these courses at universities and companies across Europe, North America and Japan. He has most recently taught at German universities in Jena, Siegen and Weimar and has conducted a range of lectures and workshops at univeristies including Leipzig University.

Please note: In addition to your receipt, you will receive email invitations to Google Classroom and (if you booked the Google Meet sessions) Calendly. There may be a bit of a delay in these additional email. If you have not received anything with 24-48 hours, please get in touch via the Contact TTTR page.