IL1ALC2: Academic Language and Communication 2

Module code: IL1ALC2

Module provider: International Study and Language Institute

Credits: 0

Level: 4

When you’ll be taught: Summer (vacation) semester

Module convenor: Mrs Gemma Peacock, email: g.peacock@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 14 January 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module is a component of the Pre-sessional English programme (PSE), which is designed to support students who either do not meet the English language requirements for their chosen degree programme or who wish to gain a better understanding of the academic language and literacy  practices for university study. Students will study general academic topics aligned with the themes of wellbeing and personal/academic support to help them develop their language competence in all four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The module prepares students for entry onto the next part of the Pre-sessional English programme.

The final six weeks of the Pre-sessional English programme consist of the exit modules, Academic Language and Communication 3 (IL1ALC3) and Academic Practices and Genres (IL1PAPGPN/IL1PAPGUN), which summatively assess students' readiness to start their degree programmes.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Create a data collection instrument with clearly defined questions which allows for small-scale primary research amongst peers
2. Write sections of a research report (the introduction, methods, results and discussion), using language appropriate to the task, and demonstrating clear and logical organisation of ideas into paragraphs and sections
3. Draw on a wide range of grammatical structures and vocabulary to express complex ideas with reasonable fluency and accuracy
4. Give a clear, logically structured presentation to propose suggestions for future action and evaluate these, supporting ideas with relevant examples, and effectively handling questions from the audience
5. Acknowledge sources accurately within texts produced, using appropriate in-text and end-of-text citation methods

Module content

The module will help students to acquire the skills and knowledge to engage effectively with spoken and written tasks common to university study through:

• Analysing the purpose, stages and key features of the spoken and written coursework genres
• Extracting information from spoken and written texts relevant to the purpose of the tasks
• Engaging in a small-scale example of the research process with the design of a data collection instrument to investigate the given topic with peers
• Practice of language to achieve a good control of grammatical forms, appropriate use of vocabulary for the context of the genre and topic, and a generally appropriate level of intelligibility

The module will also focus on developing key academic skills such as:

• Using peer and tutor feedback to identify areas for improvement
• Collaborating and participating appropriately in group work and managing group tasks effectively
• Exercising autonomy and initiative in time management for coursework tasks
• Reflecting on the skills and language needed to continue developing
• Becoming a confident user of the university’s VLE (Blackboard), submission and assessment tools (e.g. Feedback Studio), and other learning technologies (e.g. Microsoft 365)

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will take a task-based, contextualised approach which integrates practice and development of receptive (listening, reading) and productive (speaking, writing) academic English communication skills around accessible themes.

The module will adopt an overall ‘genre’ approach, taking the social purpose of texts as the starting point to analyse organisation/structure and key language features.

The module consists of daily interactive classes, and guided independent study tasks. Guided Independent tasks are completed without a teacher. The tasks include preparation for the next class or a review of material taught.

The module, taken by a majority of Pre-sessional students, provides practice of working on formative tasks collaboratively. Teamwork is a considered a key university skill.

Study hours

At least 60 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

There is no summative assessment on this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

There are two formative assessments, a group mini research report and a group oral presentation proposal.

Reassessment

Additional costs