Courses
Academic English for doctoral students
The ILT offers courses in Academic English for KU Leuven doctoral students. These courses offer practice in both academic writing and presentation skills. The courses are part of the doctoral programme and free of charge.There are three separate programmes:
Biomedical Sciences
Writing Biomedical Research Papers
Course duration
1 course = 3 classes of 3 h each. Candidates on the waiting list will be notified by email when a new course is scheduled to start.
Number of participants
max. 25 per group
Where?
Classes take place at ILT, Dekenstraat 6.
Course objectives
Overall course objective: practising writing skills for the biomedical research paper
More specifically:
- applying genre characteristics of the research paper
- improving structure and coherence in each section of the paper
- using formal academic style
- improving language accuracy
- Class 1
- guided self-diagnosis of writing skills based on participants’ texts about their own work (written before the start of the course)
- the right word in the biomedical register
- Class 2
- Introduction and Methods: contents and structure
- typical language and language problems
- Class 3
- Results and Discussion: contents and structure
- title and Abstract
- typical language and language problems
Entry requirements
- The course is open to KU Leuven doctoral students from the second year onwards.
- Participants are expected to have a good command of English, allowing them to communicate fluently.
Participants who attend classes regularly and complete course requirements will receive a certificate.
Registration
To register for Academic Writing, please click here. You will be contacted by email as soon as places are available.
More information
herlinda.vekemans@ilt.kuleuven.be
Presentations Skills for Biomedical Researchers
Course duration
1 course = 3 classes of 3h each. Candidates on the waiting list will be notified by email when a new course is scheduled to start.
Number of participants
15 per group
Where?
Classes take place at ILT, Dekenstraat 6.
Course objectives
Overall course objective: practising presentation skills in a biomedical context
More specifically:
- improving presentation style (pace, clarity, interaction with the audience)
- using discourse markers to structure a presentation
- improving intonation, pronunciation and word stress
- acquiring seminar skills: handling questions and comments
- Class 1
- practical introduction to presenting: body language, voice, pace, focussing on the audience, visualisation, etc
-
Class 2 + 3
- individual presentations about participants’ research work, with written tutor and peer feedback
- optional DVD camera recording
Entry requirements
- The course is open to KU Leuven doctoral students from the second year onwards.
- Participants are expected to have a good command of English, allowing them to communicate fluently.
Participants who attend classes regularly and complete course requirements will receive a certificate.
Registration
To register for this course, please click here. You will be contacted by email as soon as places are available.
More information
herlinda.vekemans@ilt.kuleuven.be
Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and Economics
Academic writing
Course duration9 two-hour sessions. Candidates on the waiting list will be notified by email when a new course is scheduled to start.
Number of participants: 15 per group
Where?
Classes take place at ILT, Dekenstraat 6.
Course objectives
- analysing genre characteristics of the research paper (+ abstract)
- improving coherence and flow
- expanding academic vocabulary
- acquiring a formal academic style
- avoiding common lexical and grammatical errors
- developing strategies to write better academic prose
Course book
Kristin Blanpain, Academic Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. A Resource for Researchers, Acco, 2006.
Entry requirements
- The course is open to KU Leuven doctoral students from the second year onwards.
- Participants are expected to have a good command of English, allowing them to communicate fluently.
Participants who attend classes regularly and complete course requirements will receive a certificate.
Registration
To register for Academic Writing, please click here. You will be contacted by email as soon as places are available.
More information
kristin.blanpain@ilt.kuleuven.be
Presentation and Seminar Skills
Course duration9 two-hour sessions. Candidates on the waiting list will be notified by email when a new course is scheduled to start.
Number of participants: 15
Where?
Classes take place at ILT, Dekenstraat 6.
Course objectives
- adapting a written source (e.g. paper) to a presentation context
- recognising and using discourse markers to structure a presentation
- improving delivery (pace, clarity, interaction with the audience)
- improving intonation and pronunciation
- improving grammatical and lexical accuracy
- acquiring seminar skills: handling questions and comments
Entry requirements
- The course is open to KU Leuven doctoral students from the second year onwards.
- Participants are expected to have a good command of English, allowing them to communicate fluently.
Participants who attend classes regularly and complete course requirements will receive a certificate.
Registration
To register for Presentation and Seminar Skills, please click here. You will be contacted by email as soon as places are available.
More information
kristin.blanpain@ilt.kuleuven.be
Science, Engineering and Technology
Academic Writing for Science, Engineering & Technology
Participants are individually coached and their own work is of central concern.
Through practical exercises, the following aspects are covered: See terms and condition below
- Generic characteristics of a research paper: title, abstract, introduction, body, discussion / conclusions and further work, appendices, bibliography
- Vocabulary characteristic of scientific discourse within the language of analysis, hypothesis, interpretation, argumentation, comparison and evaluation
- Formal structural issues relating to appropriate English language use at the sentence, paragraph and inter-paragraph level
- Textual coherence and cohesion with attention to connectors, cause and effect, integrated graphic data, intra-textual cross-referencing, citations and quotes
- Positioning elements including style, register, flow and degree of claim
- Academic biography for papers, proposals, resumés, CVs and correspondence
- Generic characteristics of research papers
Schedule:
- Ist semester
- Group 1: Thursday 11:00 - 13:00 (10 weeks from 06/10/11)
- Group 2: Friday 09:00 - 11:00 (10 weeks from 07/10/11)
- Group 3: Friday 11:00 - 13:00 (10 weeks from 07/10/11)
- Excluding 10.11.11 and 11.11.11
- 2nd semester
- Group 1 Thursday 11:00 - 13:00 (10 weeks from 05/01//12)
- Group 2 Friday 09:00 - 11:00 (10 weeks from 06/01/12)
- Group 3 Friday 11:00 - 13:00 (10 weeks from 06/01/12)
- Excluding 02.02.12 and 03.02.12
Academic Writing Certification:
- Academic writing is a KU Leuven approved doctoral skills course, certificates are awarded for successful completion.
Course material for Academic Writing and Presentation Skills:
- Handbooks: ILT orders both titles for participants, price and sales details will be available on the ILT website before the course commences
Title 1: Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Essential tasks and skills
Title 2: Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Commentary
Authors: John M. Swales and B. Feak, Michigan University Press
ISBN: Title 1 is 0-472-08263-9 title 2 is 0-472-08293-0 - Guidelines, best practice, model texts, guided exercises and professional journals
- Tried and tested resource materials such as online dictionaries and BBCi
Optional additional material is provided for improving general English.
Terms and conditions
Skills for Science, Engineering & Technology and Technology K.U.L Doctoral Researchers:
- Course Providers: Interfacultair Instituut voor Levende Talen, ILT KU Leuven is an interfaculty service providing specialized language courses for faculty students and staff. This course is provided at the request of your faculties and is fully sponsored by faculty and central university funds.
- Attendance: Lesson attendance is required
- Group Size: 120 places are available per year, forming 8 groups of 15 students ( 6 writing and 2 presentation and seminar skills)
- Language Level: Intermediate to advanced
- Location and timetable: Heverlee Campus: semester 1 courses / semester 2 courses
- Commitment: As a rule, students are given one opportunity to follow the course and are not allowed to take up a course place, drop out and drop back in at a later stage. Any exceptions will be at the discretion of the doctoral school.
- Contact: Teacher: tel 016 355698 Caroline.Greenman@ilt.kuleuven.be
Registration
Click here to register. You will be notified by e-mail as soon as a place becomes available.
- Invitations for the first semester are sent at the beginning of September and close when the courses are full which can be as late as the start date.
- Invitations for the second semester are sent at the middle of November and close when the courses are full which can be as late as the start date.
Presentation and Seminar Skills for Science, Engineering & Technology
Participants are individually coached and their own work is of central concern.
Through practical exercises, the following aspects are covered: See terms and condition below
- Transfer of written material to a formal presentation register through applying appropriate presentation structures
- Basic insight into the nature and function of intonation and its relation to pronunciation and text: systematic approach to timing, volume, stress, pitch, English ellipsis and phonetic pronunciation
- Insight and practice into two way communication between public and presenter through posing questions, seeking clarification, recapitulation and challenging both speaker and audience
- Insight and practice into non-verbal communication and its role in discourse aiming at mastery of the full communicative code, including optimal use of voice, space, gesture, material and visual aids
- Insight and practice in co-operative dialogue for team work with emphasis on rapid information exchange, bridging information gaps, interrupting, topic switching, sharing views, establishing consensus, arriving at decisions and formalizing results
Schedule:
- Ist semester
- Group 1 Friday 14:00 - 16:00 (10 weeks from 07.10.11)
- 2nd semester
- Group 1 Friday 14:00 - 16:00 (10 weeks from 06.01.12)
- Excluding Thursday 02.02.12 and Friday 03.02.12
Presentation and Seminar Skills Certification:
- Academic presentation is a KU Leuven approved doctoral skills course, certificates are awarded for successful completion
Course material for Academic Writing and Presentation Skills:
- Handbooks: ILT orders both titles for participants, price and sales details will be available on the ILT website before the course commences
Title 1: Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Essential tasks and skills
Title 2: Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Commentary
Authors: John M. Swales and B. Feak, Michigan University Press
ISBN: Title 1 is 0-472-08263-9 title 2 is 0-472-08293-0
Title 3; Academic Spoken English: A corpus –Based Guide to Lectures, presentations and Tutorials
Authors Kristin Blanpain and An Laffut, Acco
ISBN: 978-90-334-7626-6 - Guidelines, best practice, model texts, guided exercises and professional journals
- Tried and tested resource materials such as online dictionaries and BBCi
Optional additional material is provided for improving general English.
Terms and conditions
Skills for Science, Engineering & Technology and Technology K.U.L Doctoral Researchers:
- Course Providers: Interfacultair Instituut voor Levende Talen, ILT KU Leuven is an interfaculty service providing specialized language courses for faculty students and staff. This course is provided at the request of your faculties and is fully sponsored by faculty and central university funds.
- Attendance: Lesson attendance is required
- Group Size: 120 places are available per year, forming 8 groups of 15 students ( 6 writing and 2 presentation and seminar skills)
- Language Level: Intermediate to advanced
- Location and timetable: Heverlee Campus: semester 1 courses / semester 2 courses < hyperlink documents
- Commitment: As a rule, students are given one opportunity to follow the course and are not allowed to take up a course place, drop out and drop back in at a later stage. Any exceptions will be at the discretion of the doctoral school.
- Contact: Teacher: tel 016 355698 Caroline.Greenman@ilt.kuleuven.be
- Invitations for the first semester are sent at the beginning of September and close when the courses are full which can be as late as the start date.
- Invitations for the second semester are sent at the middle of November and close when the courses are full which can be as late as the start date.
- Attendance: Lesson attendance is required,
- Group Size: 120 places are available per year, forming 8 groups of 15 students
- Language Level: Intermediate to advanced
- Location: Heverlee Campus, exact details on the ilt website, at least one week before course commencement
- Commitment: As a rule, students are given one opportunity to follow the course and are not allowed to take up a course place, drop out and drop back in at a later stage. Any exceptions will be at the discretion of the doctoral school.
- Contact: Teacher: tel 016 355698 Caroline.Greenman@ilt.kuleuven.be
Registration
Click here to register. You will be notified by e-mail as soon as a place becomes available.
Academic Writing and Presentation Skills for Science, Engineering & Technology: Terms and conditions
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