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With over 40 years of teaching between us, we’ll help you improve your English and take it to the next level.
(Grow your grammar, vocalize your vocabulary and perfect your pronunciation!)

In this episode: Academic English

Thank you to JUAN LEYVA GALERA who has become a Patron of this show. If you would like to support us and help us to our goal of $100 per month to give you transcriptions of Aprender Ingles con Reza y Craig, go to patreon.com/inglespodcast

Elisa from Finland sent us a message for the Christmas episode inglespodcast/82.

She said “you guys sang surprisingly well” – She also gave some inside information on Santa’s sleigh and recommends people visit the website santapark.com. Elisa said, “Santa Claus lives here in the Santa Park with Mrs Claus and Elves!”
(I thought it was “Elvis”!)

We also have a voice message from our good friend Mamen from Biescas. She listened to episode 81 about British and American English pronunciation differences : inglespodcast.com/81

Here is Mamen practising the different pronunciation of US and UK English……

There are reasons why Mamen is improving her English:
-She’s engaging with the language.
-She’s taking the time to practise speaking, record her voice, coming on Blab. (inglespodcast.com/blab)
-She’s enthusiastic about learning.

Listener Feedback: Jesús Vélez
Hi Craig and Reza! Thanks for your podcast, I think it’s fantastic. It’s a huge help for “travelers” (commuters): my journey from my home to job (work) is about 120 km (1 hour…).
I use your podcast to take my English to the next level. Currently, I’m preparing my C1. Would you mind to speak (speaking) about academic English?
For example keywords I must use in the university with some colleagues, research concepts (paper, article, stay, fellowship…)
I think there’s a lot of material on the internet, but it’s a disaster… There’s no order at all.

Thanks in advance (excuse me for my poor English) and continue with the programs!
Kind regards, Jesús Vélez

ACADEMIC ENGLISH

Academic English style is generally evident in a:
Journal (like a technical/academic magazine); Text book; Essay; Academic article; Report; Dissertation; Thesis; etc. WRITTEN
Lecture; Talk; Workshop; Presentation; Tutorial; Seminar; Conference; etc. SPOKEN
Different style of language compared to General English. Key features include:

More abstract, more impersonal, more structured, more organised, usually formal (written), often more technical, often more complex, avoids ambiguity, may include references to other sources.

-Avoid personal pronouns, eg. I, me, you, us, etc.

-Use the Passive (to be impersonal):
eg. the liquid was heated to 20 degrees C; it can be seen that the species evolved.

-Avoid contractions in written academic Eng., but usually OK spoken:
eg. It will not be resolved (not “won’t”); the conclusions are not definitive (not “aren’t”)

–Nominalisation = using nouns rather than verbs. This sounds more academic:
eg. “…the Norman invasion of Britain in 1066, provoking a huge linguistic change.” is better than “…when the Normans invaded Britain in 1066 and it provoked a huge change.”

-Use plenty of linking words or signpost your discourse:

eg. Firstly; Secondly; Next; A further point; Finally; Lastly – LISTING

Moreover; In addition (to); Additionally; Furthermore; What is more – ADDING INFO.

However; Nevertheless; Nonetheless; Despite; In spite of; Whereas; Whilst; Although; Albeit; Notwithstanding; Be that as it may; On the other hand – CONTRAST/CONCESSION

For example/instance; As an/one example; As exemplified by___; To illustrate – EXAMPLE

According to Smith (1987); As Smith (1987) said; Smith (1987) wrote/stated – REFERENCE

In conclusion; To conclude; To sum up; In brief; All in all; In short – CONCLUSION

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Common university campus terms:

There are usually several departments in one faculty eg. the Department of Physics in the Science Faculty

bachelor’s degree; master’s degree – comes after or is longer than a bachelor’s degree

eg. She has a BA (Bachelor of Arts) in History; He’s doing an MSc in Mathematics (Master of Science) at Oxford.

a doctorate or PhD – the highest post-graduate uni. qualification, requiring a few years of study, research and a doctoral thesis

an undergraduate – a student studying on a bachelor’s (first) degree course

a graduate – a person who has completed a bachelor’s degree course

a post-graduate – a person who is studying on a higher course after passing their first degree

a fellow – someone who (temporarily) teaches/researches (and perhaps still studies on a post-graduate course) at a university, but not a full lecturer

a fellowship – the job given to a fellow

a lecturer – a person who gives lectures at a university

a professor – an experienced, distinguished, more senior lecturer (NOT the same as teacher)

a grant – money given by the govt. to help support students throughout the year, depending on their financial situation

a scholarship – money given by a university/college/school/company to a student because they won it or are poor but talented.

halls of residence – official university accommodation on campus, usually a large block

vice-chancellor (VC)- the top person in charge of a university (the dean in a North American college)

pro-vice-chancellor (PVC)/deputy-vice-chancellor (DVC) – second in command, under the vice-chancellor

higher education (HE) – tertiary-level education, ie. higher than primary and secondary education

eg. university, college, medical school, etc.
For the most common vocabulary used to study at HE level, the Academic Word List

Reza has taught Academic English at Queen’s University, Belfast and the University of Ulster. Here are a few well known books he has used:

Writing Academic English

Presenting in English: How to Give Successful Presentations

Academic Vocabulary in Use
An example unit from the book:

A great place to listen to talks and lectures on just about any (academic) topic:
https://www.ted.com/talks

…and now it’s your turn to practise your English. We want you to tell us if you have had experience of academic English. Have you been to university? Do you have a degree? Send us a voice message and tell us what you think. speakpipe.com/inglespodcast (90 seconds – need an app for mobile)

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On next week’s episode: The Past Continuous

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’