Unit 1: Studying in Australia

UNIT OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION

In this unit, you will reflect on and complete a diagnostic writing piece, before preparing to speak about
your future study plans. You will learn about academic genres and begin to read about and discuss
global issues.

Key Learning Objectives

The key learning objectives for this unit are:

Practise pre-reading strategies to understand the context/weekly theme

Develop an understanding of academic genres

Understand the features of a narrative

Generate and organise ideas for a writing task

Analyse the ability to comprehend and take notes in listening

Use key speaking strategies to plan and give a presentation

Tasks
The tasks you will complete in this unit are:

Write a narrative

Prepare to give a short presentation on your future studies

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UNIT 1: LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL ISSUES
Objectives
In this lesson you will practise pre-reading strategies, which you should do before each class. These
strategies include thinking about the topic and predicting content, and will help you develop active
reading strategies you require for tertiary studies.

Orientating Yourself to the Text

1) Discuss the following questions in small groups:

• What is the meaning of the word ‘global’?

• What is the meaning of the word ‘issue’?

• What is a ‘global issue’?

• What causes an issue to become a global issue?

2) Look through the contents section of Global Issues and decide which of the nine issues is of
most interest to you. Work in a small group to exchange ideas.

3) Read pages 1 - 2 of the Introduction and note down all of the factors that are involved in the
creation of a global issue.

4) Put your notes aside and try to remember all of the factors by discussing them with a partner.

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UNIT 1: LESSON 2
UNDERSTANDING BASIC ACADEMIC GENRES
Objectives
In this lesson you will be introduced to some of the main academic genres you will read and you will
write in the future.

Identifying Genres
Look at the following table of genres and discuss the purpose of each genre with a partner. Try to think
of an example of where you would find each type.

Genre Other terms Purpose

Narration Historical recount, To narrate (tell about) past events, actions, experiences and
achievements
Chronological order To present a series of events in chronological order

Description To describe objects, organisms, environments, systems,

cultures and so on

Description is often used as part of other genres

Explanation Cause and Effect To explain why phenomena occur (why things happen)

To explain causes, effects, problems, solutions and so on

Problem and Solution Explanation of cause and effect is often closely linked to
explanation of problems and solutions

Process To explain how things work or how they are done

To explain processes and procedures

Explanation of processes and procedures that occurred in

the past are often recounted in chronological order.
Comparison To compare and contrast objects, organisms, environments,
systems, cultures and so on

Comparison involves comparison and contrast of the

advantages and disadvantages of different things.
Argumentation To argue in favour of a particular opinion, position or
perspective against the opinions, positions or perspectives of
others

To persuade others to agree with another point of view.

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Read the following extracts from Global Issues and decide what the main genre is with a partner.

The population of the world is growing. No one will be startled by that sentence, but what is startling is
the rate of growth, and the fact that the present growth of population is unprecedented in human
history. The best historical evidence we have today indicates that there were about 5 million people in
the world about 8000 BCE. By 1 CE there were about 200 million, and by 1650 the population had grown
to about 500 million. The world reached its first billion people about 1800. While it took thousands of
years for the global population to reach 1 billion, it only took a little over a century for the population to
reach the next billion: the second billion came about 1930. The third billion was reached about 1960, the
fourth about 1974, and the fifth about 1987. The sixth came in 1999 and seventh in 2011. The eighth
billion is expected by 2024. These figures indicate how rapidly the population is increasing.
Narration：time order & past tense Global Issues - Page 8

Advocates of the market approach point to the wealth of the United States and Western Europe as
evidence of the correctness of their view. Even Karl Marx said that the hundred years of rule by
capitalists were the most productive in the history of the world. And although an uneven distribution of
income occurred in Western Europe during its early period of industrialization, the distribution of income
later became much less uneven. This indicated that the new wealth was being shared by more and more
people.
Global Issues - Page 65

It is interesting to note some of the differences between Japanese and US societies that have
undoubtedly affected their different responses to the energy crisis. Because of their history and their
limited land and resources, the Japanese have always assumed scarcity and insecurity of resources such
as fuel, whereas the Americans have been accustomed to abundance and have assumed it will continue.
Japanese industries have been traditionally more willing than their US counterparts to make long-term
investments, the American companies often being more concerned with making short-term profits.
Comparison Global Issues - Page 137

A change in the global climate is now taking place, mainly because of the burning, by humans, of large
amounts of fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas. When these fuels are consumed, carbon, which
accumulated in them over millions of years, is released into the atmosphere as a gas, carbon dioxide
(CO2). CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere has increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution: by
about 40 percent between the mid-1700s and the present. This increase is causing a warming of the
Earth’s surface - called “global warming” or the “greenhouse effect” – since CO2 in the atmosphere
allows sunlight to reach the Earth, but traps some of the Earth’s heat, preventing it from radiating back
into space. While CO2 is the largest contributor to global warming, other gases, such as methane, which
comes from both natural and human causes; nitrous oxide, which comes from fertilizers and other
sources; chloroflourocarbons (CFCs), widely used in the past in air conditioning and refrigeration; and
other halocarbons - can also cause global warming. Many of these gases are increasing significantly in
the atmosphere.
Explanation Global Issues - Page 171

Hite & Seitz, 2016

Look at each extract again with your partner and underline the words that helped you to decide the
genre.

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UNIT 1: LESSON 3
THE GENRE OF NARRATION
Objectives
This lesson familiarises you with the typical structure and grammatical features of narrative texts. Being
able to understand and apply narrative structure is essential to many of the reading and writing tasks
you will undertake in your tertiary studies.

Reading Narratives
Narration is one of the most important spoken and written genres. Narration is one of the basic functions
of all human communication and it is important to be able to understand narratives in English and to
narrate events in a way that is appropriate to the circumstances.

Narratives are often written in three stages: an orientation, a sequence of events and a resolution. Read
the first page of the foreword in Global Issues and answer the following questions:

1) What is the orientation? In other words, how does Seitz describe himself at the beginning of the
story?

2) What are the main events? In other words, how was Seitz affected by his experiences?

3) What is the resolution? In other words, what did Seitz conclude from his experiences?

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All narrative texts, both personal and impersonal, contain two fundamental grammatical features: past
tense verbs and chronological order signal words and phrases. They also often contain evaluative
comments which are feelings associated with the experienced event.

Here is an example of a narrative text. Read the text and complete the table below.

I went into a second language environment quite unprepared and it was one of the best
experiences of my life. A little background: I had studied at university for six years straight and was
ready for a change, deciding to go to Japan to teach. However, my diploma course graduation was
just a week before I left: it meant almost no time to prepare. I think I arrived with the ability to say
Hello, Goodbye and count to ten. Or was it five?

The adventure began at the airport. Jet-lagged and sweating from the sticky summer heat, I met
my supervisor. He spoke as much English as I did Japanese. Mr. Nakayama helped me with my
suitcase, exclaiming “Omoi!”. I inferred that it meant heavy. What was going to be a two-year
language learning adventure had begun.

On the drive to my apartment, we tried to chat but it was almost impossible. This was a time
before Google translate or electronic dictionaries. In fact, talking proved to be life threatening. I
asked a question which distracted Mr Nakayama from driving so much that we drove straight
through a red light! Fortunately, this was late at night and there was little traffic around. We
decided long silences were safer.

The first phone call I received was terrifying. I simply could not understand anything. I caught the
word yubin a few times, and flipping through my trusted dictionary I found it: post office.
Comprehension – yes! I thanked him and went the next day to collect a parcel. It was incredibly
frustrating and taught me how I took communication for granted in my own language.

During the first week at the Board of Education, I introduced myself many times and learned some
useful phrases. Nevertheless, I wanted to be able to interact more dynamically and keep up with

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 conversations. With limited vocabulary though, I was just missing too many words to connect any
meaning. I needed to build vocabulary fast: I was the sole English speaker in a small rice-growing
town of 10,000. I kept a notebook in my pocket and recorded words I kept hearing. Then at night,
I studied them from an old dictionary, trying to build word families and collocations. Slowly
understanding started to grow and I was able to contribute to conversations. The grammar and
pronunciation were still terrible, but the listener could decode and understand. It felt so
satisfying!

There were many other misunderstandings though. One I recall was asking about an absent
colleague. I was told, “He has cancer”. Naturally, I was shocked and tried to ask more: how he was,
was he in hospital? There were confused looks and red faces. We pulled out our well-used
dictionaries (no smartphones remember?) and it finally clicked that I had heard cancer when it
was actually kensa: a work inspection. The lesson for me was that with limited vocabulary people
combine and use words from each other’s language, whereas your brain expects to hear just one.

Months passed and I gradually became more fluent and capable. One day, I was out jogging and
a car pulled up next to me. They were lost and wanted directions. Why you would ask an obvious
foreigner in a rural town puzzled me, but I was able to help them in Japanese! I never saw them
again so I assume they found the expressway. A further example of my improving language ability
was being able to make jokes in real time, sing karaoke with the character subtitles, and even
write songs. In my second year, a major achievement was giving a 45-minute presentation to a
Rotary Club group comparing education in my country and Japan. I even answered some of the
questions at the end!

To conclude, what I learned from my wonderful two years immersed in a second language
environment is that most things are universal. People have the same basic needs and that with
kindness and patience you can overcome any challenge. My advice is to be curious, be committed,
and to put yourself in language situations where you might feel uncomfortable: this is where you
truly learn. Apart from being important for your career advancement, language is the key to
developing meaningful friendships, a deeper appreciation of cultures, and making the world a
more harmonious place.
Bennett, 2019

Grammatical feature Insert examples used in the narrative text

Past tense verbs

Chronological order signal words

Evaluative comments (feelings

associated with the experience)

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 Chronological order signal words and phrases are used to help the writer mark the order of time or
events. Below are some examples of these. Try to add to the list including examples:

Transition signal Example

first, second, third The first phone call I received was terrifying.

finally I finished my homework finally.

previously
I previously finished my homework.

before I finished my homework before the course started.

Then I came to the Australia yesterday , then I need to find a room for rent .

You will find a full list of transition words and signals that will be useful in Blackboard.

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UNIT 1: LESSON 4
WRITING A SHORT NARRATIVE
Objectives
In this lesson, you will write a narrative which will be used as a diagnostic assessment for your teacher
to understand your current writing ability.

Clustering or Brainstorming
One way to develop your ideas is to cluster or brainstorm on either paper or computer. You can use
Word or other programs to develop your ideas in a free, unstructured way by creating a concept map or
brainstorming web.

Look at the concept map of ideas below based on Seitz’ story in Global Issues. You will need to
create one for the following writing task.

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Task: Writing about a classmate’s English language learning experiences

1. Interview a classmate and take notes

2. Create a concept map with the information from the interview

3. Write a short narrative describing your classmate’s English language learning experiences, and give
it to your teacher for feedback.

Don’t forget to use 3rd person singular (he/she), past tense verbs, chronological order signal words and
evaluative comments.

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UNIT 1: LESSON 5
STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING
Objectives
In this lesson, you will discuss learning styles and strategies that may affect the everyday decisions
students make in their studies.

Understanding Learning Strategies

1) What is a strategy?

2) How are strategies formed?

3) Who uses strategies?

4) Why are strategies needed?

5) What are your goals?

6) Who set these goals for you?

7) What general strategies will you need to adopt if you are to achieve them?

Read the following explanation of strategies in learning and then discuss your understanding of the
word strategy with a partner.

The word strategy provides a very useful way to think about ways of acting. A strategy is a plan of action
that is taken in order to achieve a particular goal.

As someone who is planning to go to a tertiary institution, your overall goals could be a number of things.
Whatever the case, one of these goals is surely successfully graduating from your course. As a learner,
you already use a number of strategies in your studies, even if you do not consciously think about them.
Some of the strategies you use may be influenced by your learning style, which may itself have been
influenced by your personality and cultural background. Some of the learning strategies you use may
be very helpful in the context of Australian tertiary study and others may not. Fortunately, there are
many strategies that can help you to succeed in an Australian tertiary institution. One of the aims of this
course is to introduce you to a range of these strategies and to provide opportunities for you to practise
them.

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 What would you do in these situations? Create a short list of strategies to achieve the goal or
overcome the problem. Discuss your answers with a partner.

1) You are about to listen to a lecture on a subject you are not familiar with.

2) You are having difficulty remembering key terms in your subject area.

3) You have been given a difficult essay to write.

4) You are about to attend your first tutorial and are feeling nervous about it.

5) You are finding it hard to keep up with your reading assignments.

As you move through the Bridging Course, you will be introduced to different strategies, often listed in
the Unit Review. Use your Unit Review as a checklist to see if you can achieve these strategies.

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UNIT 1 LESSON 6
YOUR FUTURE STUDIES # present 31/08 Thursday
Objectives
In this lesson, you will prepare for the following presentation on your future studies.

Give a short talk about your future studies. You should describe your motivation for choosing your
discipline area, your expectations of study at a tertiary institution and your plans for using your
studies in the future.

No visual aids required. Duration 3 minutes. This is not an assessment.

Giving a Good Presentation

There are a number of skills and strategies that form the basic steps in preparing a presentation. Some
of them are the same strategies that are used in academic writing.

Analyse the task

Brainstorm

Plan organize

Write a draft

Prepare visual aids (if required)

Rehearse

Deliver

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Look at the table below and rate your level of confidence in each. Then number each skill from 1 – 10 in
order of importance according to your idea of what makes an effective speaker.

Level of Confidence Skills Number in order

(Tick one option) of importance

Low Medium High

Speak clearly - with enthusiasm, vary your speed and

volume of delivery, pause for effect to gain the
attention of the audience

Look friendly, smile, be enthusiastic and try not to

appear nervous

Maintain good eye contact with each member of the

audience

Know your subject – use palm cards and keep them

inconspicuous

Develop a good plan

Show a sense of humour

Use interesting visual aids

Watch your audience for signs of boredom - be flexible

Accept feedback

Be punctual, check the room and equipment as well as

visual aids and handouts in advance

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Analysing the Topic and Brainstorming
Analyse the presentation task and brainstorm your topic using the procedure below.

Working alone or in groups or pairs, analyse the presentation task by identifying the instruction words,
the topic words and the limiting words. Brainstorm your topic, noting the key words, the possible main
ideas you wish to develop and your supporting ideas. You may wish to use a concept map or some other
kind of diagram to help you to note down the ideas that come from your brainstorming. You may want
to use the following concept map by writing key words in the bubbles.

Motivations

My Future
Plans Expectations
studies

Planning
Developing the presentation

A formal presentation is similar to an essay in structure, and the best way to plan is to follow the same
steps. One difference is that you do not need to have one main point, although you may choose to have
one. For the task you have been given, there are three main points you need to cover.

On a separate piece of paper, and with space in between, write three complete sentences, similar to
topic sentences in an essay, one for each of your three main points. These should describe your
motivation, your expectations, or what you expect to happen, your plans for the future, and your level
of certainty about your plans. On your paper, write down some supporting points and examples for each
of your main points and some organisational signposts you could use throughout the body.

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Defining Disciplines
# how u can begin ur talk?
In your presentation, you may want to define your discipline. What is a discipline? A discipline is a
specific field of inquiry with a well-defined object of study. In other words, a discipline is a particular
branch of learning that is concerned with a limited range of phenomena.

Match the names with the definitions in the tables below.

1. Studies the design and construction of projects such

as bridges, buildings, roads, railways, airports,
A. Anatomy and Human Biology H
harbours, reservoirs, water supply, coastal
engineering, off-shore structures and mining.

2. Is concerned with the study of DNA. It is multi-

disciplinary, involving aspects of botany, zoology,
B. Environmental Engineering F biochemistry, pathology, molecular biology,
microbiology and medicine.

3. Includes the study of human societies (their

C. Land and Water Management E organisation, structures and behaviour) and human
social relationships.

4. Examines issues such as unemployment, inflation,

interest rates, productivity and the balance of
D. Psychology J payments. It explains how the economy works, and
the way it affects our standard of living.

5. Provides an introduction to banking, the Australian

financial system, international financial markets and
E. Anthropology G the macroeconomic environment in which financial
markets operate.

6. Studies the conservative use of these precious

F. Genetics resources and their preservation for future
C
generations.

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 7. Is the study of the human body. It ranges from cell
G. Money and Business and molecular-based studies, through to evolution
A
and variation in the human population.

8. Provides an understanding of such things as how

H. Civil Engineering governments, political economies and the
I
international system operate.

9. Is the study of creative and practical ways to

I. Political Science
B prevent and solve environmental problems.

10. Is the scientific study of mental processes.

J. Economics Psychologists seek to answer questions about how
D
and why human and other animals behave as they do.

Look at the language in the table and then write a definition of your discipline.

Formal definitions are the most common definition structure

Relative pronoun to
Distinctive
Concept Verb (be) + article Class introduce the
characteristic(s)
relative clause
is concerned with the
Education is a discipline which
promotion of learning

Naming definitions are similar to formal definitions but the elements of the definition are in a
different order
Relative pronoun
to introduce the Distinctive
Class Verb Concept
relative clause characteristic(s)
structure
is concerned with
The discipline which the promotion of is known as education
learning

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Other phrases you can use after the relative pronoun to describe disciplines
looks at

is concerned with

is involved with

includes the study of

studies

uses

applies

Read the first few paragraphs of ‘Developing toward What?’ on pages 2-5 of Global Issues and
discuss the definition of development with your partner.

Give an expanded definition of your discipline area to your partner by adding details to the
definition you have written.

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UNIT 1 LESSON 7
CREATING A SELF-STUDY PLAN
Objectives
In this lesson, you will be guided with self-study planning to help you become a more independent
learner.

Self-Study
Self-study is an important strategy to help you become an autonomous learner. Throughout Module 1,
you will see some suggestions for self-study at the bottom of the weekly program. These are listed to
encourage you to prepare for upcoming quizzes in class and are all available on Blackboard under Self-
Study. However, it is also advisable for you to create a self-study plan and work on extra aspects of your
language learning that are not covered in class time. For example, you may feel that your grammar is
not as good as you would like, so you should, therefore, aim to work on grammar skills in your free time.

Self-Study Questionnaire
Let’s start with a questionnaire. Complete the 1st and 2nd columns, entitled “Which skill area do you think
you are weak in?” and “Why do you think that is?” by adding in details. For example, in column one
under listening, you could write note-taking, rather than just listening. Then in column 2, you could write
understanding vocabulary (see example).

Which skill area do Why do you think that What can you do to Suggested study ideas
you think you are is? improve in that skill
weak in? area?

Listening
-notetaking - understanding
vocabulary

Writing

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 Reading

Speaking

Pronunciation

Grammar

Vocabulary

Now, work with a partner/small group to try to come up with ideas to help you improve these skills and
note them in the 3rd column, “What can you do to improve in that skill area?”

Then, as a class and with the teachers help, try to note down some “Suggested study ideas” in the 4th
column. You could look at the assortment of resources on Blackboard (Self-Study) and see if there is
anything that you might like to add to your list. There are also materials available in the CELT Library
and on the internet. Feel free to share any new ideas/website you find on the Discussion Board in
Blackboard.

For homework, you should then complete the Study Plan Template with your study ideas for each day,
and bring it in with you at the end of Week 2 to discuss with your teacher. This template is available in
Word format under Self-Study on Blackboard for you.

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Study Buddies
It is a good idea to have a study buddy. This is someone you can work with outside of class hours to
study together, peer-edit, etc. There are many benefits of working with a buddy.

With a partner, try to list as many of the benefits of working with a buddy as you can.

Now, check your list of benefits with those in the link on Blackboard (Self-Study).

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UNIT 1: STUDYING IN AUSTRALIA - UNIT REVIEW
Reflection Questions

1) Do you understand the basic idea of academic genres?

2) How confident do you feel about using a concept map to generate ideas?

3) How confident do you feel about giving a short presentation?

4) How are your motivations, expectations and plans for studying in Australia similar to those of
others in the class, or are they different in some way?

5) What are your impressions of the Bridging Course, so far?

6) Do you have a better understanding of strategies you use to listen, read, write and speak English?

7) Do you have a self-study plan now?

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