Course detail

Academic English for Doctoral Studies

FSI-9AJAcad. year: 2026/2027

English for Doctoral Degree Study focuses on a complex development of language skills in academic and scientific areas. It is divided into three courses (Academic Skills 1, 2, 3), which lead up to the C1 level of English. The courses concentrate on acquiring general academic and discipline-specific vocabulary, reading academic texts, presentation skills, and independent writing of publishable research papers.

Language of instruction

English

Assignment to study programme types

Doctoral

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Entry knowledge

Minimum necessary CEFR level of English is B2.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The exam has a written and an oral part.

Written part:
1 Submission of glossary of discipline-specific and academic vocabulary selected from at least three impact-journal articles with a minimum extent of 50 items. Assessment criteria: ability to study a foreign language independently.
2 Submission of research paper (minimum 9,000 characters) based on the student's master's or doctoral thesis. Assessment criteria: compliance with pre-set article structure, stylistic and grammatical correctness, use of discipline-specific vocabulary.
3 Short written assignment (150--200 words) on a general academic topic. Assessment criteria: general academic vocabulary and writing used in every-day academic contexts.

Oral part:
1 Presentation of conference contribution and follow-up discussion. Assessment criteria: compliance with pre-set structure of presentation, level of language skills, follow-up discussion.
2 Interview on doctoral study (research, teaching, participation in conferences including international ones, mobilities in abroad). Assessment criteria: fluency and interaction.

Students must pass all parts of the exam.


Students' participation in seminars is voluntary and the extent of instruction (one to three semesters) may be assessed by students themselves by taking a placement test in the e-learning.

Aims

The goal of English for Doctoral Degree Study is to provide students with language skills suitable for academic and professional areas, and prepare them for practical output of the acquired academic skills in the form of independent oral and written discourse at the C1 level of CEFR.


Skills: The skill to comprehend a scientific text, to reproduce it, and to compile a discipline-specific glossary. The skill to properly use the acquired grammar and academic style in both oral and written professional discourse. The ability of critical thinking, independent communication, and argumentation prevalent in the academia.
Output: independent written and oral performance.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Earle–Carlin, Susan. Q: Skills for Success 5. Listening and Speaking. Third edition. Oxford: OUP, 2020. (EN)
Freire, Robert, and Tamara Jones. Q: Skills for Success 4. Listening and Speaking. Third edition. Oxford: OUP, 2020.
Chazal, Edward de, and Julie Moore. Oxford EAP: A Course for Academic Purposes. Advanced. Oxford: OUP, 2013. (EN)
Chazal, Edward de, and Sam McCartter. Oxford EAP: A Course for Academic Purposes. Upper-intermediate. Oxford: OUP, 2012. (EN)
Healan, Angela, and Katrina Gormley. 2023. Close-up C1. National Geographic. (EN)
Warwick, Lindsay. 2025. Success: Oxford Test of English Advanced. Oxford: OUP. (EN)

Recommended reading

Gardner, Peter S. New Directions: Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. Cambridge: CUP, 2005. (EN)
Hewings, Martin. Advanced Grammar in Use. Cambridge: CUP, 2013. (EN)
McCarthy, Michael, and Felicity O'Dell. Academic Vocabulary in Use. Cambridge: CUP, 2008. (EN)
Mounsey, Chris. Essays and Dissertations. Oxford: OUP, 2002. (EN)
Oshima, Alice, and Ann Hogue. Introduction to Academic Writing. New York: Pearson, 2007. (EN)
Paterson, Ken, and Roberta Wedge. Oxford Grammar for EAP. Oxford: OUP, 2013. (EN)
Glasman-Deal, Hilary. 2021. Science Research Writing for Native and Non-native Speakers of English. Second ed., World Scientific. (EN)
Holst, Bodil. 2015. Scientific Paper Writing: A Survival Guide. Bergen: University of Bergen. (EN)
Wallwork, Adrian. English for Academic Correspondence and Socializing. New York: Springer, 2011. (EN)
Wallwork, Adrian. English for Academic Research: Writing Exercises. New York: Springer, 2013. (EN)
Wallwork, Adrian. English for Presentations at International Conferences. New York: Springer, 2016. (EN)
Wallwork, Adrian. English for Writing Research Papers. New York: Springer, 2023. (EN)

Elearning

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme D-APM-P Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme D-ENE-A Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme D-ENE-P Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme D-FIN-P Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme D-IME-P Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme D-KPI-P Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme D-MAT-P Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme D-STG-P Doctoral 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Language exercise

60 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

Academic Skills 1

Week 1: Demands on doctoral students and appropriate skills
Week 2:  Accidental discoveries (role of narraive in the sciences)
Week 3: Extended definitions (technical vocabulary, paragraph structure)
Week 4: Teamwork
Week 5: Describing visual information I (Writing)
Week 6: Describing visual information II (Presenting)
Week 7: Goal setting and assessing progress
Week 8: Role of passive constructions 
Week 9: Inspiring innovation 
Week 10: Effective teaching

Academic Skills 2

Week 1: Adulting skills
Week 2: Process description (connectors)
Week 3: Modern cities (planning, advantages and disadvantages)
Week 4: Modals 
Week 5: Applications of hard science
Week 6: Comparison and contrast (writing and grammar)
Week 7: Work and fun (mental health)
Week 8: Non-technical aspects of technology (conditionals)
Week 9: Consequences of progress  
Week 10: The world of work


Academic Skills 3

Week 1: The writing process: heuristics, evaluating sources, references
Week 2: Compiling glossary, General, academic and technical vocabulary
Week 3: Introduction to rhetoric; Title, abstract, key words
Week 4: Introductions and body paragraphs
Week 5: Methods, Results and discussion
Week 6: Cohesion, thematic progression, referencing
Week 7: Conclusions
Week 8: Articles and punctuation
Week 9: Giving conference papers
Week 10: Giving conference papers

Elearning