This presentation discusses the benefits and challenges of teaching academic writing in English to ESL students at university level.

In University of Vaasa, all students take an obligatory academic writing course either in Finnish or English, depending on the language of their Master’s theses.

Academic Writing in English teaches students the mechanics of academic writing. With writing tasks, online self-study, lectures, and a secure online exam it instructs students in the usage of the university writing guidelines, the AI regulations, the correct use of sources and citations, and the importance of argumentation and a clear thesis statement.

The value of these academic writing courses is indisputable. All students learn the same skills and are able to write their theses according to the university regulations. The thesis supervisors can focus their feedback on content rather than teaching each student academic writing. The course was originally devised on request from the faculties, and despite being demanding, the students describe it as informative and useful in their thesis work.

The Finnish and international students’ varied language and study skills, the development of AI tools, and the pressure from the university in funding, teaching resources, changing degrees, and the new types of student groups make teaching challenging. To meet these challenges, the course format is regularly updated to ensure that the course content, assignments, and evaluation remain uniform across course groups. The most recent updates include an introductory course for international students, and dividing the obligatory course into bachelor and master studies level units.

Authors:
Noora Karjalainen, University of Vaasa, Finland

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Noora Karjalainen is currently working as a university teacher in English at the Language Centre Linginno in the University of Vaasa, Finland.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

Bookmark