Assessment of academic English for nursing postgraduates_
| Item (total score, %) | Task dispatch time/ commit time | Task requirements | Evaluation criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendant rate (10) | — | Fully attend in this course | 1 point will be deducted for absence in 1 course session; last 1 score for attending in the simulated oral report |
| Research paper reading (10) | Week 2/week 6 | Based on a given research paper: briefly explain the purpose of the research topic, research methodology, statistical methods, outcomes, findings, and related researches worthy of further exploring. | The completeness and validity of the purpose of the research topic (1%), research methodology (2%), statistical methods (2%), outcomes (2%), findings (2%), and related research studies worthy of further exploring (1%) |
| Abstract writing (20) | Week 3/week7 | Based on a given research paper: write out objectives, methods, results, conclusions | Each of the 4 parts scored 5% and is graded for content integrity and grammatical expression |
| Poster production (20) | Week 1/week 9 | Develop a given research paper into a poster | Scores were given based on typeset layout (4%), detailed information distribution (4%), information accuracy (4%), readability (4%), and artistic creativity (4%) |
| Simulated oral report of international academic conference (40) | Week 1/week 10 | Students selected 1 research paper from 10 | Scores were given from PPT production quality (10), accuracy of paper content (10), oral expression (10), and responses to questions raised by raters (10) |
Mean scores for the questionnaire items_
| Item | Mean score |
|---|---|
| The course design and implementation help to strengthen my ability to use English | 4.8 |
| This course can help me improve the efficiency of reading English literature | 4.7 |
| This course helps me improve my ability to write English research papers and reports | 4.6 |
| Learning this course confers me more confidence to participate in international academic conferences and exchanges in the future | 4.8 |
| The course content and teaching methods help me pass the course assessment | 4.8 |
| I really enjoy learning this course | 4.5 |
| Learning this course help me apply English more in the nursing professional field in the future | 4.7 |
Schedule for academic English for nursing postgraduates_
| Week | Contents | Academic hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Course introduction: overview of research and thesis writing | 2 |
| 2 | Reading skills of English research papers for nursing major | 4 |
| 3 | Core writing skills and training: title and abstract | 4 |
| 4 | Core writing skills and training: introduction, method and result | 4 |
| 5 | Core writing skills and training: discussion, conclusion and references | 4 |
| 6 | Core writing skills and training: a workshop | 4 |
| 7 | Introduction, submission and academic communication skills of major international journals in nursing | 4 |
| 8 | Communication skills for international conference: oral presentation and PPT production | 4 |
| 9 | Communication skills for international conference: poster making and on-site communication | 2 |