Blended English for Engineering (Intermediate and above)
| Unit
| About this course |
| 1
| Course introduction; Introduction to blended learning; Familiarisation with platform; Preview of Unit 2 |
| Unit | Theme
| Engineering vocabulary | Grammar | Listening skills |
| 2 | Tools
| Hand tools; uses of hand tools, machine tool parts; machine tool operation Lexical sets; word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with infinitives of purpose; verbs with –en; preposition + -ing | Listening for general information; listening for detail.
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| 3 | Materials
| Materials; adjectives to describe material properties; insulators and conductors and how they work | Revision of and practice with compound nouns; compound adjectives; using would and could
| Listening for general information; listening for specific information; listening for detail |
| 4 | Production
| Production plants; manufacturing processes; strategies for optimising manufacturing processes Lexical sets; word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with the present simple and present continuous; talking about states, actions and verbs | Listening for specific information; listening for detail. |
| 5 | Describing processes
| Plastic injection moulding; galvanisation; quality control processes in the lab Lexical sets; word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with the passive voice: present simple; present continuous and modals; special uses of the passive voice | Listening for detail; listening for general information |
| 6 | How things work
| How engines work; how electromagnets work; how helicopters work Lexical sets; word formation; collocations | Revision of and practice with using adjectives; using adverbs; adjectives versus adverbs | Listening for general information; listening for detail |
| Unit | Reading skills | Writing | Platform interactive tasks | Communication F2F sessions
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| 2 | Skimming, scanning; reading for detail; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary | 2.3 Page comments on what we can use CNC machines to make
| Communicative task: Describing tools Role play: Giving instructions Role play: Checking you have understood instructions |
| 3 | Reading for specific information; reading for general information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary; note-taking skills | 3.2 Page comments on interesting or useful vocabulary items for material properties
| Talking about advantages and disadvantages Role play: Asking for and giving opinions Role play: Agreeing and disagreeing |
| 4 | Reading for detail; reading for general information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary Fluency activities: Writing an explanation of the benefits of a strategy for optimising manufacturing; writing negative questions | 4.8 Page comments on the benefits of a strategy for optimising manufacturing | Information exchange: Describing the benefits of strategies for optimising manufacturing Information exchange: Explaining the benefits of strategies for optimising manufacturing Role play: Practising active listening strategies |
| 5 | Reading for general information; reading for detail; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary Making notes to prepare for giving a verbal report on a process Writing questions about a process | 5.9 Discussion forum: How can you make your listeners interested in what you have to say? | Presenting reports on a process to a partner or in a small group Role play: Asking and answering questions about a report on a process |
| 6 | Reading for general information; reading for detail; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary Making notes to prepare for giving an explanation of how something works
| 6.2 Page comments giving feedback on the presentation style of the presenter in the video on how electromagnets work students watched 6.7 Discussion forum: Sharing explanations of what happens in the plastic injection moulding process | Communication task: Explaining how something works Role play: Giving an explanation to a layperson Role play: Practising active listening strategies
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| Unit
| Review and mid-course exam |
| 7
| Online modules: Review of Units 2 to 7; F2F session: mid-course exam. |
| Unit | Theme
| Engineering vocabulary | Grammar | Listening skills |
| 8
| Technical requirements | Technical requirements; vocabulary for bills of material; vocabulary for specifications Lexical sets, word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with modals for obligation; modals for permission; using should and ought to | Listening for general information; listening for specific information |
| 9 | Problems
| Damage; problems; causes of problems; solutions to problems; troubleshooting Lexical sets, word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with the present perfect simple; present perfect simple questions; using already, yet and still | Listening for general information; listening for specific information |
| 10 | Improvement
| Technical improvement; mobile phone design; building new models Lexical sets, word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with using comparatives; using superlatives; using quantifiers with comparatives and superlatives | Listening for general information; listening for specific information |
| 11 | Testing
| Research and development; crash tests; flight tests Lexical sets, word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with using will, going to, the present simple and present continuous to talk about the future | Listening for general information; listening for specific information |
| 12 | Projects
| Project objectives and organisation; SMART project objectives; project planning Lexical sets, word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with using the present perfect simple to talk about experience and progress; present perfect simple versus past simple | Listening for general information; listening for specific information |
| 13 | Emailing and telephoning
| Email-related vocabulary; emailing phrases; telephoning phrases Lexical sets, word formation, collocations | Revision of and practice with the first conditional and idiomatic verbs | Listening for specific information |
| Unit | Reading skills | Writing | Platform interactive tasks | Communication F2F sessions
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| 8
| Reading for general information; reading for specific information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary; making notes; creating a mind map | 8.7 Discussion forum: Sharing questions you could ask to find out about the requirements for a new product someone wants to build 8.9 Discussion forum: Sharing ideas for the specification with other students and asking any questions they may have about it | Role play: Asking and answering questions about specifications Information exchange: Explaining the contents of a mind map Presenting a specification to a partner or in a small group
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| 9 | Reading for general information, reading for specific information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary | 9.9 Discussion forum: Sharing opinions about how important it is to be diplomatic when you are giving people bad news
| Role play: Troubleshooting questions and answers Role play: Talking about the probability of being able to fix a problem Role play: Giving bad news
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| 10 | Reading for general information; reading for specific information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary Fluency activity: Students write their own sentences describing the ways in which mobile phone design and functionality changed between 1983 and 2009 Preparing problems and objectives | 10.1 Page comments: How successful students think the engineers in the meeting will be in improving their products 10.3 Discussion forum: Sharing opinions about the credibility of descriptions of product improvements and whether they were convinced that the new crawler excavator model really is better than the old model | Simulation: Two-part decision-making meeting simulation |
| 11 | Reading for general information; reading for specific information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary Fluency activity: Students write test objectives Note-taking: Students make notes on how they will be able to assess the success of the tests they are planning | 11.1 Page comments: Students comment on whether they would like to work in research and development and why/ why not. 11.7 Discussion forum: Sharing ideas about what the best type of test would be to use for the test they are planning | Communicative task: Sharing test plans Communicative task: Discussing risks involved in carrying out tests Presenting test results to a partner or in a small group |
| 12 | Reading for general information; reading for specific information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary Fluency activity: Writing project objectives Note-taking: Making notes to create a work breakdown structure for their project Fluency activity: Writing an advertisement for team members for their project | 12.3 Discussion forum: Sharing views on whether they would use sticky notes to plan a project 12.7 Discussion forum: Sharing project objectives with other students and give others feedback on their project objectives 12.8 Discussion forum: Sharing ideas for their work breakdown structure, commenting on others’ ideas and asking others questions about their work breakdown structures 12.9 Discussion forum: Writing and posting an advertisement for team members for their project. Students also read other students’ advertisements and respond to those which appeal to them. | Presenting project objectives to a partner or in a small group Communicative task: Explaining your work breakdown structure to a partner or in a small group Communicative task: Discussing project scheduling web tools |
| 13 | Reading for general information; reading for specific information; guessing the meaning of unknown words
| Guided activities to activate key language and vocabulary Note-taking: planning an email
| 13.1 Page comments: Giving opinions on whether engineers write more informal or more formal emails 13.9 Discussion forum: Sharing DOs and DON’Ts for writing emails | Role play: asking questions on the phone Role play: leaving a voicemail message Communicative task: giving a partner feedback on an email they have written |
| Unit
| Review and end of course assessment |
| 14 | Online modules: Review of Units 8 to 13; F2F session: end of course assessment |