Technical English I (annual)

Code:

EMG1001

Acronym:

IT1

Instance: 2006/2007 - A

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Mining Engineering Department
Course/CS Responsible:	Mining and Geo-Environmental Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LEMG	10	Plano Oficial EMG a partir de 2003	1	4	5	-

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

1 – Short term objectives

- to provide the students with the necessary skills for a more efficient and quicker understanding of texts related to their scientific topic areas,
- developing their lexical, grammatical and rhetorical skills (textual cohesion),
- calling their attention to the different ways of approaching a text (“skimming”, scanning”, “intensive and extensive reading”),
- stressing the importance of “speed reading”.

2 – Long term objectives

- to develop all the other language skills,
- to prepare the students for real autonomy based on self confidence,
- to stimulate students’ critical view.

Program

TOPIC AREAS:
Introducing oneself and the course.
Sample test - detailed explanation concerning the way the test is planned.
The Solar System
Planets
The Earth's Interior
Continental Drift
Continental crust vs Oceanic crust
Geological hazards: Earthquakes, Volcanic activity, Predictions and Eruptions, Volcanic Earthquakes etc.
The rock cycle.
Sedimentaty, Igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Minerals: composition, crystal system, specific gravity, lustre, colour, cleavage and fracture.
Surface processes - weathering and erosion.

LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS:
"Rrainstorming" about the themes under study.
Defining words and concepts.
Asking questions and giving reasons.
Using linking words to complete a text.
Filling in gaps as a listening comprehension exercise in order to estimate students' global or detailed understanding.
Finding key words in a text.
Summarising the main ideas in a text or article.
Estimating student's reading speed + comprehension.
Taking notes fron text or tape recorder.
Comparing and contrasting.
Asking questions about sizes dimensions, weights and lengths.
Making previsions.
Hypothysing.
Conversing and debating.
Describing slides or pictures.
Writing letters.
Writing compositions.
writing abstracts.
Making a short oral presentation.
Translating.

LANGUAGE STRUCTURES (Revised):
Present, past and past perfect.
"Ing form".
"wh/questions".
Prepositions: time,place,movement directionetc.
Modal verbs.
"going to" future+preposition.
"if" clauses.
Articles and demonstrative pronouns.
Passive voice - personal and impersonal.
Linkers.
Compound nouns.
Latin plurals.

VOCABULARY:
(1) Tecnical and (2) Sub-tecnical related to the above mentioned topic areas.
LIVELY MATERIALS:
Films, Songs, Short stories, Cartoons, Proverbs, Brain teasers, Word chains, Graphic English, Debates (based on the students' preferences).

Main Bibliography

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman, 1987

Complementary Bibliography

Swan, M. , Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, 1995
Fowler, W. S. e Coe, M., Test and Practice your English I , Nelson, 1990
Fowler, W. S. e Coe, M., Test and Practice your English II , Nelson, 1991
Allsop, J., Cassell’s Students’ English Grammar, Cassell, 1983
Concise Science Dictionary, O.U.P. , 1991
Longman Dictionary of Scientific Usage, Longman, 1979
Language Activator, Longman, 1993
LTP Dictionary of Selected Collocations, LTP Cop., 1997

Teaching methods and learning activities

METHODOLOGY:
There are three basic rules for planning the syllabus of EAP (English for Academic Purposes) disciplines. The first follows the principle known as “language awareness” and calls our attention to the vital importance of the linguistic phenomenon, as a fundamental aspect of language learning. The second deals with the kind of attitude which places the student and the learning process at the centre of the problem - “learner-centred” and “learning centred” approaches. The third is directly related with the language skills considered of major interest by the students both while at university and later as professionals. In this way, priority is given to the development of reading and oral skills.
Bearing in mind that, nowadays, it is common practice to present papers in conventions or to take active roles in seminars or other scientific meetings, it is important to remind the students of this reality. To accomplish this, we aim at introducing the students to situations where these events normally happen, so that they may be faced with the necessary strategies to accomplish such task. After this basic preparatory work, students are encouraged to choose a theme of their preference within the various topic areas focused during the lessons. Some research work must follow and, finally, they are expected to be prepared (individually or in small groups) to make their first oral presentation.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Examinations or Special Assignments

FACULDADE DE ENGENHARIA DA UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO
DEPARTAMENTO DE MINAS E GEOAMBIENTE
INGLÊS II – RECURSO2004

NAME:……………………………………………………………………………………
A

READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW. USE YOUR OWN WORDS AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. DO NOT WASTE TIME REPEATING THE QUESTION IN YOUR ANSWER.

The first necessity for prospecting is a geological survey of a large or small area. The kinds of information yielded by the survey include classification of types of rock, evidence of past geological processes, formation of mineral structures and presence or absence of ore bearing rocks. When the surface has been surveyed, such studies attempt to project the findings to the subsurface. In many places on the surface of the earth, rocks have moved or fractured to expose several different layers called faults, and they provide an important clue to what lies bellow the surface.
The most important clues to subsurface geological features come from geochemical and geophysical techniques. Geochemists can analyse mineral samples to determine their elements. The distribution of different elements through the samples provides a valuable source of clues not only to the location of deposits but also to the extent of the deposit.
One of the most important geophysical techniques is core drilling with a hollow cylinder through subsurface layers to obtain samples of rock. The samples themselves are called cores, and it is possible to analyse them by both geological and geochemical methods.
Another aid in determining what lies beneath the surface is a device called a gravimeter which measures the earth’s gravity. Gravity varies a little from one place to another. A dense rock like granite has a greater gravitational pull than a porous rock like sandstone. Thus readings from the gravimeter can help indicating what kind of rocks are underground.
A second device is the magnetometer which measures the strength of the earth’s magnetic field, the force that makes a compass point north. As with gravity, the densities of different rocks beneath the surface show changes in magnetism that can be read with this method.

1)Why do mining surveys try to project their findings to the subsurface?
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2)What provides valuable information about underground structures? How?
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3)How can geochemists find evidence of subsurface geological features?
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4)How do geologists get subterranean samples for analysis? What do they show?
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5)How does a gravimeter indicate what lies beneath the earth’s surface?
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Observations

LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES:
Whenever students, apart from lacking the adequate linguistic level to start the EAP course also feel demotivated, reaching our objects has proved to be very difficult. However, we are happy to say that these last few years the average level of our students’ knowledge of the English language has been considerably higher, although, unfortunately, there are always a few students lagging behind. So, according to the results obtained in the Placement Test, we have divided the classes into two groups, on the one hand not to keep back the better-prepared students and on the other to give the weaker students whatever help they may need. Needless to say that the objectives of the course are always the same, but this system allows us to move ahead with one of the groups of students while trying to catch up with the other.

INFRA-STRUTURAL FACILITIES:

We have had for years the necessary infrastructures needed for foreign language classes. All the necessary books are available, we have got master cassettes recorded by native speakers, an overhead projector, cassette recorder, video and slides projectors-. From 1998/99 onwards we have also had at our disposal a computer unit with special software to supplement the course.