QZB101 English for Academic Purposes 1A

Unit Outline: Dalian Teaching Period - 1 2026, Non-QUT location, Internal

Overview

This unit QZB101 and its following unit QZB102 English for Academic Purposes 1B introduce you to, and enable you to practise, English language academic skills. You will be taught and assessed on English Language Proficiency (ELP) and the use of this language to complete academic tasks. Upon successful completion of QZB101 and QZB102 you will be benchmarked at English for Academic Purposes (EAP) 1 standards, which recognises the results as being notionally equivalent to the Overall IELTS score of 5.5 with no sub-score less than 5. This unit provides a pathway to two EAP 2 units, QZB201 English for Academic Purposes 2A and QZB202 English for Academic Purposes 2B, which will further equip you with the academic English language skills required for EZ90 Bachelor of Engineering (Hons).

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate receptive academic skills using English language listening and reading input, identifying connections and themes between a limited number of spoken and/or written texts, using some strategies and skills to understand spoken and written academic texts, reading and listening critically to analyse and evaluate information with some success.
2. Demonstrate productive academic skills using English language speaking and writing, supporting main points with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples to develop and support a viewpoint with some success, paraphrasing/summarising, synthesizing and evaluating information from a limited number of sources, selecting relevant information from a well-structured lecture and taking notes capturing most information, participating, intervening, responding appropriately and facilitating discussion in a group setting with some success, using language with some degree of fluency and accuracy to produce a mostly coherent, cohesive response.
3. Demonstrate digital literacy and academic research skills using English language, using a Learning Management System to locate important information, communicating, engaging and submitting work digitally, using library, databases and online search tools to locate some relevant, appropriate academic sources, writing, editing and formatting digital documents, writing a research assignment with appropriate style, format and referencing, using strategies to demonstrate and maintain academic integrity.
4. Demonstrate capacity to work independently and collaboratively using English language, managing time, setting priorities, organising learning to achieve goals, self-reflecting, self-assessing and using and giving mostly appropriate feedback, negotiating and collaborating with people from different cultural backgrounds.

Content

Learning Approaches

Extensive in-class and online language support is provided in this unit.

Classes are a 2:1 mix of in-context language learning and teaching: academic skills.

Grammar and vocabulary are presented in context as part of science and engineering texts modelled on those you will encounter in EZ90. This includes (a) orientation of text features and function, (b) comprehension of text content, (c) analysis of how language is used to structure and convey authors’ key points, (d) practice adapting and using this language to structure and convey your key points, and (e) production of this language to successfully complete EAP1 program formative and summative assessment items.

Due to the extensive variety of assessment types (which can vary dramatically depending on unit, and unit coordinator expectations), emphasis is placed on (a) the deconstruction and analysis of texts and assessment questions and (b) teaching the receptive and productive language skills required to successfully navigate these texts/questions.

Guided Independent Learning (GIL) material is provided on the unit's QUT Canvas site (see Resources).

Proficiency is developed through the presentation and practice of relevant language content and skills in small classes (average 15 and maximum 18 students). In pedagogical terms, this unit incorporates a range of student-centred approaches to teaching.

Timetabled activities will be distributed within the teaching period according to a schedule that will be published prior to the start of the teaching period.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You are encouraged to view your class as a learning community and to share and discuss emergent ideas about English for Academic Purposes. Each assessment submission will be graded against criteria and standards that will be shared with you at the beginning of teaching period through Assessment Task Descriptions and Marking Rubrics. Marked assessment will include feedback given by the markers against the criteria.

Assessment

Overview

Assessment in this unit is designed to help you prepare for your future units in EZ90. You will take reading, listening, writing, and speaking examinations at EAP1 standards. Attending/participating in class and doing homework will help you to prepare for these assessment tasks.

An Assessment Task Description, Assessment Detail, and marking Rubric will be provided for each of the take reading, listening, writing, and speaking examinations.

You will receive the same grade for both QZB101 and QZB102, and if the grade is below 65%, you will be required to complete additional study before progressing to QZB201 and QZB202. The Canvas site will provide more information.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Mixed Skills Test

This examination consists of three components: Listening (45 minutes), Writing (75 minutes), and Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading and Text Analysis (GVRT) (95 minutes). In the Listening component, you will answer questions based on an academic talk, a series of five speakers discussing a topic, and a conversation between two speakers. In the Writing component, you will choose one of three academic topics and write one or two well-developed academic body paragraphs (without an introduction or conclusion). The GVRT component assesses your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through 30 multiple-choice questions and your academic reading skills through 30 reading comprehension questions across two sections: four short texts and one longer text.

The objectives of this examination are to assess your ability to understand spoken academic English, identify key ideas and supporting details, apply grammar and vocabulary accurately, comprehend and analyse academic texts, and produce coherent, well-structured academic writing in response to a topic.

Assessment: Speaking Test

You will be randomly placed into small groups and will be required to: answer questions about yourself and your opinions, discuss a written prompt with the other group members in order to reach a decision, and agree and / or disagree; express and justify opinions.

The objectives are to specifically assess your ability to: engage in the discussion; listening actively;  agree/disagree; give and ask for opinions; use strategies for circumlocution, clarifying, repetition, questioning; turn-take; facilitate collaborative interaction with peers; provide an extended response; use vocabulary with some degree of fluency and accuracy - word form, word choice, collocations, singular/plural nouns; use a range of grammar with some degree of accuracy - sentence structure, tense, SVA, conjunctions, parallel structures, word order, active vs passive, articles, referents, conditionals, nominalisation, punctuation; use a range of phonological features (prosodic features, pronunciation, non-verbals); and organise points logically using appropriate cohesive devices.

Assessment: Integrated Skills Test

This integrated skills test includes the following three stages:

Listening stage: You will listen once to a short talk/lecture, listen to the short talk/lecture a second time, and take notes of main ideas and relevant details.

Reading stage: You will read text/s, and complete summary matrix.

Writing stage: You will write a response to a question prompt requiring analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of all input source material and/or a personal reaction to the topic.

The objectives are to: identify and note main ideas and details; identify patterns of organisation/genre, and recognise cues; determine speaker opinion/viewpoint; infer meaning, recognising fact vs opinion; analyse and evaluate; connect themes or ideas across spoken/written texts; use correct paragraph structure (topic sentences, supporting sentences, concluding sentences if appropriate); choose appropriate, relevant support; support main points with details, data, examples, explanations, reasons and definitions; organise points logically using appropriate cohesive devices referents/substitution, transition signals, repetition of key words, synonyms, parallel structures); summarise using paraphrasing and selecting appropriate main ideas from the original; combine ideas from sources in order to produce an original response; use a range of vocabulary - word form, word choice, spelling, collocations, singular/plural nouns; use a range of grammar with some degree of accuracy - sentence structure, tense, SVA, conjunctions, parallel structures, word order, active vs passive, articles, referents, conditionals, nominalisation, punctuation; and use appropriate genre, register and word count.

Assessment: Seminar

You will be randomly placed into small groups and will be required to: find a journal article on a suitable topic; upload the selected journal article to Turnitin; facilitate a small group discussion on this topic; and participate in small group discussions facilitated by another member of the group.

The objectives are to specifically assess your ability to: engage in the discussion; listening actively; agree/disagree; give and ask for opinions; use strategies for circumlocution, clarifying, repetition, questioning; turn-take; facilitate collaborative interaction with peers; provide an extended response; use vocabulary with some degree of fluency and accuracy - word form, word choice, spelling, collocations, singular/plural nouns; use grammar with some degree of fluency and accuracy - sentence structure, tense, SVA, conjunctions, parallel structures, word order, active vs passive, articles, referents, conditionals, nominalisation, punctuation; use a range of phonological features (prosodic features, pronunciation, non-verbals); and organise points logically using appropriate cohesive devices.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

You will undertake lectures and tutorials in the traditional classrooms and lecture theatres of DUT. You will follow all legitimate instructions of staff in accordance with DUT workplace health and safety requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

EZ90 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

1. Make decisions ethically within the social, cultural, and organisational contexts of professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: ULO3, ULO4, Mixed Skills Test, Speaking Test, Integrated Skills Test, Seminar
2. Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
   Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3, ULO4, Mixed Skills Test, Speaking Test, Integrated Skills Test, Seminar
3. Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: ULO2, ULO4, Mixed Skills Test, Speaking Test, Integrated Skills Test, Seminar
4. Demonstrate coherent knowledge and skills of physical, mathematical, statistical, computer, and information sciences that are fundamental to professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: ULO3, Mixed Skills Test