Syllabus
Syllabus: English for Pharmacists
Winter semester
Course overview and introduction. Preliminary ability assessment.
Present simple, Present continuous- rules, usages and practice.
Present perfect, Present perfect continuous; for/since, just/already/yet.
Present perfect simple and continuous- detailed analysis of common student mistakes and issues and the tenses role in academic English.
Past (narrative) tenses – Past simple, Past continuous, Past perfect- looking closely at how past tenses interact with each other to form coherent narratives.
Past (narrative) tenses – Used to/Would for past repeat actions or states. Reviewed in conjunction with previously discussed Past tenses.
Introduction to modal verbs - Initial creation of modal verb reference table covering past/present functions of: Ability, Possibility, Obligation and Prohibition.
Modal verbs – continuing creation of modal reference table covering past/present functions of: Deduction, Necessity, Advice and Expectation.
Detailed review of modal verbs using newly created reference table and all covered functions to describe complex scenarios across a range of academic and non-academic English.
English verb patterns – infinitives, gerunds, bare infinitives in conjunction with both transitive and intransitive verbs in sequence.
Future forms – Future simple, Future continuous, Going to, Present tenses for the future, Future perfect simple and continuous.
English conditionals Zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Focus on form and alternative structures.
English conditionals review and extension – Mixed conditional patterns and forms.
Pre-test revision and checking of areas covered in first semester.
Summer semester
English relative clauses – basic introduction to standard forms (defining/non-defining).
Relative clauses – advanced forms (reduced clauses, inverted forms, omission).
Participle clauses -extension beyond reduced relative clauses.
Participle clauses and descriptive passives – exploring their role in academic writing.
Inversion in cases of negative or restrictive adverbial constructions.
Inversion, participle clause and relative clause review.
Emphatic forms – clefting and fronting. Comparison of uses in both formal and informal scenarios.
Dependent prepositions and phrasal verbs.
Common academic collocations and phrasing for written standards.
Introduction to punctuation for standard, formal written English.
Sentence level punctuation – Simple and Compound sentences.
Sentence level punctuation – Complex sentences and conjunctive adverbs.
Punctuation extension – Serial commas, semicolons and apostrophes.
Pre-test revision and checking of areas covered in second semester.
Annotation
The aim of the course is to ensure a solid grounding in functional English, aiming to support students’ future endeavors in academic English. The course reviews and extends essential areas of B2/C1 grammar, with a focus on standard forms suitable for formal written English. The course also provides a basic grounding in academic English phrasing, the basics or correct punctuation and the use of English in students’ further studies. The course considers the students’ varied educational backgrounds and attempts to balance out any gaps in essential knowledge.