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Faculty Academic English Program

The Faculty Academic English Program (FAE) provides English support courses to students in their faculties and schools. The courses offered by the FAE units range from content-based, academic skills courses in the freshman year to graduate writing courses for MA and PhD students. In providing academic skills support to a wide range of students in diverse faculties, instructors in the FAE program work cooperatively to design meaningful courses which emphasise high standards of academic writing achievement through challenging materials, active classroom learning, individual tutorial support and extensive feedback on student products. In addition, in order to meet the needs of specific departments, instructors often work closely with faculty staff.

The current organisation of the post-preparatory programs in Bilkent University was established in January 2003 after the teaming up and merging of the First Year English Program with post-preparatory programs in BUSEL. There are currently five FAE units, each with approximately 15 teachers responsible to a Head, grouped according to the faculties or schools which they serve.


FAE PROGRAM STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND AIMS

The FAE program believes that learning is the core of education. Therefore, our purpose is to promote, develop and support a challenging learning environment for students, staff and the broader academic community.

I. To fulfil this purpose in relation to students, the FAE program aims to enable
students to:

• adapt to university life and the demands of academic study
• believe in their own capacity and potential as academic and lifelong learners
• assess and continue to improve their linguistic accuracy and expression
• assess and continue to develop their receptive and productive academic abilities
• broaden their horizons and perspectives through exposure to a range of ideas and concepts beyond their department focus
• develop their critical, analytical, reflective and creative skills
• become self-reliant learners, decision-makers, and problem solvers
• develop their sense of responsibility for their own work and achievements in order to become independent learners
• develop the ability to work effectively with others and develop tolerance, empathy and social understanding

II. To fulfil this purpose in relation to staff, the FAE program aims to enable
instructors to:

• work towards fulfilling their personal and professional goals
• further develop their expertise related to curriculum design and implementation at an
academic level
• further develop their abilities as academic skills and language instructors in the classroom
• further develop their abilities as tutors of individual students
• further develop their abilities to motivate and guide students, regardless of their level, ability or attitude to learning
• further develop their expertise in relation to assessments of learning and the establishment and maintenance of suitable standards
• further develop their abilities both as self reliant professionals and team members
• further develop their contact and relationships with colleagues in the other departments, units, universities and educational institutions
• contribute to a dynamic, cooperative, analytical working environment
• contribute to the continuous development of the university
• continue their development as researchers in a stimulating and supportive environment

III. To fulfil this purpose in relation to the wider community, the FAE program
aims to:

• contribute to the development of Bilkent University, the education system in Turkey, and
the teaching profession in general through promoting :

- a climate of high expectations and quality in all areas
- discussion and critical analysis of the concepts and theories of meaningful learning and the learning environment
- awareness of students and colleagues as whole people and continuous learners
- dissemination of knowledge and expertise to the wider community


FAE COURSES

COMPULSORY

101 & 102 Courses

ELS 103 / 104 / 203 / 204

These courses are an equivalent way of covering the ENG 101 and 102 objectives for 2 year vocational students.

Offered by: - FAE – VTS / FMPA

ENG 117 / 118 and 217 / 218 - Advanced English Grammar I and II

These courses aim to help students to develop accuracy and competency in the use of the English language at advanced levels and to heighten their awareness of the structure and complexity of written and oral discourse.

Offered by - FAE – FHL / FADA

ENG 206 Business Communications

The objective of this course is to develop professional communication skills necessary for Business Administration majors. Students study authentic business communication problems and situations. Coursework includes analysing given situations and documents and producing suitably structured business reports, adapting business documents to particular needs and audiences, writing CVs and cover letters, conducting simulated job interviews, and completing other tasks related to communication in the business world.

Offered by - FAE – FBA / FL

ENG 241 and 242 - Sophomore Academic English I and II

These courses aim to reinforce and develop students' academic English skills beyond the level reached in the freshman year. This is done in conjunction with Philosophy 241 and 242, with a particular focus on reading, thinking, writing and speaking about influential social and political philosophy texts.

Offered by - FAE – FEASS
                  FAE – FBA / FL
                  FAE – FHL / FADA

ELS 311 and 411 – Communication Skills I and II

These courses aim to develop vocational students’ research skills – both primary research, in the form of data collection and report writing, and secondary research, in the form of literature reviews, summary writing, developing commentaries and writing research-based proposals.

Offered by: - FAE – VTS / FMPA

ENG 400 and 401 - Technical Report Writing and Presentation

These courses for industrial engineers (400) and computer engineers (401) will develop technical and professional communication skills. Students will be expected to become competent in writing proposals, technical reports and business letters and in presenting academic and technical papers. The tasks performed as part of the course will mirror the tasks students will be expected to do in their prospective professional lives and in their faculty classes.

Offered by - FAE – FE / FS

ELECTIVES

ENG 294 English for Language Development

This course is aimed at any student in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture who are interested in improving their language skills. The course focuses on faculty-specific needs, such as vocabulary development, and provides training and guidance on giving successful jury presentations. Any Sophomore, Junior or Senior student may elect to take this course.

Offered by - FAE – FHL / FADA

ENG 399 Advanced Writing and Library Research in Economics

The purpose of this course is to develop students' advanced academic reading, writing, and research skills. Students will develop their knowledge of writing style conventions within the field of economics, make extensive use of computer-based research techniques, and increase their ability to integrate a variety of sources into a coherent, and compelling written argument. This course will count as an elective for the Applied Economics requirement.

Offered By - FAE - FEASS



FAE ENGLISH 101 and 102 Courses

The foundations of the academic skills and language tuition provided by the BUSEL, FAE units are the Freshman courses, English and Composition 101 and 102. These courses are taken by all Bilkent University students in their first year and must be passed in order for students to graduate. These are 5 hour-a-week courses, which carry 3 credits.

Course Design

Since an academic context is required to provide a meaningful academic skills and language learning environment, at Bilkent, Eng 101 and 102 are designed as content-based academic skills and language courses. This means that the instructors have the opportunity to choose their own content-base through which they can teach the required skills and language. Each instructor is therefore required to:

• choose a suitably challenging, academic theme which can be explored over a 15 week period (eg. “Questions of Identity” which could possibly include consideration of questions related to sexuality / personal beliefs / genetics / culture / conformity / differences / psychology / philosophy)

• select academic-level texts and materials from a range of sources and writers (ie. not primarily magazines, newspaper articles or Internet articles) which will support the students in learning the skills and language they need to cope with their academic studies

• plan the integration and implementation of their course theme and skills and language objectives in detail

• produce a course booklet which includes all the course information and texts required by the students

• assign clearly defined, academic assignments which will assist the students in practising the skills and language level outlined in the ENG 101 and 102 objectives

Thus, the content of ENG 101 and 102 classes forms the context in which the objectives of the courses are taught. To put this more clearly, ENG 101 and 102 are NOT content courses

– they are academic skills and English language courses which use limited academic content to provide context. The purpose of ENG 101 and 102 is to fulfil the instructional objectives, which are given below.


ENG 101 OBJECTIVES

The central basis of ENG 101 is to introduce students to an academic approach to thinking, reading, speaking and writing in an integrated, meaningful manner such that they are able to apply the skills learnt to their departmental studies. In addition, the ENG 101 course aims to further develop the students’ linguistic accuracy and range in English. To this end, the following objectives represent the attainment expectations for ENG 101

Academic Thinking
By the end of ENG 101 students should be able to:

• question information / texts / ideas / others in a meaningful manner
• analyse and check their own thinking, views, cultural conditioning and perspectives in relation to outside information
• identify the main point of an academic text / argument
• identify supporting points in an academic text / argument
• evaluate the validity of a basic argument / position through challenging basic ideas, assumptions and evidence
• apply information from one context to another in order to test validity
• distinguish facts from unsupported opinion
• take a position / construct a basic argument of their own
• categorise and select information by distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant information
• justify their position / argument with evidence
• justify their position / argument through addressing counter arguments

Academic Reading
By the end of ENG 101 students should be able to:

• identify the purpose of academic and other texts
• define their own purpose in reading the text and adjust their style of reading accordingly
• identify the writer’s purpose and its influence on the text
• identify the intended audience for the text and its influence on the text
• apply their own experience / knowledge to their understanding of a text
• utilise knowledge of cohesive devices, at sentence, paragraph and text level, to understand the text
• utilise appropriate vocabulary development techniques to cope with challenging texts
• identify academic register and style
• identify careful / hedging language in academic and other texts
• identify inferences
• annotate and take referenced notes from a text in order to assist analysis use of  information later
• outline a text through analysis of the overall structure and individual paragraphs

Academic Discussion / Presentations
By the end of ENG 101 students should be able to:

• ask appropriate questions in the classroom with confidence
• actively and critically listen to the instructor and other students
• actively participate in focussed discussions of texts / ideas / arguments
• structure their contributions appropriately to the focus of the discussion at the time
• identify main points and supporting points in discussions
• utilise appropriate turn-taking techniques and appreciate / respect the contributions of  others
• utilise their own experience and background information appropriately in discussions in the classroom
• distinguish between subjectivity and objectivity in discussions
• plan a presentation / mini lecture or seminar based on course readings
• summarise information from texts to a suitable format for presentation to an audience
• present information in an engaging and organised manner to an audience
• present information in coherent language

Academic Writing
By the end of Eng 101, students should be able to:
(pre-writing)

• analyse a given title / task / question fully, carefully and in sufficient detail.
• consider specific information and counter viewpoints in detail before planning an essay
• decide on a suitable viewpoint / focus for their writing which specifically addresses the
title / question.
• decide what is relevant, necessary and appropriate for the task and their focus.
• select the main ideas and subordinate ideas that are to be presented to support their focus.
• order the ideas to present a logical viewpoint that is justified and presents a specific answer / conclusion.
• revise their plans / outlines following consideration and feedback

(use sources)

• select suitable information from texts for inclusion in their writing
• distinguish between information to be summarised, paraphrased or quoted
• summarise, paraphrase or quote with appropriate referencing
• contextualise a quotation / re-presentation in their writing
• use a consistent reference format

(writing)

• clearly indicate a specific focus in their writing and maintain that focus throughout the
essay
• present a clear argument / position throughout their writing – move beyond mere
reporting / description / narration
• structure their essay to present their ideas clearly and in a logical sequence
• present a fully developed argument (utilise definitions, explanations, examples,
summaries, analysis etc. where appropriate)
• structure paragraphs such that they have a clear purpose, are fully developed and link
logically to previous and subsequent paragraphs
• avoid factual inaccuracies / non-sensical and illogical statements / over-generalisations in
their writing
• avoid irrelevancies / unnecessary repetition of ideas in their writing
• avoid plagiarising other people’s ideas / writing through an appropriate use of citation

(post-writing)

• review / edit their own writing objectively
• discuss their writing with others and consider feedback
• revise their writing following feedback

Linguistic Accuracy and Document Formatting
By the end of ENG 101, students should be able to:

• demonstrate better fluency in the use of academic style and register
• demonstrate a broader range of general academic vocabulary
• show improvement in problematic areas of grammar:

- use of articles
- use of prepositions
- use of tenses
- subject-verb, gender, number agreement
- sentence fragments (sentences with no verb / subject – subordinate clauses presented as sentences eg. Because ……)

• show improvement in the mechanics of writing, in particular, spelling and punctuation
• present assigned work in a suitable fashion ie. A/4 paper - typed (or if handwritten,
readable handwriting). - double-spaced - margins - clear, necessary information -
bibliography.

ENG 102 OBJECTIVES

The central basis of ENG 102 is to consolidate students’ academic approach to thinking, reading, speaking, writing and language usage, as initiated in ENG 101.

In addition, the ENG 102 course aims to develop the students’ abilities to synthesise and evaluate information and conduct basic, independent research. To this end, the following objectives represent the attainment expectations for ENG 102. (These are in addition to objectives introduced in ENG 101)

Academic Thinking
By the end of ENG 102, students should be able to:

• identify convergent points and disparities between arguments / positions
• analyse divergent views / perspectives objectively
• apply theories / ideas from one source to another source
• recognise the value and utilise techniques to analyse their own and others' positions / perspectives

Academic Reading / Research
By the end of ENG 102, students should be able to:

• utilise a variety of general texts to gain an overview of a topic
• review general reading in order to focus their search for texts to a specific area
• locate specific texts for their task by using electronic sources, library search systems, indexes, contents, headings in texts and bibliographies effectively
• evaluate a variety of reading texts for their suitability to purpose by assessing

- relevance to topic
- relevance to task
- readability
- elements of bias
- appropriacy of text type

• understand and avoid plagiarism by:

- taking appropriate notes from a variety of texts and keeping such notes in an organised manner
- taking full citation notes on parts of texts to be summarised, paraphrased or quoted in later written tasks
- recording full reference information from all texts consulted and utilised using a consistent referencing format

Academic Writing
By the end of ENG 102, students should be able to:

(pre-writing / drafting of term paper)

• narrow a general topic area down to a specific term paper question / title by identifying a
specific position / argument for the paper
• use appropriate techniques to define the structure of their paper
• synthesise information from research into a logical order to produce drafts
• check their drafts to avoid plagiarism
• evaluate and edit their drafts objectively and in light of feedback
• refine their question / revise their drafts / reorganise information for clarity

(writing – final product)

• present a clear title / question for their paper which indicates the “what” (topic) and the “why” (question to be answered) of the paper
• produce a paper which is clear, relevant, well-organised, well developed and coherent for the reader
• produce a paper which incorporates information from more than one source
• produce a paper which has correct citations for information in the paper and correct  references for sources used

Academic Discussion / Presentations
By the end of ENG 102, students should be able to:

• challenge opposing viewpoints clearly and appropriately
• utilise appropriate vocabulary for academic discussions
• plan a presentation based on research texts
• utilise basic body language techniques to improve their delivery of presentations (eye contact / stance / gesture)
• utilise clear, effective visual techniques (whiteboard / OHP) to exemplify and support their presentation

Linguistic Accuracy and Document Formatting
By the end of ENG 102, students should be able to:

• demonstrate the ability to effectively edit their own work, in respect to grammar and mechanics, prior to submission for feedback
• produce language which is accurate enough to communication clearly to an academic audience
• utilise more lexical chunks and more precise language appropriate to academic discourse:

- hedging
- qualification
- exemplification
- relators
- evaluation
- dissent

• evaluate and incorporate new vocabulary and grammar constructions gleaned from their
own reading into their written work.

ENG 101 AND 102 ASSESSMENT

The following requirement is adhered to in all ENG 101 and 102 classes. They are designed to ensure that students across all classes are assessed in an effective and fair manner.

ENG 101 Requirements

ENG 102 Requirements

Standardisation

In order to further support fairness, clarity of aims and consistent grading, instructors in FAE units engage in a range of standardisation and cross-grading activities throughout each semester.


 

Bilkent University, School of English Language Faculty Academic English (FAE) Instructor Job Description

Responsible to : Head, Faculty Academic English Unit

General Aims

1. to provide quality tuition to develop students’ academic skills, language competence and breadth of knowledge
2. to design and develop high quality courses and materials
3. to take responsibility for the fair and consistent assessment of students
4. to ensure professional standards at all times
5. to collaborate with FAE colleagues and contribute to a positive team dynamic
6. to collaborate with faculty members to meet FAE aims and support departmental aims
7. to collaborate with colleagues and units to meet School and University aims
8. to contribute to the development of high quality tuition throughout the University
9. to undertake specific job-related duties / research to contribute to the development of FAE and the School as a whole
10. to teach up to 15 hours a week, and provide additional tutorial support as required

Specifically

1. to provide quality tuition to develop students’ academic skills, language competence and breadth of knowledge by

• providing students with a clear course outline package which ensures students understand course expectations, requirements, objectives and assessment
• teaching in a professional, open, encouraging manner and developing a positive relationship with all students, irrespective of their level or approach to learning
• establishing a stimulating, challenging, interactive, academic learning environment which also has clear expectations and standards of behaviour
• providing lessons which:

- meet course, FAE, School and University objectives
- are linked into a coherent learning program
- are prepared and sequenced appropriately to meet student needs
- cater for different learning styles through varying teaching formats, materials and technologies
- are challenging and stimulating in pace and cater for the range of levels of students in a course
- encourage student involvement and student responsibility for their own learning
- address remedial needs effectively
- prepare students appropriately for assessment of learning

• providing high quality feedback to all students in written and tutorial form such that students have a clear view of their progress at all times
• being open and available to students for consultation

2. to design and develop high quality courses and materials by

• participating in the regular review of unit and FAE level expectations and objectives
• selecting and designing materials for courses to develop appropriate academic skills and language
• selecting stimulating 101 and 102 course content to reflect FAE and University objectives of broadening student’ education outside their chosen field of study
• designing courses which incorporate teaching methodologies and approaches that will stimulate students’ and provide variety of format
• producing course plans that clearly outline weekly content, materials, language and skills objectives
• continually evaluating course topics, content, materials and methodologies
• adapting courses in light of evaluation, student performance, student feedback, unit feedback and departmental feedback, as appropriate
• contributing to the development of all FAE courses by providing feedback on shared courses and shared materials
• balancing the need to develop courses over more than one semester with the need to create new and stimulating courses for the teacher and students

3. to take responsibility for the fair and consistent assessment of students by

• designing assessment of learning tasks that abide by the agreed course objectives, course requirements and agreed team standards for that course
• providing students with quality feedback on all assessments of learning
• designing courses and lessons to facilitate students in the successful completion of assessments of learning
• contributing to the review and updating of course objectives and requirements on a regular basis
• contributing to assessment design meetings for each course by considering the design of each assessment task carefully, completing draft assessment tasks and providing detailed feedback to the group as required
• maintaining professional levels of confidentiality concerning all assessment issues and tasks
• participating in the invigilation of exams and assessments as required
• contributing to regular small group standardisation meetings and contributing to exam standardisation meetings, as necessary
• engaging in cross-marking schemes to ensure consistency of grading across the team
• abiding by agreed grading and standardisation in the marking of assessment tasks

4. to ensure professional standards at all times by

• contributing to students’ personal development through the promotion of a suitable learning environment both inside and outside the classroom
• maintaining all FAE required records in a professional manner
• maintaining an open-door policy regarding classroom visits and participating in observations and sharing practice with colleagues in an open, supportive manner
• liasing with colleagues on professional matters: course development / lesson planning / materials development / testing and criteria / assignments set / student progress / marking of assignments
• providing cover or adjusting teaching schedules in order to support absent colleagues
• completing all administrative requests and procedures in a timely and professional manner
• adhering to and enforcing university rules
• participating fully in FAE meetings and other meetings as required
• taking an active part in personal professional development
• participating fully in designated professional review processes, as required
• participating in training programs, as required

5. to collaborate with FAE colleagues and contribute to a positive team
dynamic by

• supporting all new staff as fully as possible, particularly during their first year
• behaving in a cooperative, supportive and understanding manner toward all colleagues at all times
• sharing practice, ideas and advice in an open manner
• accepting differences in personality and approaches to work of colleagues in a flexible
and open-minded manner
• participating fully in any meetings / discussions by raising points clearly and concisely, being open to discussion, constructive criticism, suggestions and feedback regarding practice, issues of concern and unit decisions and taking minutes, as required
• addressing personal conflict issues with those concerned in a timely, professional manner, before seeking third party intervention

6. to collaborate with faculty members to meet FAE aims and support departmental aims by

• maintaining a positive relationship with relevant faculty staff by communicating regularly and openly about all course issues and concerns
• attending relevant course meetings with faculty staff and contributing actively in such meetings
• ensuring all faculty / FAE meeting minutes and decisions are communicated to the Head of the FAE unit
• ensuring connected courses meet FAE objectives and compliment faculty courses as appropriate
• addressing collaboration problems as they arise and in a constructive manner

7. to collaborate with all colleagues and units to meet School and University aims by

• contributing to liaison activities between FAE units, as required
• contributing to liaison activities between the Preparatory Program and the FAE Program, as required
• actively participating in School level and University level developmental activities, as required
• participating in, supporting and contributing to institutional and university conferences and symposia

8. to contribute to the development of high quality tuition throughout the university by

• contributing to the maintenance of high standards of tuition in class, in each FAE unit, in the departments and in the School/University as a whole
• ensuring students understand the importance of instructors having professional and academic standards, and the importance of these standards for personal development
• contributing to new initiatives and projects related to quality tuition as required
• contributing to training and developmental workshops / seminars as required

9. to undertake specific job-related duties / research as required to contribute to the development of FAE and the School as a whole by

• participating and taking on responsibility in task groups / special projects as required
• presenting information / writing reports on special projects as required
• sharing expertise / individual knowledge relevant to specific projects
• conducting research relevant to FAE / the School / the University when possible
• publishing / presenting research to the wider academic community, with the support of FAE / the School / the University

10. Teaching up to 15 hours a week, and providing additional tutorial support as required

FAE Units and Structure
 

FAE - FE/FS (Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science)

This unit is responsible for delivering English language support programs to the departments of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Genetics and Physics. The unit offers freshman, sophomore and senior courses to students in these departments with particular emphasis on academic and technical writing.

FAE - FEASS (Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences)

This unit is responsible for delivering English language support programs to the departments of Political Science and Public Administration, International Relations and Economics. In addition, at present the unit also offers courses to the department of Archaeology and the Faculty of Education.

The unit offers freshman, sophomore and graduate courses to students in these departments. In particular, the unit has been instrumental in pioneering a paired second year course which provides support to a required ‘Introduction to Philosophy’ course in the FEASS faculty. In this course, students read original, canonical philosophy texts in their faculty course and receive support with reading the texts and analysing the texts in essays as part of the FAE course.

FAE - FHL/FADA (Faculty of Humanities and Letters, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture)

This unit is responsible for delivering English language support programs to the departments of English Language and Literature, American Culture and Literature, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Interior Architecture and Design, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design and Communication and Design.

The unit offers freshman, sophomore and elective courses to students in these departments with particular emphasis on academic reading and writing, presentation skills and advanced grammar.

FAE - FBA/FL (Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Law)

This unit is responsible for delivering English language support programs to the departments of Management and Law.

The unit offers freshman, sophomore, senior and graduate courses to students in these departments with a particular emphasis, at the higher levels, on business communication skills and business language.

FAE - VTS/FMPA

This FAE unit is responsible for delivering English language support programs to the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, School of Tourism and Hotel Management, and the Vocational Schools of Computer Technology, Office Management, and Tourism and Hotel Services. Each year this unit offers approximately 14 different language courses to over 1000 students.

The courses offered beyond freshman year lay particular emphasis on skills and language necessary in the tourism and business administration fields.

The unit also organizes preparation courses at least once in an academic year for students wishing to apply for post-graduate studies through exams such as the GRE and the GMAT.

Bilkent University School of English Language BilWrite Centre Bilwrite

As part of BUSEL, FAE, BilWrite operates as a writing centre for Bilkent University. It was established to provide additional assistance to faculty students in all aspects of English language and academic skills development, with particular reference to their departmental courses.

To fulfil this aim, BilWrite offers

• tutorial sessions to help individual students with problem areas in their writing.
• specific support to groups of students, in liaison with individual lecturers
• regular workshops focusing on specific academic and language skills.
• workshops to assist students in becoming more confident and more efficient learners
• guidance in career and application-oriented writing

For further information regarding BilWrite procedures and services, see the BilWrite website.

Contact Information

Address :
Faculty Academic English Program (FAE)
Bilkent University School of English Language
06800 Bilkent University
Ankara
Turkey
Telephone : 0090 312 2901461
                : 0090 312 2902474
Fax : 0090 312 2664227