Dr Susie Cowley-Haselden: Knowledge building via Academic Reading Circles on an English for General Academic Purposes pre-sessional course’ for postgraduates

Dr Susie Cowley-Haselden is currently the Director of Academic Literacies and Skills at the University of Warwick in the UK. Her doctorate focused on knowledge building via Academic Reading Circles on an English for General Academic Purposes pre-sessional course for postgraduates. Susie is currently co-Research and Publications officer for BALEAP, alongside Dr Laetitia Monbec.

susie.cowley-haselden@warwick.ac.uk

Abstract

Academic Reading Circles (ARCs) were devised by Tyson Seburn and have been widely utilised in the UK EAP context for a number of years. ARCs are an “intensive reading approach whose components work on the basis that language learners develop deep textual comprehension better through initial collaboration than if tackled alone” (Seburn, 2016, p.6). The ARC model requires learners to read a shared text and individually prepare assigned roles which they share with a small group in discussion of the text in class. The ARC format has been devised to develop comprehension of a text; my research has explored the capacity of ARCs for knowledge building.

In this talk, I will share my experiences of using and adapting ARCs for a wide range of EAP groups and levels over a 10-year period. I will also share the findings of my PhD study which focused on the use of ARCs to develop theory knowledgeability with a group of mixed-discipline postgraduate EAP students.

Seburn, T. (2016). Academic Reading Circles. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Please see the video of the talk at this link: https://youtu.be/3K-OibsECFM

Slides: EAP student knowledge building through Academic Reading Circles

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