The Eighth International Literacy & Education Research Network Conference on

SPETSES, GREECE
4-8 July 2001

Dr Bessie Mitsikopoulou

Lecturer, School of Philosophy, Faculty of English Studies, University of Athens, Greece

Dr Angeliki Tzanne

Lecturer, Faculty of English Studies, School of Philosophy, University of Athens, Greece

Developing Academic Literacies Through Self-study Material

Abstract

This paper reports on the development of a new 'writing course' for first year university students of the Faculty of English Studies at the University of Athens. Based on the main findings of a research project conducted with these students, we moved away from what is traditionally known as an 'academic writing' course and developed a course on 'academic discourse' placing equal emphasis on developing critical reading, listening, speaking, writing and study skills. Understanding literacy in terms of concrete social practices, our purpose has been to familiarize students who are entering the academic world with a variety of academic texts (both written and oral) and to enable them to function successfully in academic encounters. The paper also reports on the development of self-study material and the use of new technologies in an attempt to enhance students' autonomy in learning.


Bionote

Bessie Mitsikopoulou and Angeliki Tzanne are both lecturers at the University of Athens, Faculty of English Studies. Bessie's interests are in the areas of critical theory, academic discourse, writing theory, multimedia and IT applications in education. Angeliki's interests are in the areas of media discourse, academic discourse, stylistics and pragmatics.

Presentation Type
30 min. paper

Presentation Equipment and Other Requests
overhead projector

Speaking Date/Time Restrictions

Country
Greece