Reading Outcomes in English for Academic Purposes

Abstract

Skills-based language courses for specific purposes at tertiary level could benefit from stating their curriculum in terms of assessable outcomes. Students and lecturers would then share expectations about the course instead of there being a mismatch between lecturer expectations and student performance. Specific outcomes for ESP courses could also lead to greater understanding between colleagues in language departments and those in other disciplines whose students take the ESP courses. This article deals with the Comprehension Skills for Science module presented at UNISA for the Faculty of Science by the Department of English ESP Unit. It describes how and why outcomes were written for the course and discusses the outcomes and how they are assessed.