\ Acknowledgements: The ESAS screening was developed by the University of Auckland. The ESAS diagnostic was developed in conjunction with the University of Auckland and the Language Testing Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. The material from this document was drawn from the DELNA Handbook for Candidates at the University of Auckland. 1
What is ESAS?... 3 How does ESAS work?... 3 1. ESAS Screening... 3 Completing your ESAS screening... 4 2. ESAS Diagnostic... 4 3. ESAS Support... 4 Disability Support... 5 Privacy... 5 Who Can I Contact for More Information?... 6 Examples Stage 1: The ESAS Screening... 7 Task 1: Vocabulary Task... 7 Task 2: Timed Reading Task... 7 Examples Stage 2: The ESAS Diagnostic... 8 Task 1: Listening Task... 8 Listening Task Examples... 8 Task 2: Reading Task... 9 Reading Task Examples... 9 Task 3: Writing Task... 10 2
In 2016, UNSW is running a trial (pilot) of the English Skills for Academic Success (ESAS) program. ESAS is designed to specifically assess your overall English language proficiency and connect you with the most appropriate support if needed. Through ESAS, UNSW will provide opportunities and support for students who need help with their English language communication skills early in their academic studies. All students enrolling in the following degrees, regardless of their language background, residency status or what school they attended, will complete the initial screening. Depending on the outcome, students may need to undertake a more comprehensive language diagnostic: 3543 Business School - Economics 3521 Business School - Commerce/Economics ESAS is not a test and it does not count as marks towards your degree. ESAS results are not recorded on your academic transcript and are not published anywhere. ESAS results are simply used to find out what type of English language support you might need at UNSW. The ESAS program has three phases. 1. ESAS Screening - ALL students enrolling in identified degrees need to complete the screening - It is an online 30min health check of English language skills 2. ESAS Diagnostic - Only students identified through the screening who would benefit from taking the diagnostic will need to complete it - It is a 2-hour pen and paper task in reading, writing and listening 3. ESAS Support - Only students identified through the diagnostic as requiring additional support see a Learning Adviser - Students will be guided to appropriate English language support For the 2016 pilot, all commencing students enrolled in the above degrees are required to complete a 30 minute online screening. The ESAS screening is simply a quick 'health check' of your English language communication skills. It consists of vocabulary and timed reading tasks. The results from the screening will be emailed to you and we will let your faculty know that you have completed the screening and if you are required to undertake the ESAS diagnostic. 3
You may learn that: Your academic English language skills are appropriate for beginning university study. Your academic English language skills are satisfactory and be directed to appropriate support to improve them. You are required to complete the ESAS diagnostic for a thorough check of your academic English language skills. You will be enrolled in the ESAS screening course in Moodle; however you will not be able to complete the screening in your own time. The ESAS screening will be available during O Week and Week 1 at the Kensington campus. The screening only takes 30 minutes and you should book a screening session online (https://esasscreening.youcanbook.me/). Please make sure that you: Bring your student ID card with you to the screening. Instructions on how to get your student ID Card can be found here. Activate your UNSW student email: this is the primary way that we will communicate with you, and how we will advise you of what to do next. For more information go to: https://www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/zmail/index.html Access the English Skills for Academic Success Screening course in Moodle to access the ESAS Student Handbook, which contains example tasks for both the screening and diagnostic. 1. Go to https://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au/login/index.php 2. Log in to Moodle using your zid and Password 3. Select the course 'English Skills for Academic Success. Arrive at least 5 minutes before the start of your booked screening session. Depending on your screening results, you may be asked to complete a follow-up two-hour diagnostic. The diagnostic is a pen and paper task which includes listening, reading and writing activities. The diagnostic will provide a more complete profile of your key English language strengths and weaknesses. Within a week of your diagnostic, you will receive an email from the ESAS team. It might tell you that your English language skills are satisfactory for university level or you may be asked to make an appointment with a Learning Advisor to discuss your results. Depending on your results, the Learning Advisor will talk to you about the best way to get support for your English language skills. This might be a referral to online resources or a recommendation to enrol in the 6 unit of credit course: COMM10001 Communicating in Business and Economics within your faculty. 4
What students said about COMM1001in Semester 1: This course helps a lot especially in essay writing and gathering information. This course is useful to provide skills to complete work and improving English levels for university The teacher guides us to be more effective in our lectures and tutorials, teaching us how to take notes in a more effective way. I learnt a lot I know how to write a data commentary and a report these skills are really useful for my academic study Making the most of this support will give you a good start to studying at UNSW. If your disability or medical condition may impact you being able to complete the screening, please contact us to discuss whether an exemption or adjustment might apply to you. If you register with Disability Services at UNSW, they will be able to advise you whether educational adjustments are required or if you will receive an exemption. They will also be able to provide you with ongoing support throughout your time at UNSW. To register for support please visit UNSW Disability Services: Web: https://student.unsw.edu.au/register-support Phone: 02 9385 4734 Email: disabilities@unsw.edu.au Office: Disability Services Ground Floor Goodsell Building University of NSW Kensington NSW 2052 Opposite the Central Lecture Block (CLB) Opening Hours Monday Friday: 10am - 4pm If you have already registered, please contact your Disability Adviser directly if you have any concerns. The results from the screening and diagnostic are not published anywhere and will not appear on your official Academic Transcript. Your results will be used to find out what type of English language support you might need at UNSW and how to improve the ESAS program. The ESAS program complies with the UNSW Students Privacy Code of Practice (https://student.unsw.edu.au/privacy). 5
If you have more questions, you can visit our website (https://student.unsw.edu.au/esas) or email us at esas@unsw.edu.au. You can also visit the Learning Centre: Lower Ground Floor, Chancellery Building: Phone: 02 9385 2060 Email: learningcentre@unsw.edu.au Opening Hours Monday to Thursday: 9am - 5pm Friday: 9am - 2.30pm 6
The following pages in this handbook provide more information and examples of the various tasks involved in the ESAS screening and diagnostic. Time allowed: Practice time + 7 minutes This task is designed to assess your knowledge of the meanings of words you are likely to come across in academic texts. You are given a word or phrase and have to select the correct definition from a list of options in a dropdown box. You will have 7 minutes to complete 27 items. Below is an example of questions from the Vocabulary task: Time allowed: Practice time + 10 minutes In this task you read a text of 73 lines as quickly as you can. In each line of the text there is an additional word that does not make sense. As you read the text you click on this word in each line. You have 10 minutes to work through 73 lines of text. Below is an example of the Timed Reading task: Original Odd word highlighted Some public libraries have developed ways to personal capture the attention print and interest of younger library patrons. One library in the United Kingdom has space on its website for can teenagers to write book and music reviews you of library materials and they are encouraged to participate from in the development of library collections. Some public libraries have developed ways to personal capture the attention print and interest of younger library patrons. One library in the United Kingdom has space on its website for can teenagers to write book and music reviews you of library materials and they are encouraged to participate from in the development of library collections. 7
If following the screening you are required to undertake the diagnostic, three components are involved: listening, reading and writing. Time allotted: 30 minutes In this task, you will listen to a mini-lecture on a general interest topic. The lecture is divided into four sections, and has a short written introduction. You will have time to read through the introduction and the questions in each section before listening to the lecture. You will write your answers as you listen to the lecture, and you will have a short amount of time at the end of each section to complete and look over your answers. The listening task profiles your ability to: Locate and recall specific information Reorganise information from the lecture to complete a graph, chart or diagram Summarise main points Distinguish between main points and supporting detail Example 1: You hear a section of the lecture as follows:...community health proponents argue that to prevent ill health and promote good health it is necessary for a community health centre to be concerned about the economic, social and environmental well being of the community, as well as about disease diagnosis and treatment Question: What are the two basic aims of the community health programs? Answer: 1. to prevent ill health 2. to promote good health Example 2: You hear a section of the lecture as follows: There is no broad agreement about the legitimacy and value of the community health approach and so there is a lack of broad support within the political parties, with policy makers within the health professions and the health bureaucracies for the community health sector. For this reason, the sector remains small and a relatively minor component of both the public health and broader health systems Question: The community health sector is relatively small because: A. it is not legitimate. B. the health sector groups disagree about its importance. C. there are conflicting opinions amongst the public at large about it. D. there is a lack of consensus about its value. Answer: D. there is a lack of consensus about its value. 8
Time allotted: 45 minutes The reading task requires you to read two passages on general interest topics with a total length of approx. 1,200 words. You will be asked to answer a variety of questions to assess what you have understood. The reading task profiles your ability to: Read quickly Locate specific information, causes and effect and contrasts Reorganise information from texts to complete a graph, chart or diagram Summarise main points Distinguish between main points and supporting detail Distinguish between fact and opinion Example 1 Multiple Choice A section of the text reads as follows: Until the early 1970s, no one cared about energy conservation. Very few knew what it meant. This apathy was caused by apparently ever increasing quantities of fuel available at decreasing prices. However, the western world was suddenly jolted into reality by the OPEC oil crisis, which clarified many of the reasons for bothering with energy conservation. Question: The OPEC oil crisis : A. made westerners aware of the need for energy conservation. B. increased westerners apathy about energy conservation. C. made more fuel available at lower prices. D. caused the western world to reject high fuel prices. Answer: A Example 2 Short Answer A section of the text reads as follows: Political leaders and the media often express concern about the possibility of cuts in oil supplies due to political unrest in the Middle East. When this is coupled with Australia s dwindling local oil reserves, then clearly the longer we can make our present reserves last the less vulnerable we will be to external conflicts in the future. Question: What two factors may make Australia vulnerable to outside events? Answer: 1. political unrest in the Middle East 2. dwindling local oil reserves 9
Example 3 Cloze Passage A section of the text reads as follows: We should also try to reduce our dependence on local energy sources such as gas and electricity. For example, a person who lives in a well insulated house with solar water heating will be less inconvenienced by power restriction than other people while someone who lives close to work, shops and other facilities will never be affected by disruptions to transport services. Someone who walks or rides a bicycle never needs to worry about petrol supplies. Question: Below is a summary of the passage. Select appropriate words from the box to complete the summary and write the corresponding letter in the numbered space to the right. Note that there are more words given than you will need. Each word may be used once only. If you (1) your house and (2) solar water heating, problems with the power supply will (3) you less than others. (4) non motorised forms of transport also avoids problems (5) with transport and fuel disruptions. A depend F inconvenience K insulate B associated G install L affected C avoid H protect M together D convenience I sell N driving E using J caused Answer: 1) K 2) G 3) F 4) E 5) B Time allotted: 30 minutes This short writing task presents you with information in a table or diagram. You will then need to provide 200-250 words of commentary. Specific instructions will direct you to comment on certain aspects of the information given. The writing task profiles your ability to: Write fluently, cohesively and clearly Accurately describe and interpret data presented Develop and express ideas relevant to the topic Correctly apply grammar and vocabulary 10
Writing Task Example Question: Tourism in New Zealand The graph below shows the number of tourists arriving in New Zealand from 1983 2007. 1. Describe the information given in the graph. THEN 2. Suggest reasons for the trends. AND Either 3. Discuss the impact of tourism on the economy and the environment in New Zealand. Or Discuss the impact of tourism on the economy and environment in your own country. NZ Government Statistics Some interesting facts: 1991: First year of the New Zealand Tourism Board (an organisation to promote tourism in New Zealand) 1997: Asian financial crisis 1999: Clean Green New Zealand promotion by the New Zealand Tourism Board 2004: Fast economic growth in China 11
Model Answer Tourism in New Zealand The graph describes the number of tourists who came to New Zealand in the period 1982 to 2002. Although the data shows a steady increase in the tourist numbers arriving in New Zealand over the 20 year period there were 3 short periods of flattened growth (1967 1968, 1990 1991 and 1997 1998). In the first decade, 1982 1992, the number of tourists had doubled from 500,000 to 1,000,000 and this increase continued even more dramatically in the second decade to reach the figure of just over 2,000,000; a fourfold increase since 1982. Growth spurts were most noticeable around 1992 and 1999. There are many possible reasons for this increasing trend. Perhaps the most important reason was the improved marketing of New Zealand by the Tourism Board from 1991 onward; New Zealand became known as a tolerant, scenic and safe country which welcomed tourists. A few years later it began promoting New Zealand s Clean Green image and hence increased the desirability of New Zealand as a place to visit. Another important reason would have been the cheaper international air fares that became available over these two decades thereby encouraging many people to take advantage of the cheaper long distance flights to New Zealand. Lastly, Peter Jackson s Lord of the Rings films which show cased New Zealand s scenery around the world would also have encouraged tourists. The advantages to New Zealand from the ever increasing tourists would be largely economic. There would be big gains to the economy with foreign currency along with greater employment, particularly in the food and hospitality sector. Additionally, the increased tourist numbers would have necessitated improved transport infrastructure within New Zealand which would be to everyone s benefit. Introductory statement Information in the graph described: trends and figures given Suggested reasons for the trend in this paragraph Advantages discussed There are, however, some disadvantages that increased tourist numbers can cause. The environment might be adversely affected by physical damage and litter, especially on the scenic walking tracks. Also, growing pollution from the increase in car and bus usage could be a further negative issue. Overall though, the many advantages outweigh these disadvantages. Explanatory Notes: Disadvantages discussed Concluding statement Hedging (yellow): suggesting something could be the case, not stating that it is. Words such as, possible, possibly, can, may, and might are used. Referencing (blue): words referring to previous statements or words used, linking statements Cohesive devices and linking words (green) Sentence Structure: A range of sentence structures are used throughout. Simple sentences are used for the introduction and the conclusion. Topic sentences are used at the beginning of each paragraph to signal what the paragraph is going to be about. Complex sentences are used in the paragraphs for detailed description. 12