The ability to read, speak and understand multiple languages – plus familiarity with different cultural contexts – is an asset in university study and many workplaces. Nevertheless, if you speak English as an additional language, you may face additional challenges with your assignments. While learning your subject and improving your study and writing skills, it is beneficial to develop your academic English, both written and spoken, separately.
Reading and writing
Good written communication is necessary at every level of study. Learn some new strategies to help obtain information and use it effectively.
Reading strategies
Discover additional strategies for effectively reading academic texts in English and the risks of reading and translating from texts written in your native language.
Things to consider when translating
Practice reading in English
Reading from English texts can help to improve comprehension and help to build your transcribing and paraphrasing skills.
Translating English texts
If you find translating text helpful, try to avoid translating word by word. It may help to translate ideas in context. Read the words in whole sentences, it will help to make the meaning clearer.
The many different meanings and uses for the same word in English
Consider the word light. In a good monolingual (English-English) dictionary, you may find a page dedicated to illustrating the different meanings and uses of the word light. The following are only a few examples:
- 'Yes, I enjoyed the movie. It was a bit of light entertainment.' (Amusing, not serious)
- 'He shed some light on the topic.' (Clarified)
- 'The truth about the new CEO has come to light.' (Emerged)
- 'We leave at first light.' (Daybreak)
- 'I bought some light garden furniture.' (Lightweight)
- 'He felt the light touch of her hand.' (Delicate)
Beware of false cognates (false friends)
False cognates (false friends) are words that look very similar to a word in your own language. For example:
- The Spanish word decepcion (disappointment) looks like the English word deception.
Source: The international student's guide: Studying English at university (Massey Library login is required)
The many varieties of English
English is so geographically widespread that many different varieties have developed over time. In addition to British, American and New Zealand English, there is Australian English, Singaporean English, West Indian English and Indian English, to name a few.
Cultural differences
These are the unique ways we communicate and express ourselves in our own cultures. Sometimes, we cannot translate these from our culture to another culture. We need to be aware of this so we do not attempt to translate sentences that cannot be translated. For example, we cannot translate the sentence, 'The aeroplane soared into the sky like a bird' into Hopi Indian because in their language there is only 1 word for anything that flies into the sky.
Source: The international student's guide: Studying English at university (Massey Library login required)
Cultural differences are often illustrated in the way we use metaphors or idioms. For example, 'You are the apple of your father's eye' or 'He is a chip off the old block' could also be very confusing because they cannot be read literally. 'You are the apple of your father's eye' means you are very important to your father. 'A chip off the old block' is a child who is the likeness of its parent.
You can find the meanings of common expressions in a good monolingual English dictionary or an idiom dictionary.
Strategies for reading in English
Avoid reading the text word by word
Read paragraph by paragraph instead. Learn to understand the meanings of words through context. The worst thing you can do is look up every difficult word in your dictionary, as this will make reading and understanding very difficult, slow and frustrating.
Make reading notes in your own words
After you have read the whole paragraph, write 1 or 2 sentences in your own words summing up the main idea of the paragraph and ask yourself questions about the content.
Start with simple texts
Move on to more difficult ones when your understanding of the language and the topic improves. Find authors with clear and simple writing styles and text layouts. If a topic is new to you, you may be able to find English high-school texts to give you a basic understanding to build your knowledge. If you have started the topic at 200-level, find a 100-level ‘Introduction to…’ text.
Find a specialist dictionary for your area of study
For example, an economics or a social policy dictionary. Use specialist dictionaries only for the words you read often or hear in your course.
Keep a vocabulary notebook
Record these topic-specific words and other general vocabulary you read or hear repeatedly in your notebook.
Read with your friends
Start a reading group with other students whose first language is not English. When your English improves, join a reading group with native English speakers. Sharing knowledge and questioning the content and vocabulary of new texts in your course improves your reading, vocabulary and content knowledge. Reading with friends also makes reading more enjoyable and improves your ability to think critically.
Read regularly
Read any English books you find enjoyable in between your academic reading. Again, start with easier texts and work your way up as your reading skills improve.
Further reading
A Massey Library login is required.
Essential study skills: The complete guide to success at university
Reading at university: A guide for students
Study reading: A course in reading skills for academic purposes
Write great essays! A guide to reading and essay writing for undergraduates and taught postgraduates
Study skills in English: A course in reading skills for academic purposes
Writing strategies
Studying at a tertiary level in another language takes a lot of courage and determination. Generally, lecturers are understanding about minor grammatical issues if your overall meaning is clear. If grammar has been a marking issue in your past assignments, these tips may help.
At Massey, we expect you to produce many different forms of writing, from reports to essays. You need to know about the academic writing style and structure of these forms of writing.
Style
- Avoid contractions. For example, write ‘do not’ rather than ‘don't’.
- Avoid spoken or colloquial English – refer to a good, monolingual dictionary.
- Avoid personal pronouns wherever possible. A passive verb structure sounds more objective. For example, write 'It may be said that…' rather than 'I think that…' or 'This can indicate that…' rather than 'This tells us that…'
- Avoid pronouns (it, this and these), particularly if you're starting a new sentence. Be specific to improve clarity and avoid confusion. For example, use 'Collecting data is time-consuming' rather than 'It is time-consuming'.
- Use keywords from your question to structure your response. Don't worry if your writing sounds a bit repetitive. Using keywords from your instructions will signpost focus and engagement, and your instructions are likely grammatically correct. Keywords from your instructions let your marker know you're making another point. For example, 'Another benefit of taking a gap year before university is…', 'A further benefit of taking a gap year before university is…'. Using keywords from your instructions also helps focus, ensuring you don't wander off-topic.
- Avoid using new words or synonyms from the dictionary unless you have seen at least 5 examples of this word in a sentence. It's better to be repetitive and use the same word several times than an unfamiliar synonym incorrectly.
- Avoid absolutes (always, never) or generalisations. For example, 'The National Party's policies benefit New Zealanders' can be changed to 'The National Party's policies may benefit New Zealanders'.
- Consider your grammar. Turn on grammar and spell check in your word processing software. Common mistakes to look out for include incorrectly used articles (such as 'the', 'an', 'a'), possessive pronouns (for example, 'its', 'theirs') and lack of subject-verb agreement.
- Make your points clear and relevant. It is usually better to have short (under 20 words) simple sentences than long, grammatically complex sentences.
Structure
- Refer to the structure guidelines for your assignments in your course handbook or listen for instructions from your lecturer.
- Your assignment marker must be able to find their way through your work with little effort.
- Use transitional words and signposting phrases to improve flow. These words link ideas and sentences, for example, 'Therefore', 'However', 'On the other hand'. Use them regularly throughout your work. These are particularly important if you know your grammar is weak.
- Note: the word 'besides' is more suited to conversational English than signposting in academic writing.
Argument and critical thinking
Often, you will need to build a well-developed argument in your writing to show your assignment marker you're capable of critical thinking.
How to develop a strong argument
- Build up ideas point by point.
- Show you have evaluated the content of your sources.
- Acknowledge opposing arguments (counter-arguments).
- Convince the reader of a point of view.
Plagiarism
Plagiarising is copying someone else's ideas without acknowledging them. Massey University takes plagiarism very seriously. Most assignments are run through a programme called Turnitin. This programme generates a score revealing how much text in the assignment matches outside sources. Tutors can also compare other parts of your work or other assignments with the work in question to determine whether or not you plagiarised. Alternatively, they can enter some questionable sentences into a search engine on the internet and check for similarities between your work and texts on websites. Avoid plagiarism.
- Not all courses require the same referencing style. Check if you are required to use APA, Harvard, Chicago, MLA or other.
- Make an appointment with a writing consultant or learning advisor.
- Use a referencing handbook, like the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
- Copy the referencing style in your course handbook.
- Make sure you know which level of the AI use framework applies to your assignment. If you use AI, ensure it is carefully acknowledged in your AI use statement.
Academic integrity student guide
AI use statement (Stream login required)
Paraphrasing & summarising
Learn how to summarise and paraphrase source information for academic writing.
Quotations
Learn when to use quotes and how to integrate them into your writing.
Grammar resources
A good English learner's dictionary is essential when writing assignments. You can access the Cambridge Dictionary's Learner's Dictionary online.
Assignment pre-reading service
Academic writing can be challenging. If you want to make sure you're on the right track, send your draft assignment for review to the assignment pre-reading service. Remember, getting feedback on written work isn't always easy – but it's the best way to learn.
Listening and speaking
Good listening and speaking skills are essential for all students, so you can learn from lectures and contribute to tutorials and discussion groups. You may have to give presentations as part of your study. The following information describes some strategies for improving your listening and speaking skills.
Listening strategies
Don’t worry if you struggle with the speed and vocabulary of academic English at Massey. If you feel like you're missing a lot of information at your first lecture or tutorial, these short and long-term strategies for listening may be helpful.
Short-term strategies
You'll develop good academic listening skills if you regularly put yourself into academic listening environments (lectures, tutorials, study groups). In other words, good academic listening skills come from practice.
Here are some short-term strategies to help you.
Prepare
Get familiar with the material and the vocabulary before attending a lecture or a tutorial. Do this by actively reading and making notes.
Be positive and pay attention
Have a positive attitude when you enter the lecture room, and don't get distracted during the lecture or tutorial.
Listen
- Listen for the main points and signposts. For example, 'The most important thing to remember is…', 'I cannot emphasise this enough…', 'First of all,…' 'And finally, …', 'To sum up,…'. Don't worry too much about the details.
- Listen to the message, not the language. Listen for meaningful chunks of language – even if you do not understand or cannot hear the prepositions and articles (the smaller, less meaningful words) in between.
- Listen for content references – where you can find information about the theorists, concepts and processes noted during lectures. If you miss important information, you can read up on it later.
Focus on visual cues
Focus on the board, PowerPoint presentations, videos and slides. As well as being able to hear the speaker, make sure you can see their mouth, facial expressions and body language.
Question and predict
As you're listening, ask yourself questions about the topic and try to predict what the lecturer will say.
Take notes
Make space in your notes to fill in later. For example, leave gaps for information you missed. You can fill in the gaps with your study group later.
Source language resources
Use English language learning books and tapes that can help you improve your listening comprehension, including pronunciation.
Practice!
Make an effort to talk to English speakers. Listen to the TV, radio, movies, audio books and podcasts on the internet. Expose yourself to spoken academic English as much as you can.
Long-term strategies
Longer-term listening strategies involve long-term practice and exposure to spoken English. Develop the following points to improve how you listen.
Prior knowledge
Prior knowledge of the topic and listening situation, for example, knowledge of the speaker, their relationship and status, and of the English language, will all help improve your listening.
Vocabulary
- General and specialised vocabulary – words specific to your subject
- Link words, for example, inevitably, occasionally, while, in addition.
- Sense and meaning splits, such as different ways of using a word.
- Synonyms – different words, similar meanings.
- Word style, for example, formal or informal.
Pronunciation
It's vital to learn how New Zealand native speakers pronounce sounds. If you cannot recognise a word spoken in a lecture, understanding its meaning will not help you.
Cultural knowledge
Speaking strategies
These tips will help you to:
- understand the difference between formal and informal language and when to use these different styles
- develop your speaking skills
- contribute to tutorials and other group discussions.
Informal and formal language
Knowing the difference between informal and formal language will help you to say the right thing in the right place, at the right time, to the right person!
Formal language
You'll find formal language in most lectures, academic writing and formal presentations. If the language has the following elements, it's formal.
- Formal vocabulary: For example, ‘commence’ rather than ‘start’ – refer to a good English-English dictionary.
- The grammatical structures: For example, using passive voice to avoid personal pronouns - 'The experiment was completed in June' rather than 'We completed the experiment in June'.
- The avoidance of absolutes, for example 'will' and 'is,' for possible modals 'might', 'may', 'could'.
- Avoidance of contractions: For example, 'Do not' instead of 'Don't'.
- Longer, more complex sentence structures.
Choosing between first or third person
Informal language
You'll find informal language in conversations between friends, study groups and tutorials. If the language presented to you has the following elements, it's informal.
- The vocabulary: Uses slang or colloquialisms.
- Short sentences: For example, 'Speak up.'
- Directness or impoliteness: 'You obviously didn't know what you were doing.'
Appropriate language with your tutors and lecturers
- While many will approach you as an equal, always be friendly and respectful.
- Some tutors and lecturers will prefer you to call them by their first name. Please note that tutors and lecturers should also learn how to pronounce your name correctly.
- Find the most appropriate way to communicate with tutors and lecturers. For example, make an appointment in advance, set drop-in times, email or phone.
- Avoid leaving it until the last minute to ask questions.
Pronunciation
If you know you need to improve your pronunciation so that people can understand you better, you may like to try the following suggestions:
- Speak clearly and appropriately.
- Slow down and articulate your sounds.
- Use stress, rhythm and intonation to convey meaning.
- Compensate for misunderstanding by offering alternative vocabulary.
- Check the appropriate style for the situation.
Stress
Stress is when a syllable or word is said with more force than the words or syllables around it.
You can find word stresses in the dictionary. The stress sign usually looks like this (_') or this (_).
Intonation
Intonation is the rise and fall of your tone of voice. It's important because it shows:
- emphasis
- the end of your ideas
- a question or a statement
- your feelings about what you're saying.
For example, a falling intonation means a statement has ended, while a rising intonation generally indicates a question or uncertainty.
Including yourself in discussions
Different cultures have different 'wait times'. Wait time is the time delay between someone speaking and someone responding. If you have a long wait time, you may often feel people are talking over you. Consequently, you may feel left out of discussions. If you do feel left out, try these suggestions:
- Make eye contact with the speaker or the leader of the conversation.
- Lean forward slightly and raise a hand.
- Try to speak early on to indicate you are keen to contribute.
- 'Could I just make a point?'
- 'Could I say…?'
- 'Ah, I'd like to say…'
- 'Yes, that's quite right. And I'd like to add…'
- 'May I add something?'
- 'May I come in here?'
- 'Can I ask…?'
- Ask someone to repeat what they said or to explain more about it.
If you're comfortable, explain your dilemma to your study or tutorial group. They may be more sensitive to your situation once you explain.
Additional tips
- Discuss course and assignment content in tutorials and study groups (brainstorm). Talking about the material can help you become an active user.
- Try speaking in tutorials at the beginning to show your interest in contributing.
- Be creative in finding ways to speak in English with other native English speakers.
- Talk to yourself in English! This is especially useful when simplifying sentences and paraphrasing.
- Ask when you do not understand.
Pronouncing new vocabulary correctly
1, Look at the IPA symbols (phonetic symbols) guide.
2, Match the phonetic symbols for your word in your dictionary to the IPA symbols table.
For example, the phonetic symbols in the Collins Dictionary
3, Check the stress symbols for your word.
4, Listen to the pronunciation of the word.
Many online dictionaries will have an audio clip accompanying the definition, for example, Collins Dictionary
5, Practice the word regularly in your conversations with native English speakers.
It is good to practice using the word with native English speakers so you can test if you are making the correct sounds.
Add the word and its pronunciation with phonetic symbols and stress marks to your vocabulary notes.
6, Get into the habit of watching and listening to programmes in English.
This will help you become familiar with how words are pronounced. The TED Talks website, for example, covers a range of interesting topics. Many talks are short – under 10 minutes. This means they can easily be added into a daily routine of listening.
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