研究生学术英语（能源电力工程方向）

张育智

目录

  • 1 Energy
    • 1.1 Reading A
    • 1.2 Reading B
    • 1.3 Translation(A-level)
    • 1.4 Translation(B-level)
    • 1.5 Writing(A-level)
    • 1.6 Writing(B-level)
    • 1.7 Viewing & Listening
    • 1.8 Speaking（A-level）
    • 1.9 Speaking（B-level）
  • 2 Power
    • 2.1 Reading A
    • 2.2 Reading B
    • 2.3 Translation(A-level)
    • 2.4 Translation(B-level)
    • 2.5 Writing(A-level)
    • 2.6 Writing(B-level)
    • 2.7 Viewing & Listening
    • 2.8 Speaking(A-level)
    • 2.9 Speaking(B-level)
  • 3 Storage
    • 3.1 Reading A
    • 3.2 Reading B
    • 3.3 Translation(A-level)
    • 3.4 Translation(B-level)
    • 3.5 Writing(A-level)
    • 3.6 Writing(B-level)
    • 3.7 Viewing & listening
    • 3.8 Speaking(A-level)
    • 3.9 Speaking(B-level)
Speaking(A-level)
  • 1 Speaking
  • 2 Task1
  • 3 Task2
  • 4 Task3

Joining seminar discussions


A seminar is an instructional technique which involves generating a situation for a group to have a guided interaction among themselves on a theme. It is also a teaching technique for higher learning and a specific type of course format at university. It refers to a small discussion on a specific topic among a group of students studying the same course. Students are expected to participate regularly in college seminars, including giving presentations and engaging in discussions.

Strategies for improving discussion skills in Seminars

Seminars give students an opportunity to discuss topics and share ideas with other students and members of academic staff. A good seminar is not only based on the subject knowledge explored, but also upon the way the seminar group works together. Learning through small group discussion will help you develop essential skills to express yourself, towork with others, and to prepare and deliver oral presentations.

Seminars require preparation. To bea good seminar participant, you need to make sure you have completed any assigned readings or tutorial assignments. You should also bring to the seminar some considered reflections about the topic under discussion, and a list of questions or comments you could raise in connection with it.

It is not always easy to contribute to discussions, even if you have prepared thoroughly. To overcome nerves and anxiety, try using the following strategies to help build your contribution to group discussion.

Show that you are a good listener by staying attentive and focusing on what is being said. You may acknowledge other people’s contributions by saying “yes” or nodding your head. These listening strategies will keep you active and involved, giving a good starting point for more substantial contributions.

Agreeing / Disagreeing with a point someone has made can take your contributions to the next stage. Statements such as “That is a good idea” or “I would not think of that” will help you express more complex levels of agreement.

You can also comment on the discussion, showing other group members that you are observing what is going on and are playing an active role in listening and in shaping the argument. Moreover, offering alternative points of view indicates a high level of participation and can be an effective way of developing your own ideas and the ideas of others. Finally, you need to be careful of interrupting someone elsebefore he / she is finished. While good seminar participation does not depend upon the frequency of one’s remarks, you should constantly assess the nature of your contributions.

Dynamic participation

A seminar should be a flowing conversation with everyone being involved and contributing. Participants show confidence and demonstrate thorough awareness of the topic being explored, while the tutor lets them manage the discussion and does not intervene if it goes silent. Hence, cultivating dynamic participation in a seminar is important to making the learning productive, the exchange of ideas exhilarating, and the discussion climate encouraging.

Making notes

Note-making is fundamental to attending seminars. Having a clear focus cuts out unnecessary note-taking time and enables you to produce well-organized notes. You may try to limit the amount that you write, focus on significant points, questions or references, and reorganize the notes later in more detail. Effective note-making strategies include using diagrams to map out the discussion, keeping discussion recordings to follow any queries later, using key words and notation to prioritize information, and using a self-designed template (模板) to record comments from the discussion and your own ideas and responses.

Voicing an idea and arguing an opinion

When engaging in an academic argument to explore a topic, you are developing your ideas, advancing and clarifying your knowledge and learning to think critically. Voicing your opinion is a valuable skill to participate actively in a seminar discussion. You present a valid idea through the process of reasoning, and then support it with evidence.

Participating can sometimes be challenging, especially when you want to disagree with a point of view. If you try to disprove other participants’ points, it is important that you disagree politely and keep the discussion moving in the right direction.

There are three steps to disagree with others: first, acknowledging their ideas; then, explaining why you disagree; finally, offering your opinion with reason and support.

Leading a discussion

You may be in a seminar group that requires participants to lead a group discussion in turn, in which case there are certain ground rules to follow.

You lead a seminar by getting it started and occasionally stimulating the discussion. You need to ensure that the discussion remains relevant to the topic, and one member of the group speaks at a time, with no one dominating the discussion. The leader’s duties also involve summarizing or rephrasing a speaker’s point and summarizing the discussion at the end. Beyond that, the leader has no particular duty greater than others’for keeping the conversation going.

Follow-up work

One of the key things you need to do aftera seminar is to reorganize your notes and make the information more meaningful to your task. You may sketch out the ideas that you find most inspiring or challenging in order to take them further by developing your own thoughts and responses. Try making the most of the seminar discussion by using it as a starting point for the investigation of your own academic interests.