Dear PhD Students,

Here below are links to the the MIT, Berkeley and Harvard open course websites. Before our next session, make sure you browse their courses and find which lecture series you could watch on a regular basis to work on English comprehension as well as English for specific purposes related to your own fields. To access their courses you need to scroll down the “courses” options and then investigate into each field what subjects are taught online

http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm#

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative

Again, I strongly recommend regular listening and transcription practice with courses related to your respective fields. You can also check what material exists online on U-tube that may relate to your field of research.

Now,  here is a link to the very witty, ironic  and insightful article on the standards of  scientific writing which I mentioned in class :

http://www.philippeweil.com/links/BoringWriting.pdf

On top of being quite a pleasant read, this satirical little piece will furthermore help you review many of the aspects of scientific English I have discussed or will discuss in class.

See you next week for our second session together,

Best wishes,

BM