English for Civil Engineers

Introduction

English for Civil Engineers is an online course, consisting of 93 units of English, and providing approximately 100 hours of study for students.

Course aims

To give students at Intermediate, CEFR B1/Upper Intermediate B2 level practice in general and business-oriented language required for business contexts at this level, specifically tailored towards the specialisation of civil engineering. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking and pronunciation.

Gramatika

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Use present and past tenses correctly
  • Use the appropriate conditional forms to talk about situations and consequences
  • Use the present perfect to describe a link between past and present events
  • Use going to and will to talk about future predictions and intentions
  • Use the passive form correctly
  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns

Žodynas

  • By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 120 expressions used in civil engineering

Skills

  • By the end of the course students will have had exposure to and practice in reading and hearing formal and informal English from a variety of accents and civil engineering contexts

Unit summary

Module 1

  • Introduction to Civil Engineering
  • Gramatika: Present tenses
  • Žodynas: Key civil engineering terms
  • Skaitymas: A brief history of civil engineering
  • Klausymasis: Roles and responsibilities of civil engineers
  • Rašymas: My civil engineering journey
  • Kalbėjimas: My motivations for working in civil engineering
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Engineering Disciplines and Infrastructure
  • Gramatika: Past tenses
  • Žodynas: Civil engineering disciplines and infrastructure
  • Skaitymas: Understanding various disciplines and their contributions to infrastructure
  • Klausymasis: Importance of different infrastructure components
  • Rašymas: Creating summaries of infrastructure projects
  • Kalbėjimas: Describing and comparing various engineering disciplines
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Materials and Construction Techniques
  • Gramatika: Going to and Will
  • Žodynas: Common civil engineering materials and construction methods
  • Skaitymas: The properties and applications of various construction materials
  • Klausymasis: Construction techniques and material selection
  • Rašymas: Material specifications and construction processes
  • Kalbėjimas: Explaining the advantages and disadvantages of various materials
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Surveying and Site Analysis
  • Gramatika: Present perfect
  • Žodynas: Surveying tools, techniques, and site analysis
  • Skaitymas: The importance of accurate surveying and site analysis in civil engineering
  • Klausymasis: Site assessments
  • Rašymas: Preparing comprehensive site analysis reports
  • Kalbėjimas: Presenting site analysis results and recommendations
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Engineering Design and Planning
  • Gramatika: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Žodynas: Engineering design concepts and planning
  • Skaitymas: The role of design and planning in civil engineering projects
  • Klausymasis: Design and planning tasks
  • Rašymas: Creating design documents and project plans
  • Kalbėjimas: Communicating design ideas and discussing project issues
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Project Management and Teamwork
  • Gramatika: First conditional
  • Žodynas: Project management principles and teamwork concepts
  • Skaitymas: Effective project management in civil engineering
  • Klausymasis: Project management strategies and challenges
  • Rašymas: Developing project management skills
  • Kalbėjimas: Sharing personal experiences for project management
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Health, Safety, and Environmental Considerations
  • Gramatika: Passive
  • Žodynas: Health, safety, and environmental terms and concepts
  • Skaitymas: The importance of health and safety
  • Klausymasis: Risk mitigation and environmental protection measures
  • Rašymas: Documenting environmental impact assessments
  • Kalbėjimas: A health and safety talk
  • Pronunciation: Guess and Yes + connected speech

Module 8

  • Continuing Professional Development and Career Growth:
  • Gramatika: Second conditional
  • Žodynas: Career-related terms and concepts
  • Skaitymas: Advancement opportunities and skills development
  • Klausymasis: Career paths and future goals
  • Rašymas: A professional development plan for career advancement
  • Kalbėjimas: Setting personal goals and identifying areas for growth
  • Pronunciation: Hope and Hop + connected speech

Follow-up

Students completing the English for Civil Engineers course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.