Course syllabus

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Study period 1 and 2, Autumn 2026, 7.5 credits

English for Engineers is an optional English language course offered by the Department of Communication and Learning in Science and open to Chalmers students from any discipline.

Before starting the course, a grammar diagnostic test (in EngOnline) must be taken, and a score of at least 60% attained (if lower, or just above, contact the course manager to discuss if the course can still be taken). To sign in at EngOnline, a Chalmers ID is needed to log in, and use this step-by-step guide.

Schedule note: This 7.5-credit course spans both study periods 1 and 2, running from 31 August 2026 to 17 January 2027, with sessions occurring almost every Thursday afternoon, on campus. Note that if all assignments are completed on time, results can be provided before Christmas.

  • Also: Because this is an optional course, it can clash with other courses in study period 1 and 2. Contact the course manager for any issues, ideally in advance - sometimes there is a workaround.

An outline of each week’s activities and assignments are found below under "Schedule". 

Contact details

For course questions that all students can benefit from knowing the answer to, please use the discussion forum. For personal questions, please use Canvas Inbox as the main channel of communication. For general course updates or information, the teacher will communicate via Announcements.

Course purpose

The course aims to improve students’ English proficiency in different communicative situations. This includes developing advanced language skills for academic studies and professional life.

Learning objectives and syllabus

After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

  • write and revise a variety of texts, both academic and professional.
  • select and structure information in paragraphs, sections, and chapters, keeping the audience in mind.
  • adapt and present information for different oral communication contexts and different audiences.
  • analyse sentences from a grammatical viewpoint and revise for effective communication.
  • give and receive constructive criticism on written and oral work
  • process reading material to use in academic texts.
  • use references appropriately and correctly.
  • search effectively for information and evaluate this information with regards to relevance and quality

Study plan

Course design

The teachers and course participants meet once a week. These meetings usually consist of some lecture input, class discussion, and other relevant activities. These can include a focus on the different genres covered in the different assignments in the course, input related to general English proficiency in the academic setting, and some peer response. The course aims to use the time in class for active learning. In other words, more research-type activities are expected to happen outside of class time.

PART A (study period 1)
The first part of the course focuses more on academic writing with some focus on general English language skills including written proficiency and some grammar. Writing skill development involves a step-by-step process of structuring and editing a literature review assignment, with feedback from peers and teachers. There will also be in-class discussion in small groups. Oral proficiency training is guided through some in-class discussion and an individual topic talk. Grammar support is provided through our web-based tool EngOnline, to be used for self-study. There are some lectures that touch upon typical problem areas of some specific grammar categories. Most grammar training though happens through feedback and revision of writing assignments during both study periods.

PART B (study period 2)
The second part of the course focuses a little more on professional English, including proposal writing, emailing, and further oral presentation practice in the form of a "presentation meeting". 

Other details

  • Process-oriented approach: all writing assignments go through at least one draft and one round of peer response (Peer Reviewing: A Brief Guide). In other words, you are not expected to produce a final version immediately; you produce draft versions, get feedback, edit, and each assignment also builds on each other.
  • Assignment assessment: there are assessment details for each assignment available on their submission pages. For course grading, see the section below "Examination Form".
  • Participation: active participation in the course and attendance in the sessions are expected. Please speak to or email Carina if there are schedule issues.
  • Deadlines: it is important that to keep to the deadlines. Any issues with meeting the deadlines, please speak to or email Carina. 
  • Revisions: should assignment requirements not be met, revisions will be requested. Further details under each assignment.

Academic Integrity and AI Tools
Directly submitting work (in whole or in part) that was produced by anyone other than yourself is considered a violation of Chalmers Academic Integrity Policy. Even the involvement of AI tools could affect that.

Since this course focuses on a process‑oriented approach, in other words working through the process of creating, writing and editing, using AI tools to help you should be limited. The intention is that your own thought, understanding and execution of the writing and presenting skills should develop. However, should you choose to utilise AI tools along the way - sometimes, it can be useful - we ask you to disclose any use of AI or AI‑assisted technologies in all your written and oral submissions. Such transparency builds trust between authors and reviewers (teachers and peers). Disclosures should go beyond a brief statement: include examples of your prompts and AI responses involved, enabling reviewers to offer more nuanced feedback on your communication skills. We also hope this will encourage you to think more critically about AI support. Any specific conditions for specific assignments are stated in the instructions of those assignments. 

As a writer, you have a responsibility to your audience and to your own skill development to critically reflect over any suggestions AI tools propose, and to make a conscious decision as to why you do or do not incorporate it in your work. So, as you work on various tasks in this course, ask yourself what skills you are developing, and how using AI tools could be an obstacle for this.

Working with Canvas
For some students, working in Canvas, the learning management platform in Sweden, might be new, and therefore, it might be helpful to take a look at the following page for tips and guidelines:

It is important to be aware that every teacher at Chalmers may utilise the Canvas learning platform differently. The link above provides good guidelines in general. But there may be some deviations. For example, in FSP047, there are just two modules: Course Information and Sessions. To help navigate this course's Canvas setup, we have created a simple guide: Navigating FSP047's Canvas pages. 

Schedule

The course has a teaching slot on Thursdays 13.15-17.00. Some weeks, the sessions will be a bit shorter. TimeEdit only gives an indication of the date, time, and room. To know specifically what the session involves, see each session page. Here is also a schedule overview to start with:

The schedule overview

  • Please note: While sessions may not always run until 17.00, we strongly recommend using any unused session time each week for reading/watching materials or working on assignments.

The 'Calendar' area in Canvas can be helpful (assignments can be seen there as long as course FSP047 is selected). Anything in the Calendar should also appear in the to-do list on the Canvas home page.

Course literature

  • Course literature consists of session material like PowerPoint slides (found on each session page) and other recommended materials during the course. A page Master list of materials will have all session material divided up into logical topic categories to make searching for specific course content more easily, if looking for something long after sessions have happened. Some other helpful resources within and outside of the course/Chalmers are linked to within the module Course Information.

Changes made since 2025

  • Based on feedback and discussion with students in the 2025 run, it was decided to start the 2026 run already in week 1 of study period 1 instead of week. This was to allow students to get on with tasks earlier and also have slightly more time and input on part B of the course.

Examination form

Course grade
One final grade is given at the end of this 7.5 credit course, on a 3-to-5 Chalmers scale, with 5 being the highest mark. The course grade is based on:

  1. the grade from the literature review in Part A,
  2. the final oral presentation in Part B, and
  3. the written proposal in Part B.

Each of these parts is worth one-third of the course grade. In order to receive the course grade, all assignments, including those that do not receive U-3-4-5 grades, which are instead just pass/fail, must also be completed. Some tasks may require revision before a task is complete. Please note that these pass/fail tasks are compulsory because they are vital to the process-oriented approach that we use. Criteria for each assignment can be found under the submission page for each one.

PART A (study period 1)
The assessment during the first part of the course comprises

  • all pass/fail assignments (summary, source list, topic presentation)
  • a literature review assignment (which has been through the writing process – drafts and peer response), assessed as U (fail)*, 3, 4 or 5                               

PART B (study period 2)
The assessment during the second part of the course comprises

  • all pass/fail assignments (proposal idea meeting, email)
  • a written proposal assignment (which has been through the writing process – drafts and peer response), assessed as U (fail)*, 3, 4 or 5
  • an oral presentation assignment, assessed as U (fail)**, 3, 4 or 5

*A grade of U will trigger a mandatory revision, uploaded through Canvas (the same portal as the initial submission). The highest grade for a revision is a 3. Note that more than one revision of a text may be required before a passing grade is achieved. 

**A grade of U will trigger a mandatory revision, to be scheduled with the instructor. The highest grade for a revision is a 3. Note that more than one revision of a presentation may be required before a passing grade is achieved.

Course summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due