Spring 2022


Dear students enrolled in FF: CJV_D_A (English for Doctoral Studies),



My name is Joe Lennon, and I’m the administrator for this course, which is not really a course (of
course), but simply a way of guaranteeing that doctoral candidates at FF have reached the required
level in English speaking and writing.


I hope this introductory letter will give you most of the information you need. It may seem a bit
long, but please take a moment and read it all the way through; it’s designed to give you some
specific tips and guidance so that, hopefully, the whole process can be a pleasure.


Which it usually is! I look forward to meeting with each of you and discussing your studies and
interests. It’s nice to learn about some of the fascinating work doctoral students are doing, and
to get a chance to talk frankly with you about your study programs, your travels, your writing,
your language learning, and whatever else we might end up discussing.


That said, I’d like to ask for your patience. There are quite a few of you, and I’d like to give my
full attention and support to you all, but please keep in mind that during the semester I’m very
busy. I might not always be able to respond to you immediately. If you email me and don’t hear back
from me for a few days, don’t panic; I will reply as soon as I can.


So that I can keep all your correspondence and materials organized, please follow the guidelines
and instructions below carefully:




1. First, take a look at the official requirements for approval. Here’s the link to the info on IS,
and I will also copy the text for you below:


The WRITTEN PART of the exam can take one of the following forms (for which the student will
submit):


A) an EXTENDED ABSTRACT whereby the original text should be 500-800 words long (not including
citations) and respect the following structure: •1) theme related to specialization •2) current
state (of the research) and statement of limitations •3) methodology •4) results •5) discussion •6)
bibliography


B) the THESIS of the dissertation or a related PROJECT (depending on the phase of study) in the
length of 1000-1500 words and following this structure: •1) theme, defining the limits of the issue
and key concepts •2) theoretical background •3) summary of the current state of knowledge/research
•4) methodology •5) preliminary results •6) expected or final results •7) discussion •8)
bibliography


C) an ACADEMIC PAPER written by the student for publication in an academic journal


D) proof of MASTER'S STUDIES in English


The ORAL PART of the exam can take one of the following forms:


A) INTERVIEW with the examiner on a given topic (c. 30 min.)


B) submitting a certificate/proof of having given a PRESENTATION in English at an international
conference


C) submitting a C1 (CEFR) level CERTIFICATE (in general or specialized English)


D) submitting proof of MASTER'S STUDIES in English



2. Next, please send me an email, introducing yourself and telling me a bit about your academic /
professional background, and then telling me exactly how you wish to fulfill both the Writing and
Speaking parts. Do NOT send me your materials by email.


Please send me this introductory email AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Do not wait until the testing period to
introduce yourself to me—that’s too late. Please get in touch by the middle of the semester, so
that both you and I have time to plan everything.



3. Once you’ve told me how you would like to fulfill the requirements, I will ask you to upload
your materials to the course folder on IS called Odevzdávárny (or Homework Vaults). When you upload
your materials, please write in the file name your SURNAME and a short descriptive phrase to show
which materials you are uploading.


                               (Example: “Lennon – Writing sample”)


Please upload your written materials in .doc (Word) format, so that I can easily comment directly
on the file and return it to you with my comments. Do not send it in PDF form, because then I will
not be able to return it to you with comments.


A note on passing the exam with a Master’s degree:


            If you plan to pass the exam by showing proof of Master’s degree study in English, I
      would like to see more than just a copy of your diploma. I would also like to see at least
         an ABSTRACT of your Master’s thesis, and ideally also the INTRODUCTION section
of your thesis. I do not need to see the whole thesis, but the abstract and intro sections
will help me get a better sense of what you studied and how you wrote about it. PDFs            of
these texts are fine; or if they are available online, you can send me a link.


A note on the speaking part:


            If you plan to pass the speaking component with a conference presentation, of
                  course I would like to see some official proof of participation, but more
                                 importantly, I want to see some materials which show the content
and the                                   nature of your presentation. At the very least, I’d like
to see the TITLE and an                                ABSTRACT of your presentation, in connection
with some proof of participation.              For example, you could provide a link to a
conference website with your name                                   on it, or a photocopy of the
conference brochure and/or schedule which includes your         name. I do not need or want to see
your actual presentation materials (e.g. the      PowerPoint file).


Some notes on the writing part:


            For the writing requirement, I need to see a paper which follows an accepted
international citation style. You should include full citations of the works you refer to.    Just
showing me your notes for a presentation is not enough. I need to see that you are         capable
of writing an academic work in English which could realistically be published            (though of
course it does not have to be published yet).


            Although the official guidelines for the writing requirement are very specific about
        structure and word count, I do not care so much whether you follow these strict
guidelines. In fact, since you are writing in English with (I         will assume) a view toward
international publication, I would discourage the typical, strict “thesis” structure which
  is common in Central European academia (which tends to start with a very broad,       theoretical
literature review, then, a brief description of the current study (with little or         no
attention given to explaining WHY this research is important).


            Instead, I encourage you to use a structure which is more appropriate for an
                     introduction to a published journal article in your field. And in a
journal article in          most fields, I would expect, for instance, a short opening paragraph
which quickly         introduces your work and “creates a space” for your research. John Swales’
well-          known C.A.R.S. model is VERY useful for this type of intro:


http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/CARS


And in a journal article, I would also expect to get a clear idea of the importance/relevance of
the research to a wider academic community, including potential applications/implications, and a
mention of how your research could be applied to larger questions/issues in your field.


Here is another good way to structure an extended abstract:


            Paragraph 1: Give some interesting background and context for your topic, and    show
why it is worth studying. Very quickly summarize the previous research    that has been done on
this topic, and show how it has led to a problem or       question that still needs to be
addressed.


            Paragraph 2: State your specific research questions - what exactly do you want     to
find out? Show how your research questions address the problem or            question you
introduced in the first paragraph.


            Paragraph 3: Describe the research actions YOU will perform (or have       performed
already) to try to answer your research questions. What kind of       research are you doing? What
sources are you using?


            Paragraph 4: Discuss a few of the potential problems or limitations of your
study, and say what you have done or will do to try to address these issues.


            Paragraph 5: Describe your results (or if it is early in your research, say what
  kind of results you anticipate). Say what still needs to be done, and show how      your results
(or anticipated results) might be applied to further research in        your field or beyond.


For more advice on abstracts in general (and for a slightly different version of these 5 steps
above), I recommend reading my handout “abstract / abstract” posted in the study materials on IS,
here.


In your writing, please be specific! One main problem I see over and over again in students’ papers
is that they are too vague, using only abstract language. Instead, I want to see concrete and
specific examples to support the points you are making in your paper. This is good academic writing
practice in English, no matter which subject you are writing about.


            In the end, of course, the exact genre and structure of your writing sample is up   to
you,             and you should produce something useful for your studies and career. If you need
    guidance and inspiration, I suggest reading a few published introductions or abstracts to
English-language papers in your field and borrowing their structure and style.


I have posted, in the study materials on IS, a folder called “Academic writing in English – useful
resources.” I HIGHLY recommend that you take a look at these sources for tips/advice on writing in
English. The articles by Becker and Lanham are really great if you want to improve your writing
style in English.


            And last but not least: Change your document language to English before typing it,
    and use spell check before submitting it!



4. After you upload your materials, please email me to let me know they are in the folder. At that
point, I will schedule a short meeting with you.


For those of you who wish to fulfill the Speaking requirement with an interview, this meeting will
be how we do that. But I would like to speak to every one of you, even to those of you who are
fulfilling the Speaking requirement with submitted materials. This meeting will also be a chance
for me to give you feedback on your written materials. In this meeting/interview, I’d like you to
be prepared to answer the following questions, in a free-form discussion:


1.         What is your academic/professional background? What were you doing before you started
studying at MU, and why did you come to study here? What would you like to do after finishing your
PhD?


2.         How have your PhD studies gone so far? What are your impressions about your department
and study program? What courses or projects have been the most interesting and why?


3.         How would you summarize your current academic and professional work in a few sentences?
What are some possible applications of your research? How does your research respond to, and
contribute to, larger questions and issues in your field?


4.         What part does English play in your work and studies? Do you plan to publish/present in
English in the future?


I will probably ask you other questions besides these, depending on how the conversation develops.
Don’t expect a serious, formal exam situation; I’d like to have a natural, informal conversation
with you about your work and interests. You don’t need to dress up for this; I will probably be
wearing jeans and a T-shirt, so you can too ;)


As of February 2022, we are allowed to meet face-to-face. However, I am also quite happy to meet
online, using Teams, Zoom, or whatever. When you email me to introduce yourself, please tell me how
you prefer to meet – face-to-face or online. Either way is fine.



5. Once the above process is over, and if I can verify that you can communicate in English at the
required level, I will give you a passing grade for the course.


The standard grades which I give for the course are B and C. The grade of C signifies that you are
at the expected level and showing an average ability to communicate in an academic context in
English when compared to your peers. The grade of B signifies that you are at the expected level,
but showing above-average ability to communicate. I may give other grades in rare cases. If your
written materials are mostly acceptable on a language level, but there are serious problems or
omissions (for example a lack of citations), then I may ask you to revise and resubmit them.



Finally, I’d like to give you a bit more information about how I evaluate your English. The
official required level for this exam, determined by the faculty and the university (not by me!) is
CEFR C1. But you shouldn’t focus on the level as a strict standard, because I don’t. Here's how I
interpret the requirements:


-           Your writing materials should show me that you are able to produce professional,
publishable work in English which would be understood and accepted by an international academic
audience.

-           Your speaking ability should be such that if you were to attend an international
conference, you could have a natural conversation about your work and research interests with other
attendees in English.


In other words, I simply want to see that you can communicate openly and professionally in English.


I hope this email answers most of your questions about what to expect, but if you need more
information, please email me.


Thanks again for your patience, and I look forward to hearing from you all soon.


Best,

Joe