Novice Scholars and Speaking for Academic Purposes Course

Abstract

This paper examined the viewpoints of novice scholars on the significance of English for academic purpose course. A mixed methodology was adopted and two tools were used for data collection: an interview and a questionnaire. The results of the data collected showed a largely unanimous agreement among the participants on the importance of the skill of speaking for academic purpose and the necessity of attending the training course on it. The participants began and ended the course with the same positive attitudes. A number of factors had led to such a unanimous attitude towards the course. Offering beforehand promotional sessions to acquaint the participants with the contents and nature of the course and/or making the contents and the objectives of such a course accessible to the novice scholars were the most prominent factors.