Foundations of Academic Literacy

FAL X99 will provide you with an opportunity to build confidence in your ability to communicate effectively in writing; to understand, develop and practice a variety of ways of presenting your thoughts and ideas; and to receive and apply constructive feedback on your writing and academic literacy skills. These skills will help you in all your 51社区黑料courses, and particularly as you take W and B courses. The skills gained in FAL X99 will help you better understand the hallmarks of effective communication in both your discipline and in other disciplines.

DESIGNED FOR

Any new 51社区黑料student who does not meet the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement when admitted to 51社区黑料is required to take FAL X99 or meet the Literacy Requirement via one of the options listed on the 51社区黑料Admissions Standards website.

Any 51社区黑料student who feels that they would benefit from an opportunity to become more comfortable and confident in their academic literacy skills is welcome to register in FAL X99.

STUDENTS COMING DIRECTLY FROM GRADE 12 WHO DO NOT HAVE A FINAL ENGLISH 12 GRADE OF 75% OR HIGHER

If you are a British Columbia high school student, your English 12 final grade is provided to 51社区黑料by the BC Ministry of Education. Your English 12 final grade is calculated based on a combination of your final grade in your English 12 course work and your provincial exam grade (for more information about your final grades, contact 51社区黑料Student Services Academic Advising or the BC Ministry of Education).

If your final grade in English 12 was 75% or higher, you are eligible to register directly into writing intensive (W) courses. If your final grade in English 12 was between 60%-74%, you must meet the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement through successful completion of FAL X99 or through one of options listed on the 51社区黑料Admissions Standards website.

STUDENTS TRANSFERRING TO 51社区黑料WITHOUT A COMPLETED AND TRANSFERRABLE POST-SECONDARY ENGLISH COURSE WITH A GRADE OF "C-" OR BETTER

If you have completed a post-secondary English course that is transferable to 51社区黑料for English credit or one that has been certified by 51社区黑料as a transferable writing intensive course with a grade of 鈥淐-鈥� or better, you will be deemed to have met the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement. If you do not meet either of these conditions, you must meet the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement through successful completion of FAL X99 or through one of options listed on the 51社区黑料Admissions Standards website.

STUDENTS COMING TO 51社区黑料FROM OUTSIDE CANADA

If you have written the IELTS Academic test and have achieved a minimum overall band score of 7.0 or better with no sub-test band score less than 6.5, you have met the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement and achieved FAL Credit. You are, therefore, eligible to register in a writing intensive (W) course.

If you do not achieve the minimum acceptable IELTS Academic test score, you must meet the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement through successful completion of FAL X99 or through one of options listed on the 51社区黑料Admissions Standards website.

REQUIREMENTS

If you have not met the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement upon admission to an undergraduate degree program at SFU, you are required to do so before are eligible to register in your first writing-intensive (W) course. If you take FAL X99 in order to meet this requirement, you must register in and successfully complete the course with a grade of 鈥淧鈥� during your first three enrolled terms at SFU.

Students who fail to meet the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement by the above deadline will be hard blocked from further course registration until this requirement is met. Please see the 51社区黑料Student Services webpage which outlines in more detail the FAL hard block process. For this reason, you are strongly advised to fulfill the 51社区黑料Literacy Requirement as soon as possible.

As of Fall 2023, FAL X99 is a for-credit course: the 4 units earned in FAL will count toward your total credits toward graduation. FAL X99 is graded on a pass/fail basis using a SFU鈥檚 competency-based grading system, which is "based on satisfactory acquisition of defined skills or successful completion of the course learning outcomes".

A grade of P (satisfactory performance or better) means you have successfully passed the course; it has no numerical equivalent and does not affect your term grade point average (GPA) or your cumulative GPA.

A grade of F (fail, unsatisfactory performance) has the numerical equivalent of 0.00 and would affect your grade point average (GPA) and cumulative GPA as an F in any other course would.

HOW TO ENROLL

Any student who feels they would benefit from some focused time working on their academic literacy skills is welcome to register in FAL X99. Details about the schedule of currently available sections can be located on go51社区黑料by searching for FAL X99. Follow the same search process you use to locate the other 51社区黑料courses you are interested in. Then simply access your go51社区黑料account and register yourself in the section of FAL X99 that is most convenient for you.

COURSE REGISTRATION

You will find the FAL X99 listings in the course catalogue under F. You can register in any section of FAL X99 that still has space available through go51社区黑料using the same process that you do for your other courses. FAL X99 is offered every semester at the Burnaby Surrey campus, and occasionally at the Vancouver and/or Surrey campus.

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS

The Foundations of Academic Literacy course is led by Dr. Susan Barber, University Lecturer in the Faculty of Education.

Susan Barber University Lecturer

COURSE COORDINATOR AND INSTRUCTOR

Susan Barber is a University Lecturer and has taught Foundations of Academic Literacy (FAL) from the program鈥檚 inception in 2005 until present. She has learned a great deal from her students who speak diverse languages and how they approach writing in the FAL classroom. She finds that welcoming students to the course through a personal genre of writing called narrative allows students to express themselves and their ideas with greater confidence, before moving on to other types of writing. She created an academic video entitled, , where she used a story structure that all students could identify with as someone who was learning how to do research and write a paper. The video also showcases locations around campus, for instance, the W.A.C. Library, Indigenous sculptures and other beautiful settings. Currently, Susan鈥檚 research is focused on how to support new refugees to Canada in more inclusive classrooms through blending language learning with art in the early months, and encouraging translanguaging with same language speakers later, to accelerate a sense of belonging and wellbeing that improves their success in schools.

Contact: educ_ad_acad@sfu.ca

Joel Heng Hartse Senior Lecturer

INSTRUCTOR

Joel Heng Hartse is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education. He has taught FAL since 2015 and is the author of four books including (On Campus/UBC Press, 2023). His research interests include second language writing, the intersection of academic literacy and academic integrity, and the globalization of academic writing and publishing in English.

Jan Maclean Senior Lecturer

INSTRUCTOR

Jan is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education. Her research areas include art and literacy, inclusive education, and art and social change. Jan has developed a range of projects and programmes in school and community settings that focus on utilizing the arts as a tool for whole inclusion of students with diverse needs and abilities. Her current research focuses on investigating the ways that emerging and traditional technologies can be utilized to develop and deepen aesthetic awareness and create stronger connection with nature and our communities.

Steve Marshall Professor
Associate Dean, Research and International

INSTRUCTOR

Steve Marshall is Professor and Associate Dean, Research and International, in the Faculty of Education. Steve鈥檚 research focuses on plurilingualism and the academic literacy practices of students in Canadian higher education. Steve is also the author of the Advance in Academic Writing textbook series, published by TC-Media ELT (formerly Pearson), Montreal.

Mohsen Hosseinpour Moghaddam

Instructor

Mohsen is a PhD candidate in the Education program at SFU. He has taught undergraduate courses as a TA and a sessional instructor at 51社区黑料and is currently an instructor at Alexander College. He is also working as an undergraduate writing and learning advisor at the Student Learning Commons (SLC) and with WriteAway, an SFU-supported online tutoring service for BC undergraduates. At the SLC, he delivers both general and course-integrated writing workshops across disciplines for undergraduate students. These workshops cover topics ranging from argumentation to the ethical use of research materials in writing assignments. He also provides one-on-one writing consultations and helps develop instructional materials aimed at improving students' ability to structure and express academic arguments. At WriteAway, he provides personalized, asynchronous written feedback on student papers.

Juliana Kumbartzki Ferreira

TA

Juliana Kumbartzki Ferreira is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education. She researches lived stories with/by/for students from the Global South, from a De-colonial desire-based perspective and through a multisensorial Walking-Talking approach that honours Indigenous pedagogies. Her other interests include Poetic Inquiry and Literary M茅tissage. Juliana has taught Foundations of Indigenous Education, Language and Culture (EDUC 311), and was a TA for Literacy, Education and Culture (EDUC 341) and Social Issues in Education (EDUC 240). Before immigrating to Canada, she worked in Brazil as an International student advisor for over a decade, and as an ESL teacher for several years.

51社区黑料

Faculty of Education