Introduction

Megerdoumian

Sharif University of TechnologyComputer Engineering Department

2013 Fall Semester

Outline

•Why study English for Computer

Engineering?

•Purpose of course

•Textbook

•Schedule and grading

•English learning toolbox

•Some remarks

Why study English for CE?• Your future life depends on being able to effectively

deal with technical English▫ Whether you will be in academia or industry

• You can't depend on translations▫ Most of the important content never gets translated▫ Things change so fast - you can't wait for translations to

be out Unlike many other majors

• Computer engineering-related literature is so diverse▫ Even if you become an academic, you'll still need to read

magazines and practitioner literature, listen to interviews and watch oral presentations to update yourself

▫ Much of the content is interdisciplinary by nature

Purpose of course

•Mostly, reading comprehension▫The most essential▫Of most use to you▫Includes vocabulary and idioms,

collocations, sentence patterns, “tone” detection, etc.

•Writing is also important•Listening and speaking will get a limited

(but not insignificant) coverage

Common types of computerengineering-related texts in English

• Academic▫ Textbooks▫ Research Papers and Books

• Technical documentation and manuals

• News reports, popular science and• technology

▫ e.g. magazines, newspapers• Informal writings

▫ e.g. blogs, forums• Transcripts of speech

▫ e.g. interviews, presentations• Other

▫ e.g. encyclopedias, software licenses, advertisements

Textbook

•41 two-page units▫Most sessions will

cover three units•Good coverage of

vocabulary•Will be complemented

by separate, more technical reading exercises

Grading

•12 points for exams▫Midterm: 5 points▫Final: 7 points

•Maximum of 8 points for other things▫Assignments: 7 points▫Semester project: 3 points▫Class activity: 3 points

•Class attendance is mandatory!▫Only a maximum of three sessions of non-

attendance is allowed

English learning toolbox• English-to-English dictionary• Bilingual dictionaries

▫ English-to-Persian dictionary▫ Persian-to-English dictionary

• Dictionaries of common phrases and collocations, slang, idioms

• Thesaurus• Dictionaries of computing vocabulary

▫ Dictionaries of suggested Persian equivalents for computing terms e.g. by the Persian Language and Literature Academy

(persianacademy.ir)• Web search engines!

Some Remarks

•This is (hopefully) going to be one of the most useful courses you ever take

•This is not a trivial course!•Vocabulary understanding and reading

comprehension ability only build with practice over time – there is no shortcut.

•Feel free to seek help