Designed as a companion to the world-renowned New Headway family or as a standalone resource, this multi-level series focuses specifically on the English language and literacy skills needed for academic success. The Core Philosophy of Headway Academic Skills
Ability to extract core concepts from a 45-minute spoken lecture and create usable study notes.
| Week | Topic | Focus | |------|-------|-------| | 1-2 | Going abroad to study | Reading, parts of speech, sentence structure | | 3-4 | Comparing countries | Writing paragraphs, developing topic sentences | | 5-6 | Unexpected journeys | Reading extended texts, using connectors | | 7-8 | Technology innovations | Writing opinion essays, using conditional sentences | | 9-10 | Urban planning | Integrated reading and writing, research strategies | | 11-12 | Health and education | Listening comprehension, vocabulary development | | 13-14 | Review and assessment | Mid-course and end-of-course tests | | 15 | Final presentations | Speaking and presentation skills |
The series is organized into two complementary strands, allowing institutions and learners to focus on their specific needs: headway academic skills
Developing the critical capacity to separate empirical data from an author's subjective bias or hypothesis. Writing Competencies
The primary goal of the series is to transform language learners into independent academic researchers. The curriculum is structured to achieve several critical outcomes:
Moving students beyond conversational English (BICS) toward Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). Designed as a companion to the world-renowned New
Prepares students for university lectures, seminars, and formal presentations. Key Skill Areas Explored 1. Reading and Research
It moves away from "bus stop English" and focuses on the four core competencies required for a degree:
An academic evaluation of Headway Academic Skills (Level 3) conducted with 36 EFL teachers and 43 students at the University of Baghdad found that the coursebook was "undesirable from the teachers and students' points of view in many aspects" . The researchers noted that "several obstacles need to be addressed to grasp higher EFL advantage for non-departmental students." Writing Competencies The primary goal of the series
The course focuses on practical, transferable skills that students can apply directly to their university subjects. :
Sarah Philpot, Lesley Curnick, and others Publisher: Oxford University Press Level: A1 – C1 (Beginner to Advanced)
This structure, based on actual university syllabi using Headway Academic Skills, shows how the material can be paced across a typical academic term.
University writing is about more than just good grammar. guides you through the building blocks of academic output, from mastering sentence structure and capital letters to developing a strong thesis statement and organizing comparison essays. 3. Listening and Note-Taking