Informácie pre doktorandov / Information for Doctoral Students
Slovak language for doctoral students/Slovenský jazyk pre doktorandov
Professional English
See the Presentation below providing all important information on the Professional English Course!
Information for Doctoral Students—Presentation (8.36 MB)
2026-2027 Winter Semester
Dear PhD students,
An Excel spreadsheet with concrete time slots, lecture rooms and face to face or online options (only to external students) are attached to this notification.
The spreadsheet needs to be signed no later than 14 September 2026.
Be assured all of you will be catered for and have a spot to participate at a course.
With regards,
Aneta Barnes and Mariana Hyžná
PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH 1 2026-2027.xlsx
Information on a non-compulsory testing:
Date: XY January 2027
Time: 10.00 - 11.30 or 12.00 - 13.30
Venue: G 203
This is an optional test for students who may be interested in a reference letter!
Please, sign up on the AIS platform for the time slot that best suits you.
Should you encounter any issues or have questions regarding the sign-up process, feel free to reach out to us.
The test consists of a vocabulary section based on two documents provided by Ms Aneta Barnes (Academic Vocabulary and Synonyms, see below), a reading test and a listening test.
Attention to all newly accepted PhD students from 1st February 2026
Based on the faculty’s accreditation, all the PhD students are required to pass the Professional English 1 course as a compulsory course.
This course can only be taken in the winter semester of a certain academic year and not in the summer semester.
PhD students may take the Professional English 2 course in the summer semester. It is a voluntary follow-up course to the Professional English 1 course.
For all newly accepted PhD students, it means postponing the Professional English 1 course to the winter semester of the following academic year.
In case you want to stay in touch with English, you may take up the Professional English 2 course starting on Monday, XY February 2027.
Please refer to the Excel sheet above and sign up no later than XY February 2027.
Regards,
Aneta Barnes
2026-2027 Winter Semester
Professional English for PhD Students 1
All PhD students who have obtained a C2 certificate, UNICERT certificate or have at least C1 proficiency in English need to contact the head of the Language Department RNDr. Tatiana Slováková, Ph.D. prior to signing for the course.
IELTS test results with a band score of at least 6.5 and corresponding TOEFL test results (higher than 79) are also accepted.
After consideration, these students might be exempt from attending this course and from taking the final test conducted in February.
Students are welcome to join this interactive course to further improve their English language skills and implement the newly gained competencies in their future scientific work.
This course is a compulsory course for all the doctoral students in the winter semester.
Credits allocation: Credits (5) will be awarded to students who demonstrate continual active participation during lessons and deliver all set tasks and assignments in a timely manner. Each task must be completed at the minimum of 60%.
The course’s outcome is for each PhD student to effectively use the English language for professional purposes, thus sufficiently comprehend targeted written and audio texts and present their viewpoints in required forms.
The aim of the course is a detailed focus on the individual parts of a research paper, its correct structure, usage of scientific vocabulary in various fields of science, correct written delivery of research results (including figure legends, explanation of graphs and tables) as well as appropriate grammar structures used in scientific articles and research papers. Consequently, to help the participants improve their presentational skills in a simulated conference/symposium setting as well as the explicit teaching of techniques associated with the proper delivery of a good presentation.
All participants are required to have a B2 level in English in order to participate and pass this course.
The official start of this course is the week starting 21st September 2026.
Students can choose from five offered time slots and two lecturers, Aneta Barnes and Mariana Hyžná. The number of students in one time slot is limited to twenty. Please note that online courses are preferably offered to external students.
Materials to be printed out and brought to the first lesson:
Academic vocabulary (112 kB)
Synonyms (42 kB)
Conventions to Writing a Scientific Article (313 kB)
Monday: 8:10–9:40 in room G 417 (the course commencement date: 21 September 2026); lecturer: Aneta Barnes, MA
Monday: 9:50–11:20 in room G 417 (the course commencement date: 21 September 2026); Aneta Barnes, MA
Monday: 9:00–10:30 online (offered to external students only!) via MS Teams (the course commencement date: 21 September 2026); lecturer: Mgr. Mariana Hyžná, Ph.D.
Thursday: 8:10–9:40 in room G 417 (the course commencement date: 24 September 2026); lecturer: Aneta Barnes, MA
Thursday: 9:50–11:20 in room G 417 (the course commencement date: 24 September 2026); lecturer: Mgr. Mariana Hyžná, Ph.D.
Suggested textbook:
Armer, T.: Cambridge English for Scientists
2026-2027 Summer Semester
Professional English for PhD Students 2
Dear PhD students,
Based on voluntary participation, PhD students have the opportunity to attend the Professional English 2 course in summer semester 2026/27 to further improve their language skills.
We are delighted to offer any interested students the following time slots:
Monday: 8:10–9:40 in room G 417; lecturer: Aneta Barnes, MA
Monday: 9:50–11:20 in room G 417; lecturer: Aneta Barnes, MA
Thursday: 9:50–11:20 in room G 417; lecturer: Mgr. Mariana Hyžná, Ph.D.
In case of your interest, please sign up for the preferred time slot on the enclosed Excel sheet no later than XY January 2027.
Sign-up Excel Spreadsheet for PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH_PhD_summer_semester_2026_27
The course's first session will take place during the first week of the summer semester in February 2027.
Kind regards, Aneta Barnes and Mariana Hyžná
Contact person: Mgr. Aneta Barnes aneta.barnesfmph.uniba.sk
Mgr. Mariana Hyžná, Ph.D. mariana.hyznauniba.sk