All of our full-time courses consist of 15 hours per week classroom time with 10 hours per week of home study. All classes are conducted by fully qualified teachers using the most up to date materials and methods, and are focused on the needs and abilities of the students as individuals as well as a group. Because the classes are small, the maximum number of students is 15, but on average 9, all students have a good deal of individual attention and plenty of opportunity to practice their speaking in class.

If you need to prove your level of English to an employer or a university or college, you should take an internationally recognized English language test. These are offered locally to our school by IELTS and Cambridge ESOL. In the courses you will be given tuition in all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and all grammar and vocabulary needed to gain success in the examination. In addition, all of our exam preparation courses include a full practice examination every two weeks.

Course descriptions

Elementary: The course is 15 hours of lessons a week. It is for students who have very little knowledge of the English language. The courses focus on basic grammar, reading, speaking and writing skills including pronunciation..

These courses are for those students who have a little English and who wish to learn to speak and write more. You should already be able to read and write in English script.

By the end of the module, you will be able to:

• understand and respond to simple questions about yourself
   and your life
• understand simple conversations
• understand English spoken by native speakers at slower than
   normal speed
• read and understand simple articles and public notices
• speak clearly but slowly so that others understand you
• ask for help when you don’t understand
• write simple instructions or messages with few errors in grammar.

We would expect a student to take about 12 weeks to complete this level.

Pre-Intermediate: The course is 15 hours of lessons a week. It is for students who have a basic knowledge of the English language. The courses focus on grammar, reading, as well as speaking and writing about everyday topics.

These courses are for students who have some fluency in English, but who still have problems with basic grammar and little confidence in using English.

By the end of the module, you will be able to:

• understand and respond to questions about yourself and your life
• understand and respond to the main points of general conversations
• understand standard speech spoken at near normal speed
• read and understand basic public notices
• understand simple articles and messages about everyday life
• speak clearly about yourself so that others usually understand you
• show that you understand others or ask them for explanations
• maintain a basic conversation with only a little difficulty
• write basic messages to others with correct grammar.

We would expect a student to take about 12 weeks to complete this level.

Intermediate: This is for students who have a good knowledge of the English language. The courses focus on grammar, reading, speaking, writing and helping students to speak with more confidence.

These courses are for students whose English allows them to communicate with others quite well much of the time, but who still make frequent mistakes so that there are regular misunderstandings.

By the end of the module, you will be able to:

• talk easily with others in common social situations
• speak clearly enough to be easily understood by others
• exchange opinions with others and justify your point of view
• read and understand the main points of authentic written material
• summarise texts using English that is easily understood by others
• write in simple correct English in a variety of formats
• understand and use with confidence the vocabulary of daily social life.

IELTS:This course leads to the Cambridge International English Level Testing System examination. IELTS is often required for those who wish to attend a course in tertiary education in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada and some institutions in Singapore.

The course is for students with a higher level of English who are preparing for the academic IELTS examination.

The course consists of 15 hours of lessons a week. It is taught in the context of the four exam papers- Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.

Ideally students would be at Upper-intermediate level but, as IELTS is a multi-level

exam, students can join if they are Intermediate level and are committed to working towards the exam.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• learn how to interpret and describe graphs in writing
• learn how to write a discursive or opinion essay
• learn how to read and interpret academic texts
• answer comprehension questions on written texts as found
   in the IELTS examination
• learn how to identify specific information and infer point of view
   in written texts
• take part in discussions and practise the speaking skills required
   in the IELTS examination
• perform with confidence in the oral component of the examination
• learn how to take accurate notes from a spoken text or dialogue
• listen to a variety of spoken text types of the kind used in
   IELTS examination.

FCE: The course is 15 hours of lessons a week. Leading to the Cambridge First Certificate in English, this course teaches and practises English in the context of the five exam papers- Reading, Writing, Use of English, Listening and Speaking.

Students need to be at Upper-intermediate level

This is for students who are preparing for the Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE) examination.

These courses are for adult students who are at an upper–intermediate to advanced level. They now wish to focus on increasing their accuracy and general competence in English and to prepare for an externally validated examination – the Cambridge First Certificate in English.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• write various text types appropriate for the examination
• read, understand and answer questions on the content of
   various text types
• answer different types of grammar questions with confidence
• handle the various sections of the oral test with confidence
• understand English spoken by native speakers at natural speed
   and answer questions as required by the examination.

BEC: The course is 15 hours of lessons a week. These courses focus on the skills as well as grammar and vocabulary-building while concentrating on work-related themes. They are aimed at upper intermediate level students  leading to the BEC examination.

These courses are for people who already have good English skills, but who still have some problems with accuracy, fluency and vocabulary.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• discuss business topics with ease
• express opinions and give appropriate reasons
• understand and comment on the opinions of others
• describe and comment on topics such as branding, globalisation,
   advertising, and travel
• take part in meetings, negotiations, socialise in a work setting, and
   give presentations
• speak clearly and naturally so that people understand you
• understand the main points and details of authentic written business texts
• summarise texts in speech and writing
• recognize and use the appropriate format and language for
   different written text types.