Pre-sessional English course: Teaching, learning and assessment

Teaching is through interactive classes and individual tutorials; it involves our Canvas online learning management system.

The course is full time; including classes, meetings and tutorial sessions. Course sessions are held every weekday, between 9am and 2pm UK time with a break. You must also undertake at least 30 hours of organised and independent study per week outside of class times.

We make every effort to limit class sizes to 16 students.

Below is an example timetable for the course, however weekly times may vary.

Please also note, the Extended and Long course has one fewer sessions per week.

Example Weekly Schedule – Medium and Short Block

What will you study?

Integrated skills and language (Extended and Long Pre-sessional blocks)

These classes will form a foundation for future studies: attention will be given to reviewing and building on your existing language skills in a communicative and student-centred environment.

Academic skills and language (Medium and Short Pre-sessional blocks)

These classes will help you to develop your language and skills in understanding, approaching and undertaking academic work. You will take part in reading & writing and speaking & listening classes to complete a range of activities which will develop the skills you need for university study.

The classes will include attention to context-specific grammar and vocabulary alongside the conventions of academic writing, using sources, and critical thinking. They also focus on effective skills and strategies for speaking and listening which are essential in many different settings such as presentations, tutorials and seminars. 

The courses take a flipped classroom approach – this means you work on preparation tasks and come to class ready to apply your learning to communicative and analytical tasks.

Projects

Weekly project submissions will give you the opportunity to apply your learning. Project tasks will be assessed, and you will receive regular feedback to help you learn. You will also practise reworking your written and spoken work based on feedback to improve your performance and positively learn from mistakes.

Independent study

Effective independent study is vital for success at British universities and working well in groups is also a key skill. We support you to develop these with structured weekly independent and group study tasks.

Tutorials

You will have an individual tutorial with your tutor every week. This gives you one-to-one support; allows you to discuss feedback on your work, discuss your progress, and plan aims to work on.

Course assessment

Set project tasks include presentations, essays, and listening and reading assessments. These are assessed by your tutors who provide you with detailed feedback on how to improve the quality of your work.

Our end of course assessments are accepted by UK Visas and Immigration for entry onto undergraduate and postgraduate courses. If you achieve the grades you need on the Pre-sessional English course, you will not be required to take an IELTS test after completing the course (if you intend to study at another institution, please check that they will accept our course results). If you do not achieve the grades you need, we will offer you retake examinations and give you advice about the possibilities that are open to you.

At the end of the course you will receive a certificate outlining your attendance, your final grades and requirements for further English language development.

Successful completion

In order to successfully complete your course, you must fulfill the following:

• Attendance: attend a minimum of 80% of all timetabled sessions from day one of your Pre-sessional English course.
• Engagement: complete a minimum of 80% of organised and independent study tasks.
• Attainment: you must maintain an average minimum score of 80% in the organised and independent study tasks where relevant and review and redo tasks to achieve this score.
• Achievement: You must pass the end of course assessments at the level required for entry onto your main course.

With hard work and regular attendance all students can successfully complete their Pre-sessional English course.