Academic English for IELTS

This is an Academic English course for European and International learners who want to prepare for an official English language examination. It has been designed to provide you with the study skills and language competencies required for study at Higher Education or employment abroad. 

Full-time Programme:

Full time classes involve 13 hours of class contact time, including an hourly tutorial session with a personal tutor, and an additional conversation class and English skills workshop also available. 

Part-time programmes:

Part time Academic English options are available at 3, 6 or 9 hours per week. 

What you will study

This is an integrated course which aims to help you achieve success in an English exam by developing your all-round competence in the language. You will study aspects of English usage such as grammar and pronunciation so that you can express yourself accurately and effectively.

You will also get extensive practice in the core skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing. The main difference between this course and other General English courses is that the language tasks you perform will be more academic in nature and will train you for the different modules of an exam. 

Speaking

You will take part in interactive communication tasks such as role-plays, discussions, debates and interviews. You will develop your ability to accurately use a range of grammatical forms and topic specific vocabulary in appropriate situations.  In addition, you will also focus on discourse management and pronunciation.

Listening 

You will have the opportunity to practice listening for general understanding and for detail from a variety of sources on a range of topics.  Tasks will include note-taking, form filling, sentence completion and matching information.

Reading

You will be encouraged to read widely whilst studying with the CAVC English Academy. In class, you will be given a range of texts to read with accompanying tasks.

At University, you are expected to research and read extensively and on this course, you will learn how to identify and deal with longer texts including reports, articles, extracts from journals and other academic sources by employing a variety of reading skills.

These skills include reading for specific information, interpreting graphs, separating fact from opinion and understanding main ideas. You will be required to complete tasks such as multiple-matching, deducing meaning, text cohesion awareness, and comprehension.

Writing

Improving your academic writing skills is a vital part of your success on a Higher Education course. You will be expected to write clear, formal English and the standards of accuracy and content required make writing one of the most demanding components of an English exam. 

The course will provide training in writing accurately and coherently and give you plenty of practice in the process and production of effective writing. You will also be encouraged to develop your written accuracy, focusing on spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and text coherence.

Grammar

You will study and review the important structures such as tenses, word order, question formation as well as areas of grammar that can interfere with meaning and comprehension. You will be given the opportunity to practise the new structures actively in both writing and speaking, through controlled practice and freer communicative activities and homework exercises.

Vocabulary

You will study subject specific areas of vocabulary related to the academic themes and issues covered in the course and their relevant vocabulary features; collocation, word formation, phrasal verbs, set phrases and idiomatic expressions. Attention is also paid to pronunciation.

Who should take an Academic English course?

These courses are specifically intended to help students work towards an English language test score such as IELTS, as required by their chosen university courses or employers. It is not suitable for those students looking for General English.

Academic English courses are suitable for students who have already developed a command of the English language of an intermediate level and above. 

Entry requirements:

Our programme is only suitable for students with an upper intermediate language level and above.