General English
Developing a strong all-round proficiency in English is an essential asset for global citizens in the twenty-first century. English opens doors for further study, work and personal connections with people from other countries. It also brings great personal satisfaction and, as such, studying English is a confidence-building pursuit for most learners.
Aspiring learners of English need both structured and unstructured learning opportunities, a combination of both direct instruction and freer practice. Studying at an English school with motivated teachers, an international cohort of classmates and a dynamic environment is an ideal way to develop a high-level of English proficiency.
Course Code: 113463G | |||
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Duration: | 5 – 48 weeks | Hours: | Minimum 20 hours per week |
Levels: | Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate | Course Entry | Enter the class on any Monday of the year |
Entry Requirements: There is no minimum requirement to enter Elementary. Students seeking to enter levels higher than Elementary need to take a placement test.
Learning to speak English opens up a world of opportunities in work, relationships, travel and culture. The General English course brings together the four macro skills of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing with the core knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. Our teachers strive everyday to help students develop native-like pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary use. Students use a core textbook and do homework everyday. There is a weekly test on Grammar and Vocabulary as well as a range of other types of reading and listening activities.
The General English course gives students a firm grounding in the vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar of English. These areas of proficiency are combined and integrated with the four macro skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. These areas of proficiency form the basis of the learner aims, objectives and outcomes for the course.
All content, both core and supplementary, and assessments are delivered with the goal of helping students make progress towards the learning outcomes. Teachers use a variety of feedback and correction methods to ensure that students are fully engaged and participating in classes. These modes of feedback include but are not limited to: verbal correction of errors, comments on writing, and scores given on assessments. Students are promoted to a higher level based on their performance in summative and formative assessments, not based on the number of weeks they spend in a level. As a result, some students may advance in less than 10 weeks, others may take longer.
The curriculum, syllabus and assessment are designed to help students achieve Course Objectives and more detailed and measurable Learning Outcomes.
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The learners’ overall Course Objectives in the General English course are to enable students to:
- To develop proficiency in English across the four macro skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing effectively in a variety of contexts
- To develop core knowledge of the vocabulary and grammar of English
- To develop awareness of sociocultural knowledge relating to communication in English as used with native speakers and with other non-native speakers where English is used as a lingua franca
- To develop study skills that will maximise efficiency of study in class and externally
- To develop independent learning skills for ongoing improvement in language proficiency