About the course

What route do you need to take?

If you have not yet achieved the required English language level for entry to your chosen degree course, you can take one or more Pre-sessional English short courses to help you reach the required level.

Your Pre-Sessional English course start date and duration will be determined by your current IELTS score. All Pre-Sessional English courses finish in September before you start your chosen undergraduate or postgraduate degree programme.

If you require an IELTS score of 6.5, you will need to complete the Pre-Sessional English (Higher Route).

Please refer to the tables to see the current course dates.

Why choose this course?

The Pre-sessional English Higher course is designed to improve students' general English and English for academic purposes. This course route is designed for students who have IELTS 4.5, 5.0, 5.5 or 6.0 or equivalent and wish to progress onto their chosen degree programme at UH which has an entry point of IELTS 6.5.

• It helps you to develop your academic English language and study skills so you can pursue your studies at university, either at undergraduate or postgraduate level.
• It gives you some insight into student life and some cultural and leisure activities.
• If successful on the course you can progress directly onto your chosen degree programme without taking a further IELTS.

Course details

Teaching methods

As a student of Pre-Sessional English, you will be taught by well-qualified lecturers with considerable experience in the teaching of English in the UK and overseas. They will take a personal interest in your progress and well-being. The teaching takes place in small groups using modern teaching and learning methods. The courses are intensive and you will be required to do homework and out-of-class assignments. You will also be able to take part in a social programme.

The atmosphere of the course is friendly with small teaching groups. Pre-Sessional English courses are an excellent way to become acclimatised to the British university scene, and to make friends before the beginning of the academic year.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge and Understanding

Successful students will typically have knowledge of:

• a wide range of vocabulary common to academic texts and in texts reflecting their subject fields
• how to use texts to increase grammatical, lexical and discoursal knowledge
• the use of grammar and vocabulary to create more complex written and spoken academic discourse
• strategies to increase reading efficiency and critical reading
• strategies to improve listening to spoken input in a wide range of situations including seminars and lectures
• academic referencing conventions

Skills and Attributes Successful

Students will typically be able to:

• produce spoken English intelligibly and effectively using a wide range of vocabulary
• demonstrate understanding of spoken academic discourse in a variety of accents utilising a wide range of vocabulary
• apply different reading strategies appropriately to a wide range of texts
• take coherent notes in a range of styles from lectures and reading and from these create summaries and syntheses
• utilise sources and employ appropriate academic referencing conventions effectively
• plan and write a good range of academic essays and reports
• use a good range of library and internet resources effectively