Part-time General English language classes
Open to all current university students, staff and adult members of the public, the English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) offers fee-paying part-time general English classes at multiple levels to improve your language skills for personal or professional reasons.
- Level: From CEFR A2 (pre-intermediate) to C1 (advanced)
- Cost: £385 for each 10 week course (fees cover all tuition and materials)
- Dates: October 2024 to December 2024 and January 2025 to April 2025
- Hours: 2 classes a week of 1.5 hours for 10 weeks (30 hours in total)
- Apply: Apply now
Why General English?
Our General English courses can help you improve your oral and written communication skills. You will improve your accuracy, expand your vocabulary and develop your confidence communicating with people from all over the globe.
Course details and available levels
We currently offer part-time General English classes at four different levels:
- Pre-intermediate (CEFR A2 / B1)
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This course is for you if you would like to improve your basic general English communication skills. You will focus on speaking, pronunciation, writing, reading and listening. You will strengthen and develop your vocabulary throughout the course.
This class is suitable for students who can already communicate in simple everyday situations. The course will help you develop the confidence and English skills to progress to the next level.
Entry Levels IELTS 3.0+, CEFR A2+/B1 or equivalent.
- Intermediate (CEFR B1+)
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This course is for you if you already have a basic level of English and want to improve your confidence and communication skills. You will focus on speaking, pronunciation, writing, reading and listening. You will strengthen and develop your vocabulary throughout the course.
Entry Levels IELTS 4.0+, CEFR B1+ or equivalent.
- Upper-intermediate (CEFR B2)
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This course is for you if you want to improve your communication skills in English. You will focus on improving your accuracy in speaking, pronunciation and writing and develop your listening and reading skills. You will also strengthen and develop your vocabulary throughout the course.
This class is suitable for those students not wanting to prepare for an exam, or those not quite ready to take the Cambridge B2 First exam.
Entry Levels IELTS 5.0+, high B1/B2 or equivalent.
- Advanced (CEFR C1)
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This course is for you if you are looking to improve and master your communication skills in English. You will focus on polishing your speaking, pronunciation and writing skills. You will focus on grammatical accuracy and expand your vocabulary.
This class is suitable for those students not wanting to prepare for an exam or those not quite ready to take the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam.
Entry Levels IELTS 6.5+, CEFR high B2/C1 or equivalent
Please note - a minimum number of students are required to open a group. We will contact you as soon as possible if the group you have applied for does not open.
Progression between levels
Students are able to move from one level to a higher level depending on their progress. We offer the opportunity to take progress tests during, and at the end of each course.
As these courses are part-time we have found that students usually need to take a minimum of TWO courses before making sufficient progress to move up a level.
For example, students usually need to take an intermediate level course in the Autumn semester and Spring semester before being ready to move up to the upper-intermediate course.
Unit progress tests and final progress tests will be taken into account when students request to move up to a higher level class.
Dates and fees
Our part-time General English courses are offered twice each academic year, once per semester.
Each course consists of two 1.5 hour classes per week, for a total of 30 hours over 10 weeks.
The fee for each 10 week course is £385, which includes all tuition and materials.
- Autumn semester 2024-25 course information
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Start Date: 14 October 2024
End Date: 18 December 2024
Class times: Monday and Wednesday evenings each week from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Application Deadline: Thursday 26 September 2024
Please do not worry if you complete the application form and do not hear from us straight away - we will be sending out further information to applicants about placement tests in September 2024.
- Spring semester 2024-25 course information
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Start Date: 27 January 2025
End Date: 2 April 2025
Class times: Monday and Wednesday evenings each week from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
Application Deadline: Friday 17 January 2025
Applications for this course will open later in 2024.
How to apply
You can submit your application through our online form:
Part-time General English Application Form
After completing the application form, you will need to take a placement test. This is a short test for us to make sure we recommend the right course for you. We will also take into account your preference.
Information for Under 18s
Our courses are designed for adults. Applicants who are under 18 are subject to a number of restrictions and administrative procedures.
The standard minimum age for our courses is 18 years. However, we will consider applications from applicants who are under 18 in some circumstances, and subject to satisfactory guardianship arrangements being in place. Please contact us for more information.
For further information on under 18s at the university please visit our "Students under the age of 18" webpage".