Our Online Summer Pre-sessional English Course is designed for International applicants who have been offered a place on a higher education course for the upcoming academic year, but need to improve their existing English skills in preparation for studying at a UK university.
Delivered as a ten-week programme, our course will enable you to boost your understanding of English language while also learning key academic skills for higher education study. Throughout the course, you will receive frequent feedback and support to help you progress.
The ten-week online course includes 16 hours of live online teaching per week - four hours for each language skill. You will be taught by highly qualified and experienced EAP lecturers and will not only learn the language but also the study skills to help you succeed in the course you have applied for. In addition to the language sessions, you will also be offered personal, pastoral tutorials.
University College Birmingham will accept the Online Pre-Sessional English course certificate as proof of your level of English. If you wish to study elsewhere after this course, it is recommended that you check whether your chosen institution will accept this certificate.
Why should I choose this course?
- BOOST YOUR SKILLS – Develop your English language skills and key academic skills, from essay writing and referencing to presentations, time management and reading strategies
- EXPERT TUITION – You will have the opportunity to work collaboratively online with experienced English language lecturers through video conferencing
- ONLINE LEARNING – Work through tasks online at your own pace, with a range of assessment methods or dive in deeper with the live online teaching sessions delivered by highly qualified and experienced EAP lecturers
Course breakdown
Your course will be split into four blocks made up of different modules as shown below:
- 10 week course
Block One: Listening
Listening
In this module you will learn how to deal with the different types of listening you will encounter in a UK university. You will work on lecture listening and note-taking, as well as more general listening skills such as listening for gist or listening for specific information.
Block Two: Reading
Reading
In this module you will work on key academic reading skills such as skimming and scanning, reading for gist and reading for detail. You will be introduced to the standard structure of academic texts in English and how to deal with these.
Block Three: Writing
Writing
You academic writing module will look at how produce key academic texts in written English, looking at style, structure and language. In this module you will work on writing and grammar and you will also learn a number of important academic writing conventions.
Block Four: Speaking
Speaking
The academic speaking module will introduce you to the key speaking activities which you will encounter in a UK university, and will prepare you to deal with these. In particular you will focus on language and grammar related to presentations and academic discussions and seminars.
The modules listed above for this course are regularly reviewed to ensure they are up to date and informed by industry as well as the latest teaching methods. On occasion, we may need to make unexpected changes to modules – if this occurs, we will contact all offer holders as soon as possible.
The intensive learning prepared me well for better learning on my course. Besides learning advanced English, I was introduced to the patterns involved in assignments – for example, understanding literature review, matrix and citations.
Entry requirements
Online Summer Pre-sessional English Course (10 weeks)
IELTS 5.0 with no less than 4.5 in any skill, or a University College Birmingham test result of B1+ overall with no less than B1 in any skill.
To apply for the Online Pre-Sessional English Course, you are also required to have applied for an undergraduate or postgraduate course for the upcoming intake.
Key information
Teaching (10 week)
Teaching is task-based and communicative in approach. It is delivered wholly online via Canvas, University College Birmingham’s online learning platform. Students will be expected to attend 16 hours of live online sessions per week. Sessions will be made up of a variety of tasks, including:
- Lecture listening tasks
- Seminar and presentation tasks
- Groupwork
- Research tasks
- Academic reading tasks
- Academic writing tasks
- Pastoral tutorials
Assessment
You will be assessed in each language skill: listening, reading, writing and speaking. The assessments will be broken down into the following areas:
- Listening – an exam including comprehension tasks, a PowerPoint note-taking task and a lecture note-taking task with a summary,
- Reading – an exam including reading comprehension tasks, abstracts and critical reading tasks, and a note-taking and summary task,
- Writing – a 700-word discursive essay based on written and audio materials (80%), with the final 20% coming from the summary produced in the reading exam (plus a paragraph summary task and a text summary task on the eight-week course),
- Speaking – an online group seminar (plus a narrated PowerPoint presentation on the eight-week course).
Final assessments will need to be submitted by the week commencing 23 August, with resit exams to be submitted by the week commencing 30 August.
Course dates
Course |
Dates |
Application deadline* |
Online Summer Pre-sessional English Course |
17 June 2024 – 30 August 2024 |
Friday, 7 June 2024 |
* Applications for these courses cannot be accepted after the dates shown
Tuition fees and finance
Course |
Tuition fees |
Application and fee payment deadline |
Online Summer Pre-sessional English Course (10 weeks) |
£3,150 |
Friday, 7 June 2024 |
International pre-payment policy
Please note there is a pre-payment of tuition fees policy for International students who apply for a course at University College Birmingham.
Can I still get Student Finance for this course?
You will NOT receive any Student Finance while you are studying this course. Our Pre-sessional English Course will teach you the English and academic skills needed to progress onto an academic course at University College Birmingham.
Contact us
For any queries, please contact us:
International applicants
- By phone: +44 121 232 4458
- By fax: +44 121 604 1166
EU applicants
- By phone: +44 121 604 1040
Studying this course encouraged my career plans, from the teaching to the support I received from tutors to be more reliable and confident in my future. Studying and living in Birmingham is quite easy for me because I am already used to the city, and eager to study and achieve my goals here.