Pre-Sessional English Course

Entry Requirements:

No formal qualifications required

The 12-week intensive pre-sessional English course is for students who are about to begin undergraduate or taught postgraduate degree or professional courses. The course is designed to help you to get the most from your studies at MCL. The pre-sessional course will help you to:

• Develop your academic English so that you are better able to cope with university-level study, and
• Develop your study skills and understand what is expected of you as a student in the UK higher education system.

You may need to do the course if your offer to study at MCL is conditional. If you successfully complete the pre-sessional course then you will meet MCL’s English language requirements.

Alternatively, many students have unconditional offers but want to develop their language skills further and be better prepared for the demands of degree-level study.

The intensive pre-sessional course will be for a minimum of 15 hours per week over a three day period per week.

Course Structure:

The course consists of the following focused modules:

o   Academic Listening: Understanding academic lectures and effective note-taking techniques. This will include lectures delivered by guest speakers.

o   Academic Speaking: Preparing and delivering a successful oral presentation, taking part in seminars and improving overall fluency, including a focus on pronunciation.

o   Academic Reading: Understanding academic texts and articles and strategies for dealing with different texts efficiently. This will also include extensive vocabulary work.

o   Academic Writing: Practising writing clear and accurate academic English and producing appropriate essays and research projects.

o   Language Focus: Consolidating and improving your grammatical knowledge and range of vocabulary.

o   General English: Communicating in English in academic and everyday social situations.

What level of English do I need?

The programme is strongly recommended for all international students without any IELTS and some students with IELTS below Overall band 5.5, as to the Assessor / Admission Committee Advice and recomendation.

 What level of English will I have at the end?

The aim of the course is to increase your language skills to at least the minimum level required specially for NQF Level 6 & 7  programmes. If your conditional offer asks for a higher language level than this you must tell us when you apply.

You do not have to take the IELTS or TOEFL test again. We will set a level for you to achieve on the pre-sessional course that is equivalent to your conditional offer or required for your main course of study. For undergraduates this is usually 50%. for postgraduates it is usually 60%.

As long as you achieve the set level, you can progress on to your degree course