General English

General English Level 1 Starter – 6 Advanced

INFORMATION ABOUT THIS COURSE
The Starter or Beginner course is for students who have a low level of exposure to the English language. Often called ‘false-beginners’, these learners have usually studied some English, often at primary or high school, however, they have had no contact with English for many years. They want or need to start studying English again due to their limited knowledge.

By the end of this course, students will:

• Write basic sentence structures that students can use in real-life situations
• Practise pronunciation of common words and phrases that students encounter in their daily lives
• Learn a range of common vocabulary dealing with everyday topics including numbers, the time, food
• Increase their confidence in speaking the English language through regular pair and group conversation activities.

All levels require 20 hours face-to-face study per week. It is recommended that students should also complete homework and self-study activities of at least 10-15 hours per week in addition to the scheduled 20 hours course hours.

• The purpose of this course is to assist students with a wide range of language learning needs to improve their English language proficiency level across all four macro-skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). This General English course is particularly useful for two main categories of learners:

• Learners with non-specific aims, such as “to improve my English”, “because English is useful”, “to help me meet people from other countries”, “because English might be useful in a job” or due to an interest in the language and culture of Australia.
  Learners with more specific aims, such as to study English for Academic Purposes (EAP) before going to university, or to prepare for external exams, but these students have not yet reached the English language proficiency level necessary for the more specialised English course. For these students, the GE course aims to help them reach a general, non-specialist level of English sufficient to begin a course in academic English.

Students at lower levels also take part in weekly skills development electives to improve their areas of weakness in either reading and writing or speaking and listening, while students at higher levels may choose special interest focus electives in areas such as Test Preparation, Grammar and Writing, Business English, Australian Studies in Culture and Sport, English for Health Fitness and Wellbeing.