Program Overview

Introduction to Birmingham International College of Canada

Birmingham International College of Canada (BICC) is a renowned private high school with credit-granting authority from the Ontario Ministry of Education. The college specializes in providing a nurturing, inclusive environment for international students, offering diverse courses tailored for university preparation.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Program

The EAP program at BICC is designed to provide students with the complex and sophisticated English language skills required for academic success in an English-speaking college or university. The program consists of three levels: EAP 100 (Intermediate), EAP 200 (High Intermediate), and EAP 300 (Advanced).

EAP Program Structure

Each level of the EAP program is 300 hours long and runs full-time for 12 weeks, with 25 hours of instruction per week, 5 hours per day. The program has three main components:

• Academic Listening and Speaking
• Academic Reading and Writing
• Academic Grammar

Academic vocabulary and study skills are integrated into all sections of the course.

EAP 100 (Intermediate)

This course is designed for participants who are at an intermediate level of English language proficiency, equivalent to a B1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) or between 4.0 and 5.0 on the IELTS. Students learn to complete the following academic language tasks:

• Listening to audio and video clips of between 5-7 minutes long
• Speaking tasks of between 2 and 5 minutes long
• Reading texts of between 600 and 800 words long
• Writing tasks of between 200 and 400 words in length Students also review intermediate-level grammar to improve their speaking and writing accuracy.

EAP 200 (High Intermediate)

This course is for participants who are at a high intermediate level of English language proficiency, equivalent to a B2 level on the CEFR or between 5.0 and 6.5 on the IELTS. Students learn to complete the following academic language tasks:

• Listening to audio and video clips of between 5-8 minutes long
• Speaking tasks of between 5 and 10 minutes long
• Reading texts of between 600 and 1500 words long
• Writing tasks of between 200 and 1000 words in length Students also review high intermediate-level grammar to improve their speaking and writing accuracy with more complex grammatical structures. The prerequisite for EAP 200 is successful completion of EAP 100 or demonstration of the required English language proficiency on the level placement test.

EAP 300 (Advanced)

This course is designed for participants who are at an advanced level of English language proficiency, equivalent to a C1 level on the CEFR or between 6.5 and 7.0 on the IELTS. Students learn to complete the following academic language tasks:

• Listening to audio and video clips of between 7 and 10 minutes long
• Speaking tasks of between 5 and 15 minutes long
• Reading texts of between 1000 and 2000 words long
• Writing tasks of between 200 and 1500 words in length Students also review advanced-level grammar to improve their speaking and writing accuracy with complex grammatical structures. The prerequisite for EAP 300 is successful completion of EAP 200 or demonstration of the required English language proficiency on the level placement test.

Advantages of the EAP Program at BICC

The EAP program at BICC offers several advantages, including:

• Potential waiver of the English Proficiency requirement for international students into partner post-secondary institutions
• Guaranteed low student-to-teacher ratio, with less than 25 students per teacher
• Highly qualified teachers with experience teaching international students
• Ongoing academic and cultural counseling, including peer-tutoring and individualized study schedules, as well as assistance with accommodation services and cultural activities

Accreditation

BICC is accredited by Languages Canada, a not-for-profit association representing over 225 language education member programs across Canada that offer accredited English and French programs from both the public and private sectors.