Program Overview

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PRE-SESSIONAL ENGLISH COURSE

Overview

Our Online 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.

Duration

• 12/8/6 weeks FT (online)

Entry

• June, July

Fees

• View Fees

Course Breakdown

Your course will be split into four blocks made up of different modules as shown below:

Block One: Getting Started

• Unit 1: Differences in academic culture Study tips; modes of lesson delivery (lecture, seminar, etc. and their key differences)
• Unit 2 - Time management skills Prioritising tasks; using planners to manage time
• Unit 3: Understanding assignment briefs and tasks Analysing assignment briefs; understanding key words; developing ideas
• Unit 4: Reflection Individual SWOT analysis; peer review techniques; feedback and feedforward – reflecting on portfolio tasks
• End of block task (unlocks Block Two)

Block Two: Recording Information

• Unit 5: Academic grammar and style Verb tenses, passive voice, noun phrases and relative clauses
• Unit 6: Listening to Lectures Note structures; symbols and abbreviations; recognising signposting in lectures; using introductions to structure notes; recognising supporting arguments and different positions
• Unit 7: Reading strategies The SQ3R reading model; predicting content; skimming, scanning and reading for detail; using topic sentences to identify ideas; making critical choices when reading; evaluating sources
• End of block task (unlocks Block Three)

Block Three: Using Information

• Unit 8: Referencing at University College Birmingham Harvard referencing conventions; identifying plagiarism
• Unit 9: Presentation skills Preparing for presentations; signposting in presentations
• Unit 10: Paraphrasing and summarising Paraphrasing techniques – sentence and paragraph level; identifying key information and summarising texts
• Unit 11: Essay writing Different essay structures; essays vs. reports; University College Birmingham format conventions
• Unit 12: Introductions Structuring effective introductions; useful expressions/signposting
• Unit 13: Paragraphs Paragraph structure; writing effective topic sentences; cohesive devices in writing
• Unit 14: Conclusions Structuring effective conclusions; useful expressions/signposting
• Unit 15: Discussions Participating in a seminar discussion; language for agreeing and disagreeing; language for giving explanations and rephrasing; referring to sources when speaking
• End of block task (unlocks Block Four)

Block Four: Looking Forward

• Unit 16: Using Grammarly Setting up and getting the most out of Grammarly; proofreading checklist
• Unit 17: Course review and final practice activities Review of key skills; additional listening and reading practice
• Unit 18: Support at University College Birmingham Details of wider support at University College Birmingham; useful links

Why should I choose to study Pre-sessional English 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
• FLEXIBLE ONLINE LEARNING – Work through tasks online at your own pace, and at a time to suit you

Entry Requirements

Online Pre-sessional (12 weeks)

• IELTS andIELTS Indicator Overall score of 4.5 with no less than 4.0
• UCB English Proficiency Test Overall score of B1 with no less than B1
• TOEFL iBT & TOEFL iBT Home Overall 54 (R4, L9, S16, W15)
• Language Cert SELT Language Cert SELT B1, Overall 39, with no less than 33
• Language Cert International ESOL Language Cert International ESOL B1, Overall Pass, with no less than 25
• PTE Academic / UKVI (including Online) Overall 43, with no less than 43
• Password English Test (including Password Skills Plus Test) Overall 4.5, with no less than 4.0
• Duolingo English Test Score: 70

Online Pre-sessional (8 weeks)

• IELTS andIELTS Indicator Overall score of 5.0 with no less than 4.5
• UCB English Proficiency Test Overall score of B1+ with no less than B1
• TOEFL iBT & TOEFL iBT Home Overall 64 (R14, L15, S19, W16)
• Language Cert SELT Language Cert SELT B1, Overall 45, with no less than 40
• Language Cert International ESOL Language Cert International ESOL B1, Overall High Pass, with no less than 25
• PTE Academic / UKVI (including Online) Overall 53, with no less than 50
• Password English Test (including Password Skills Plus Test) Overall 5.0, with no less than 4.5
• Duolingo English Test Score: 85

Online Pre-sessional (6 weeks)

• IELTS andIELTS Indicator Overall score of 5.5 with no less than 5.0
• UCB English Proficiency Test Overall score of B2- with no less than B1+
• TOEFL iBT & TOEFL iBT Home Overall 68 (R14, L15, S19, W16)
• Language Cert SELT Language Cert SELT B2; Overall 33, no less than 33
• Language Cert International ESOL Language Cert International ESOL B2; Overall Pass, with no less than 25
• **PTE Academic / UKVI (including Online) Overall 55, with no less than 50
• Password English Test (including Password Skills Plus Test) Overall 5.5, with no less than 5.0
• Duolingo English Test Score: 100

Key Information

Teaching and Assessment

Online Pre-sessional (12 weeks)

• Teaching: The course is predominantly self-study, but you will also need to attend weekly sessions with lecturers. 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 96 hours of live online sessions across the course. 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 1000-word discursive essay based on written and audio materials (80%), with the final 20% coming from the summary produced in the reading exam
  • Speaking – an online group seminar (80%) plus a narrated PowerPoint presentation (20%)

Online Pre-sessional (8 weeks)

• Teaching: The course is predominantly self-study, but you will also need to attend weekly sessions with lecturers. 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 64 hours of live online sessions across the course. 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 1000-word discursive essay based on written and audio materials (80%), with the final 20% coming from the summary produced in the reading exam
  • Speaking – an online group seminar

Online Pre-sessional (6 weeks)

• Teaching: The course is predominantly self-study, but you will also need to attend weekly sessions with lecturers. 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 48 hours of live online sessions across the course. 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 1000-word discursive essay based on written and audio materials (80%), with the final 20% coming from the summary produced in the reading exam
  • Speaking – an online group seminar

Accommodation

You will be allocated a single room in our halls of residence while attending this course. Please visit our Accommodation pages for more detailed information.

Course Dates

Course	IELTS improvement	Summer 2025 dates	Sept 2025 dates
12 week	1.5	02/06/2025 – 22/08/2025 Exams w/c 18/08/2025 Resits w/c 25/08/2025 Application deadline 25/05/2025	29/09/2025 – 16/01/2025 Exams w/c 12/01/2026 Resits w/c 19/01/2026 Application deadline 22/09/2025
8 week	1.0	23/06/2025 – 22/08/2025 Exams w/c 18/08/2025 Resits w/c 25/08/2025 Application deadline 16/06/2025	13/10/2025 – 05/12/2025 Exams w/c 09/12/2024 Resits w/c 06/01/2025 Application deadline 06/10/2025
6 week	0.5	07/07/2025 – 22/08/2025 Exams w/c 18/08/2025 Resits w/c 25/08/2025 Application deadline 30/06/2025	27/10/2025 – 05/12/2025 Exams w/c 08/12/2025 Resits w/c 05/01/2026 Application deadline 20/10/2025

Tuition Fees and Finance

Course	Fees (excluding accommodation)	Application and fee payment deadline
Online Summer Pre-sessional English Course (12 weeks)	£4,500	25/05/2025
Online Summer Pre-sessional English Course (8 weeks)	£3,500	16/06/2025
Online Summer Pre-sessional English Course (6 weeks)	£2,180	30/06/2025

Meet Your Lecturers

• Julia Clifford: EAP Lecturer and Assessment Developer
• Tim Silk: Academic Development Tutor

Take the Next Step...

Apply or Book an open day to learn more about the Pre-sessional English Course.