English Programme
The English programme at GCC is one of the most innovative full time English Language offers in London. The teaching approach will be communicative with a focus on the four skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking). Classes will be kept to a maximum size of 16 in order to obtain maximum learner/teacher involvement. Activities will be adapted to different learning styles and the resources will vary accordingly. Teachers will use a rich variety of sources, self designed materials, interactive whiteboards, audiotapes, audio-visual tapes, computers, course books and DVDs. Direct Teaching time will be between 16 and 20 hours per week.
Entry to the English course will take place at 6 week intervals throughout the year with a minimum stay of 6 weeks.
Course content
- Writing academic essays, reports and articles: including title analysis, research, planning, organising information, structuring writing, drafting, style conventions, paragraph norms, using facts, opinions or arguments and frameworks for different essay models.
- Giving presentations: presentation techniques, planning, organisation, dealing with data, visuals, signalling, body language and rapport.
- Reading for Academic English: reading for gist, main ideas and detail, extracting data, recognising discourse markers, discourse analysis, predicting organisation, guessing meaning, focusing on paragraphs and their headings, speed reading and note-taking.
- Listening in an academic context: understanding how lectures/talks are structured, note-taking, prediction, summarizing and filtering information.
- Basic ICT skills and their use within the academic environment
- Study skills: Prioritizing, self-evaluation, reflective writing, critical thinking, independent learning and
creating the conditions for academic learning. - Preparing for University: Independent study and learning, knowing what is expected from you, skills and personal development.
Aims
The EFP/EAP programme is aimed at learners from overseas who are able to communicate in English and are preparing to study or work in an academic context. By the end of the course learners will have the opportunity to sit the IELTS test. Both teachers and learners will be aware of future learning needs, academic strengths and weaknesses.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of:
- Critical thinking, materials analysis and development of ideas
- Presenting ideas and arguments in academic writing and speaking contexts
- How to increase your ability to become independent learners by improving study skills and observe/adopt various learning styles
- Cross-cultural understanding and critical cultural consciousness
- Understanding terminology in professional and academic contexts
- Academic traditions such as methods of assessment (e.g. essays, presentations, projects, etc.), writing and speaking in a rhetorical style and understand the concept of plagiarism
Learning and Teaching Activities
This full-time course will be delivered through three classes per week, two to three hours per class. It
will comprise of a mixture of tutor-led and student centred activities. The teaching approach will be communicative with a focus on the four skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking). Classes will be kept to a maximum size of 12-15 in order to obtain maximum learner/teacher involvement. Activities will vary according to different learning styles (e.g. sensorial, audio-visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, logical-mathematical, etc). The resources will in turn vary according to learning styles: photocopies from a rich variety of sources and teacher materials designs, OHP, audiotapes, audio-visual tapes, computers, etc.
Students are encouraged to
- Actively participate (task-based, guided discovery, pedagogical games etc.)
- Regularly produce homework (e.g. essay, article and report practice)
- Demonstrate independent study skills
- Complete weekly progress tests
- Prepare and present their work (presentations individually and in teams
- Attend weekly 30 min tutorials
You can also combine your English Studies with the following short courses of 2-4 hours per week:
Music, Photography, Massage Therapy, Sports Coaching, Web Design, First Aid at Work, First Aid for Babies & Children, Tai Chi, IT, Arts & Crafts, Personal Development, Painting, Fashion Design, Digital Art, Gardening, Jewellery, Sign Language, cookery, Counselling, Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Greek, German, Accounting, Yoga, Counselling, Massage, Creative Writing, Sugarcraft, Music Recording, Fashion, Gardening and Digital Art.
Please note that entry onto some of the part-time courses is not guaranteed depending on when you start your studies.
