GENERAL ENGLISH: Improve your language skills

The general English course is designed to improve all areas of your English. You will work on accuracy and fluency, learn new language, and practice communicating in many different situations.

We aim to support our students, and to ensure that you achieve your full potential. The General English course takes a functional and communicative approach to language learning. Basically, we want to help you develop your ability to understand and use English in a wide range of practical situations. We integrate speaking, listening, reading and writing with particular focus on the language skills needed for everyday purposes. To help you reach your goals as quickly as possible, we strive to offer flexibility in the choice of topics and situations to meet your preferences. 

Learning Outcomes

A1, Preliminary 

• Understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases satisfying practical needs in connection with education, training and social roles.

• Introduce yourself and others

• Ask and answer questions about personal details such as possessions, address and people known.

• Interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

• Read and understand short texts on familiar topics and obtain information from common signs and symbols.

• Write short simple phrases and sentences in documents such as forms, lists and messages.

A2, Access

• Understand sentences and frequently-used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance such as basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment, education, training and social roles.

• Communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a direct exchange of information, feelings and opinions on familiar and routine matters.

• Engage in conversation to establish shared understanding about familiar topics.

• Read, understand and obtain information from short documents, familiar sources, signs and symbols.

•Write to communicate with some awareness of the intended audience.

B1, Achiever

• Understand the main points of clear standard communication on matters regularly encountered in social roles, work, school, leisure, education and training.

• Convey information, feelings and opinions on familiar topics, using appropriate formality.

• Engage in discussion in a familiar situation making relevant points and responding to reach a shared understanding.

• Deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.

• Produce a simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest, adapting to the intended audience.

• Describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give explanations for opinions and plans.

B2, Communicator

• Understand the main ideas of complex communication on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in your field of specialisation.

• Communicate with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes interaction quite possible without strain for either party.

• Can adapt to take account of the listener(s), the context and the medium.

• Engage in discussion in familiar and unfamiliar situations making clear and relevant contributions.

• Obtain information from different sources.

• Communicate clearly and in detail on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options, varying length, format and style appropriate to purpose and audience.

C1, Expert

• Understand a wide range of demanding longer texts, both written and spoken, and recognise implicit meaning.

• Use the language fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.

• Respond to extended information and narratives, follow detailed explanations and complex instructions, adapting response to audience, medium and context.

• Engage in discussion in a variety of situations making clear and effective contributions.

• Use language flexibly and understand a range of texts of varying complexity and length for social, academic and professional purposes.

• Produce clear well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

• Communicate ideas and opinions effectively, using length, format and style appropriate to purpose, content and audience.

C2, Mastery

• Understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.

• Summarise information from different spoken or written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.

• Express yourself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

Course Modules

Reading

Writing

Speaking

Listening

Grammar

Career Benefits

We currently live in a world where English is the dominant language of commerce and communication; the so-called ‘universal language’. For this reason, a sound knowledge of English is a prerequisite for studying on any academic programme as well as for career advancement.

Teaching Methods

We primarily encourage you to learn through discovery and active practice, rather than being reliant on teachers, tapes and textbooks. Tasks are designed to respond to individual learning styles and needs, and we offer constructive feedback acknowledging that making mistakes is a crucial part of effective learning. We have a wide range of resources to help you develop your skills in all language areas.

Assessment

The course is internally assessed through exams and informal assessment activities. You do not need to sit an external exam, but we strongly recommend that you do.

Transferable Skills

You will develop a degree of self-reflection and begin to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses. Key skills such as problem-solving and working with others as well as functional skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT are embedded in the course. All of these are skills that allow you to progress in education, training and employment and make a positive contribution to your community.

Progression

Progression routes depend on whether you choose to sit external exams. Successful completion of a level gives you progression to the next level. For General English we follow the CEFR which divides the language into six levels from A1 to C2. 

Awarding Body

You can sit English exams with a number of awarding bodies, such as City & Guilds, Cambridge, Edexcel & Trinity College.

Entry Requirements

There are no formal entry requirements for this course. To study with Atkins Academy, you must be at least 18 years old. If you are younger, you can apply for this programme through our sister organisation Atkins Acorns.

Course Modes & Fees

Normal, morning, 1 - 39 weeks

Intensive, morning, 1 - 39 weeks

Normal, afternoon, 1 - 39 weeks

Intensive, afternoon, 1 - 39 weeks

Part-time, day, 1 - 39 weeks

Part-time, evening, 1 - 39 weeks

Part-time, weekend, 1 - 39 weeks