English Language Centre Bristol

GENERAL ENGLISH

Sample Timetable:

Your teachers

You will have 2 or 3 teachers a day. The teacher you have for the first lesson in the morning is your 'main' teacher and he or she will co-ordinate your overall English language programme.

Regular tests and interviews with your main teacher

Every two weeks on Friday morning you are given a short test to make sure you have understood everything you have been studying. Your main teacher will interview you during your first week and then regularly throughout your course to check on all aspects of your stay (course, accommodation and general welfare). If you have any concerns about your level, you can speak to your main teacher or to the Director of Studies.

Electives

Higher level students can choose from a range of electives on two afternoons a week, including Business English and British Life and Culture. To see a more detailed description of the Electives programmes, please click here.

During this time, when higher level students are in Electives, lower level students focus on developing conversation skills.

Homework

Given daily - at least 45 minutes' work.

Supervised Self-Study

3.45 - 4.45 pm (Monday to Thursday). The Study Centres remain open until 5.30 pm.

Because our students come from so many different countries, your main teacher will give you a personal supervised self-study programme which will help you with your own particular language difficulties. After school finishes in the afternoon, you can go to one of the multimedia / self-study centres, where you will find a teacher on duty who is happy to help and guide you.

Assessment

Teachers are constantly assessing students during class work, when they check their homework and following the regular tests. Feedback is given to students during their Friday interviews, when they are referred to the ‘Can do’ statements on the CEF chart as appropriate, or at other times depending on the urgency of the situation.

If a teacher thinks that a student should move up or down a level, he/she will discuss it with the other class teacher(s) and the student themselves before a decision is made.

If a student asks to move up a level before the end of term and the teacher thinks that they have good  communication skills  but is not sure whether they have enough grammar or vocabulary knowledge to cope at a higher level, he/she will arrange for them to do an alternative version of our entry test to help them to make a final decision. If they have weak communication skills, but a strong foundation in grammar, their skills will be monitored over a suitable period of time to see if they have reached the right level.

When students are staying longer than one term, they are interviewed by their teacher during the last week of the course. The aim of the discussion is for the teacher and student to agree which level the student should study at on the following course. The teacher knows the student’s level the best, but if there is any disagreement, the student  will be asked to take the alternative entry test.

Conversation Club

3.45 - 4.45 pm - (Tuesday and Thursday). This is optional, free of charge and is usually held in the 'Roo Bar', 3 minutes' walk from school. It gives you additional time to practise your English language conversation skills with a teacher and other English Language Centre students, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages you to speak more confidently.