(Graduate English)
Who is the course for?
The course has been designed for international students who
- have already graduated in their own country
- need to improve their level of English for postgraduate study at the University of Sussex (or elsewhere in the UK)
Minimum entry requirement :
- IELTS band 4 (Lower Intermediate/PET) or equivalent for October entry
- IELTS band 5 (Intermediate/FCE) for entry from January onwards
Course description
The aims of the course are
- to improve the language and study skills needed for study in Higher Education at postgraduate level
- to prepare students for the academic culture within which they will be working.
The course will, therefore, focus on
- reading and writing academic texts, and note-making
- attending lectures and public research seminars, and note-taking
- actively and effectively taking part in seminar discussions and tutorials
- study skills and UK academic conventions
- specialist help with applications to Masters programmes
- facilitating links with academic departments within the University of Sussex
- effective use of University facilities (library, computers, etc)
The course runs full-time (15 hours per week) for an academic year during the university terms from October to June, but you can join the course in January or April, depending on the amount of English language tuition you need, and your level of English on entry. The course can be combined with Supplementary Courses in the afternoons.
For further information and advice on when to join the programme, please contact the Executive Officer.
The Lecture Series
The lectures vary from term to term, but a typical example of three interconnected lectures over a term would be 'Relations in the United Kingdom':
-
The North-South Divide
Relations within the UK, specifically between two distinct areas, the North and the South, involving a brief history to show the causes of the distinctness, and then an outline of its results, with specific mention of linguistic features. -
Them and Us or Attitudes to Authority
Relations, also within the UK, but between the people and authority, involving first a brief examination of relations between people and monarch from earliest times to the present and then how this sets the pattern for attitudes towards authority up to the present. -
Distant Relations
Relations between the UK and the rest of the world, specifically with Europe and with former colonies, involving a close look at the so-called special relationship between the UK and the US. This also entails a brief historical retrospective, so as to expose and explain the roots of current attitudes and problems.
Course Content
The syllabus is informed by the academic 'Can Do' descriptors of the Common European Framework for Languages, some of which are listed below:
| SLI Level | ALTE | Note-taking | Processing Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | C2 | Is aware of the implications and allusions of what is said and can make notes on them as well as on the actual words used by the speaker. | Can summarise information from different sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation of the overall result. |
| 4 | C1 | Can take detailed notes during a lecture on topics in his/her field of interest, recording the information so accurately and so close to the original that the notes could also be useful to other people. |
Can summarise long, demanding texts. Can summarise a wide range of factual and imaginative texts, commenting on and discussing contrasting points of view and the main themes. |
| 3 | B2 | Can understand a clearly structured lecture on a familiar subject, and can take notes on points which strike him/her as important, even though he/she tends to concentrate on the words themselves and therefore to miss some information. |
Can summarise extracts from news items, interviews or documentaries containing opinions, argument and discussion. Can summarise the plot and sequence of events in a film or play. Can collate short pieces of information from several sources and summarise them for somebody else. |
| 2 | B1 |
Can take notes during a lecture which are precise enough for his/her own use at a later date, provided the topic is within his/her field of interest and the talk is clear and well-structured. Can take notes as a list of key points during a straightforward lecture, provided the topic is familiar, and the talk is both formulated in simple language and delivered in clearly articulated standard speech. |
Can paraphrase short written passages in a simple fashion, using the original text wording and ordering. |
What else?
You will be studying on a beautiful campus within the academic environment of one of the UK's top universities. The Sussex Language Institute's Language Learning Centre offers you superb digital, multi-media facilities with free internet access and satellite TV. Together with the audio and video language learning materials, these facilities will be available to you within the centre outside of class hours. Students also have access to the University Library and will be given a Sussex e-mail address.