10-week English and Study Skills course
The 10-week course is specifically for students who are holding conditional offers for a taught postgraduate Masters programme, but whose IELTS scores are slightly below the level required for entry.
The course provides a combination of English language and study skills, and academic courses in business-related subjects. It is designed and delivered by language specialists from English Language Teaching (ELT), and academic staff from the School of Management, so you can be sure that it will be highly relevant to your future study needs.
This page gives information for the 10-week course. There is also a 4-week English and Study Skills course. More information about the 4-week course.
Who is it for?
The course is specifically designed for non-native speakers who intend to study business-related postgraduate degree programme in the School of Management or the School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews.
Who teaches the course?
The course is taught by the staff of ELT and the School of Management, which means that students receive specialist input from highly-trained language and business teaching staff with support focused on their needs.
Course content
The overall aims of this course are to:
- improve study skills
- increase fluency in English
- introduce the participants to the University and to life in the UK in general.
The course is highly intensive and involves five mornings and three afternoons of class contact (22 hours) per week, in addition to self-study.
The morning session is divided into two lessons of 90 minutes each. One is dedicated to Academic English, the other to Business English. During the afternoons there are workshops and specialist lectures.
Academic English includes Oral Presentations where each student gives two oral presentations on business related themes. Training is given in structuring a talk, selecting an appropriate style of language, developing awareness of the audience's needs, using notes to avoid reading from a script, and using aids such as PowerPoint.
Writing trains students in the processes of producing an academic essay and an academic report including using sources and avoiding plagiarism, structuring a paragraph, organising the essay/report, academic style and discourse markers. The topics are business-related and the report includes an element of research. All work must be word processed and students are given support in IT skills, if required.
In Listening students listen to a wide range of listening materials and develop note-taking skills, work on comprehension of the message and use their notes to take part in discussions.
Business English includes vocabulary building, discussion of business themes and critical analysis of case studies. The book used in class is English for Business Studies by Ian MacKenzie.
Workshops last for two hours at a time and initially focus on critical thinking, study skills and vocabulary development. Workshops later in the programme focus on life in St Andrews.
Specialist lectures take place over six weeks given by staff from the School of Management or School of Computer Science. For two weeks the students will concentrate on Finance, for another two weeks on Management, and for the final two weeks on Marketing. These lectures aim to give students a good introduction to the kind of subject matter they will encounter on their future degree programmes.
Social programme
Excursions are arranged when possible on Saturdays. Destinations may include Edinburgh and Glasgow. Buses are provided free of charge although students may be asked to pay entrance fees to castles, museums and so on. Ceilidhs (a Scottish dancing evening), with live music from a local band, are organised during the programme. Other evening events, such as theatre trips or discos at the Students' Union are not included in the course fee. It should be noted, however, that because students on the Presessional programme live together in university accommodation, there is plenty of opportunity to get to know each other and there is never any shortage of informal social events!
Accommodation
Students live in self-catering University accommodation, close to where the classes take place. Self-catering accommodation normally involves shared use of kitchen and bathroom facilities with up to five others, although the numbers may vary. Basic kitchen equipment and utensils are provided. Bed linen is supplied but not towels. Those students whose families plan to accompany them to St Andrews must make arrangements directly with the Student Accommodation Service for accommodation during August/September. ELT cannot arrange this and it should be noted that the facilities at Fife Park are not suitable for families.
To apply for the programme, please download and complete the application form and send it to Jonathan Harvey. If you have any questions about the course, or require further information, please email elt@st-andrews.ac.uk.
See also our Dates & Fees page (the price does not include accommodation), information request form or Pre-sessional application (PDF, 667 KB).
