This course builds the essential foundations to advance you towards becoming an independent user of English so that you can communicate on familiar topics. You will expand your vocabulary, phrases, and grammar necessary for simple and short oral and written interactions. You will practice and improve your speaking (both short monologues and dialogues), listening (video clips and short presentations), reading (short and simple texts from everyday and university life), and writing.
Some of the language topics that will be covered are:
- Expanding the use of basic tenses so that you can connect present, past, and future events. This includes matching time expressions (e.g. since, yet, recently, while and shortly) with specific tenses. It also includes using the present perfect tenses to talk about recent events and unfinished time (have lived and have been living); and the three future forms (We are flying to Mumbai next week; When I’m an adult, I am going to programme computers; Let’s have a party! I will bring the drinks).
- Using modal verbs to express ability, probability, obligation and permission. This includes phrases such as: They can speak Mandarin fluently; Prices could fall; You must stop at the red light; May I borrow your cable?
- Reported speech to talk about what others have said or to write a literature review.
- Describing and interpreting data, graphs and visuals. This includes discussing trends as well as comparing and contrasting items.
- Discussing controversial topics. This includes expressing and justifying opinions in order to agree and disagree politely.
- Delivering a presentation that describes a problem and solution from work or on an academic topic as well as responding to questions and comments.
To benefit from this course, you should already be able to:
- Distinguish between the use of the simple present and continuous, the past simple and continuous and the going to and present continuous forms to speak about the future.
- Ask and respond to questions in dialogues; follow short formal talks and informal conversations; explain daily habits and routines; discuss preferences related to food and leisure; talk about individuals and groups of people; describe travel experiences, places and give directions as well as quantify amounts and use numbers related to times and dates.
This is a small-group course: The number of participants is limited to ensure greater individual attention. The minimum number of participants is 6; the maximum 10.