Pre-sessional English

Why study Pre-sessional English at Middlesex University?

We are proud to say that the courses have been accredited by BALEAP: the global forum for EAP professionals, which sets rigorous criteria to ensure that courses in academic English and study skills for speakers of other languages are of a high standard and provide an excellent quality of service for their students.

The course is intended to help you:

• Improve your academic English
• Develop study skills
• Build your confidence
• Learn about British education
• Make friends

Further information

For more information about these courses, please contact our representatives in your region.

Teaching

How is Pre-sessional English taught?

There are two types of delivery mode: face-to-face, and online. Please speak to our local representatives about which is best for you.

Face-to-face

On our courses taught in London, you will have 21 hours of lessons per week between Monday to Friday. If you study on our 30-week course, you will have 15 hours of contact for the first 13 weeks, increasing to 21 hours for the remainder of the programme.

The maximum class size will be 16, ensuring that you have plenty of opportunity to develop your speaking skills, and to receive individual attention from your teacher. You will also have guided library support, regular individual tutorials, additional skills classes, and the chance to earn online badges for completing academic literacy tasks.

You will be expected to engage with additional self-study resources and to develop your independent learning skills, especially to improve your academic writing. You will complete regular homework and assignments to speed up your development.

We offer separate undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The postgraduate course allows for more specialist development aligned to your future studies, and has a greater focus on independent research.

Online

Our online course is especially designed to help students who face the challenges of learning remotely, in a more isolated environment. It is for pre-undergraduate students only. Each day, you will spend 3-4 hours working through online materials individually, developing all the skills you need, but with particular emphasis on writing and reading. You will then have a daily Zoom class with a maximum of just eight students, during which your teacher will concentrate on helping develop your speaking and listening skills in particular, as well as providing specific development work targeting your individual needs. With such small groups, you receive plenty of individual attention and can make rapid progress.

Just like on our face-to-face courses, you will have 1:1 tutorials, guided library support, additional skills classes, and the chance to earn online badges for completing academic literacy tasks.

Learning outcomes

Throughout the course you will develop the following skills:

• General and Academic English
• Reading and writing, including drafting assignments
• Using sources to inform your thinking
• Group discussions and presentations
• Critical thinking
• Listening, including coping with lectures

The learning outcomes are the same for both face-to-face and online courses, and you will learn all the key skills you need to be successful on your main course.

Your learning will be developed through group work, individual work, independent study, and 1:1 support from your tutor. You will also benefit from guided research and individual tutorials.

Software

You will be using our online learning platform, myLearning, to access your modules, resources, and additional materials. Even if you are studying on our face-to-face course, you will need to bring a laptop to class.

For online courses, because all teaching, including tutorials and seminars, will be taking place on Zoom, please download Zoom before your course starts. We recommend testing the camera and microphone on your laptop or computer before the start of each session.

Depending on which country you are joining us from, you might need to also consider installing a VPN. We recommend using Chrome, but other browsers should also work fine.

Enrolment

You will receive important details on how to enrol in an email from our Student Communications team once your offer is confirmed. Once enrolled, you will be able to access all the online resources on myLearing.

You will also be provided with a student handbook which we recommend you read before you begin your studies. It also outlines the process of what to do when you're unwell and need to miss a class.

Assessment

There are a variety of assessment methods that will be used to assess your academic writing, listening skills, speaking skills, and academic reading. You will need to achieve an overall pass and you cannot fail any component.

If you successfully pass the assessments, you will not have to take another English exam, such as IELTS, and will be able to progress onto a full-degree course.

All the assessments take place in the final weeks of the course, giving you a chance to practise all required key skills.

Feedback and support

Your tutor will be available to you throughout the course to give you regular feedback on your progress, as well as to provide any additional support you might need. Small class numbers mean they'll be able to dedicate a lot of time to each individual student, as well as holding regular 1:1 tutorials with you.

You'll also have access to our course team so that you can ask any extra questions you might have.

Staff will be available to support you with solving technical issues and other problems that you might encounter. Particularly for students learning online, we know that learning from home can be a challenge, so we will be there to help you and to make you feel supported.

Entry requirements

Our Pre-sessional English courses are normally for students who don’t meet the minimum English language requirements for degree-level study at a UK university. The courses are also suitable for international students who have a good knowledge of English but wish to develop their confidence in actively using the language in an academic context.

You must have a minimum of IELTS 4.0 (with no less than 4.0 in any skill) for entry onto a Pre-sessional course. The IELTS must be UKVI-approved.

If you have a higher score you may be able to do a shorter course as outlined in the table below.

We do sometimes accept other English language qualifications besides IELTS. To find out if yours is acceptable, please contact our local representatives

Your English language qualification must be taken within two years of the start date of your course, and you will need to supply us with proof of your qualification.

If you have not taken an English test in the last two years, please contact our local representatives.