The Presessional English courses
The Presessional English courses are produced by our own academic staff at the University and designed to help you to develop your English language and academic skills in preparation for your studies at the University of Birmingham. Some of the skills you will focus on in class are:
- Accuracy and fluency in English for academic study
- Academic reading and writing skills and critical use of source materials
- Listening to lectures, taking notes and participating in academic discussions
- Speaking skills for presentations and seminars
- Grammatical competence and strategies for building discipline-specific vocabulary
Teaching takes place in small classes with no more than 18 students to maximise class participation. Regular 1-1 tutorials are provided at least every two weeks to provide feedback on your learning. Additional language support is available during summer Presessional courses. The minimum enrolment age is 16.
You will be assessed through a mixture of coursework and final examinations.
On campus classes will be delivered face to face and online classes are delivered via Zoom.
Student views
Faysal Khaleel (Iraq)
"The variety of topics we touched upon during the course has given me considerable knowledge about the latest official statistics and the related global and local trends. I can speak, write, and read in English with much greater fluency and accuracy than before, to the extent that I am now very close to using English as the native speakers do."
Jia Sue (China)
"I developed my skills and learned how to write and reference a good essay, how to summarise and paraphrase ideas and how to collect information for an essay. It was all extremely useful for my current studies. The people on my course who had not done this Presessional found it more difficult so I would recommend doing a Presessional course instead of re-taking IELTS."
Contact Hours
The first week of your programme includes an introduction to the course and to the University’s facilities and student support services. The last 1-2 weeks of the course are usually timetabled for assessment and feedback on your progress.
Presessional courses have 15.8 hours of tuition per week. This is 19 classes of 50-minute lessons. Classes are held Monday to Friday and are scheduled between 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. There is no teaching on Saturday or Sunday.
Up to 20 hours per week should be allowed for completion of all pre and post-class activities and coursework. Timetabled online sessions will take into account the needs of students studying in different time zones.
Sample timetable for Presessional English 2022
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
9 - 9:50 am |
Reading and Writing |
Reading and Writing |
Academic Orientation |
Reading and Writing |
Reading and Writing |
10-10:50 am |
Reading and Writing |
Reading and Writing |
Academic Orientation |
Reading and Writing |
Reading and Writing |
11-11:50 am |
Listening and Speaking |
Listening and Speaking |
Academic Orientation |
Listening and Speaking |
Listening and Speaking |
12- 12:50 pm |
Listening and Speaking |
Listening and Speaking |
Enrichment |
Listening and Speaking |
Listening and Speaking |
1-1:50 pm |
Enrichment |
Enrichment |
Enrichment |
Enrichment |
Enrichment |
Enrichment classes are in addition to the taught classes scheduled weekly.
Please note there are a number of bank holidays (BH) and University closed days (CD) throughout the year when the University will be closed.
2022
Monday 19 December (CD), Tuesday 20 December (CD), Wednesday 21 December (CD), Thursday 22 December (CD), Friday 23 December (CD), Monday 26 December (Christmas Day BH - transferred from Sun 25 December), Tuesday 27 December (Boxing Day BH – transferred from Mon 26 December), Wednesday 28 December (CD), Thursday 29 December (CD), Friday 30 December (CD)
2023
Monday 2 January (New Year’s Day BH – transferred from Sun 1 January), Friday 7 April (Good Friday BH), Monday 10 April (Easter Monday BH), Tuesday 11 April (CD), Wednesday 12 April (CD), Monday 1 May (May BH), Monday 29 May (Spring BH), Monday 28 August (Summer BH), Thursday 21 December (CD), Friday 22 December (CD), Monday 25 December (Christmas Day BH), Tuesday 26 December (Boxing Day BH), Wednesday 27 December (CD), Thursday 28 December (CD), Friday 29 December (CD)
*Please note the UK government has not yet published the official England Bank Holiday dates for 2023. As a result, the Bank holiday dates given are estimates and may be subject to change.
Check the student website for Academic Term Dates - UoB.
Assessment Methods
All courses are assessed using a mixture of coursework, portfolio assessments and tests. Over the duration of your course, you will study three modules:
- Reading and Writing
- Speaking and Listening
- Academic Orientation/English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP).
Each module assesses your language skills. You will need to meet the English Language Entry Requirements for your programme with your scores in those modules.
Progression
The requirements for successful completion of your English presessional programme are:
- The achievement of the appropriate final mark for all assessed work (examinations and assessed coursework)
- A minimum of 90% attendance
- Fulfilment of the University requirements for reasonable diligence