General Intensive English (2 - 48 weeks)
CRICOS CODE 054514E
After your English ability is assessed on arrival at the College, you will be placed into a class appropriate to your level. Our classes range from Beginners to Advanced. You will receive twenty hours face-to-face tuition per week.
Our General Intensive English course is recommended as a first step in language learning. For those just starting out with English, General Intensive English gives you a solid grounding in grammar and you improve your social and functional communication. General Intensive English is practical and uses everyday situations in which to improve your communicative skills. Cultural situations are learned and students learn a lot of new vocabulary as well as idioms and colloquialisms. It is also a lot of fun.
Students can study in General Intensive English at a level appropriate for their language. Our levels are:
- Level 1 - Starters (Beginners)
- Level 2 - Elementary
- Level 3 - Pre-Intermediate
- Level 4 - Intermediate
- Level 5 - Upper-Intermediate
- Level 6 - Advanced
Currently we use a textbook but this doesn’t mean that it is boring. Teachers supplement the book to make it more interesting and current. If something special is happening in the city, then teachers will incorporate this into your learning program.
In our General Intensive English program you will have fun learning and practising:
- Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing
- Vocabulary, Grammar and Pronunciation
- Social and cultural expressions and information
Of course it is up to you as to how fast you can progress with your language studies. Most students take between 8 to 12 weeks to go from one level to the next.
Students are tested every 4 or 5 weeks with assessment tests across all levels. Teachers hold their own smaller class tests quite often. So depending on your work in class and class tests as well as homework, your level will be determined for the next period of study.
Trial Lessons
If you are not sure about which school to attend and are already in Australia or coming to Australia you may wish to take a trial lesson on your arrival. These are one-off ‘free’ lessons where you can decide whether you like the style of the class and want to enrol.
Individual Tutorials
ELSIS offers ‘free’ tutorial lessons each week. The lessons are for full-time students and each lesson is 15 minutes with only one student per class. Times run from 2:30 – 3:15. The lessons are decided not by the teacher but by you. This is very good practise for you to become an independent language learner. So you tell the teacher what you want to do for 15 minutes. For example you may want the teacher to help you with speaking practice or explain some grammar or vocabulary which you have studied in the morning class. Or maybe you are interested in one-on-one pronunciation practice or just some information about Australian culture. Whatever the reason this is a wonderful opportunity for you.
- Prior to the above courses students are asked to take placement tests.
- Courses run at specific times of the year for Cambridge and students must begin on start dates.
- IELTS courses run every twelve weeks and you can enter any Monday
Timetable – Sample of an Intermediate timetable
| Time | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30am to 10:00am | Introduction to the week–Speaking Reading and Vocabulary |
Homework Review Language Focus – use and non-use of articles |
Language focus – different ways of giving emphasis | Taking notes recap Vocabulary quiz |
Weekly quiz Articles Giving emphasis Verb forms Phrases for How to… Giving advice and making suggestions |
| 10:00am to 10:30am | Morning Break | ||||
| 10:30am to 12:00pm | Task preparation: Reading and Listening |
General Knowledge Quiz - speaking |
Practise – Grammar, speaking and pronunciation |
Giving advice and making suggestions | Vocabulary quiz and speaking practise game |
| 12:00pm to 1:00pm | Lunch Break | ||||
| 1:00pm to 2:15pm | Elective | Elective | Elective | Elective | Student Activity |