Skills

PRONUNCIATION

Good pronunciation is essential for making yourself understood. This course will not only help you to speak more naturally, but also help you to understand English speakers. The aim of this course is to familiarise students with the phonemes of the English language and enable them to pronounce all the sounds that are used in English. Students are taught about stress and intonation patterns to help them speak more naturally and learn the contractions that are most commonly used to make speaking more fluent. This course is perfect as part of a combination with Avalon Direct English.

WRITING AND GRAMMAR

This course focuses specifically on improving your grammar and writing skills. Students learn how to write for real situations, for example, emails, applications and filling in forms. It teaches you useful skills such as planning and checking your work and focuses on the correct language to use in both formal and informal writing. The course also teaches useful expressions and correct sentence structure so students develop the confidence to write in English. The skills students develop in this class are essential if they decide to move on to a specialised course such as an exam class, Business English or one of Avalon’s Higher Educational courses.

READING AND VOCABULARY

Do you have trouble reading in English or understanding key vocabulary? If yes, this is the course for you. Students improve their reading skills and widen their vocabulary in this interesting subject that covers a range of topics. The class uses a variety of ‘real’ reading materials to make the lesson both enjoyable and informative. Students develop different approaches for dealing with new or unknown vocabulary that helps them whether reading for necessity or enjoyment. The course also improves the speed with which students read and their overall comprehension of texts.

ACADEMIC SKILLS

Why not save time by studying grammar, reading and writing in the same class? With Academic Skills, you do. Students are also given the opportunity to develop their listening and speaking skills through discussion and debate. The course uses a wide range of topics relevant to students who want to go on to study in Higher Education at Avalon. Reading skills, including skimming, scanning and prediction are focused on. Students are given the opportunity of guided or freer practice in writing skills, learn strategies for recording and building their vocabulary and are guided through basic research techniques.

ENGLISH FOR LIFE

This course teaches English that is essential for daily life and is perfect for lower level students who lack confidence and want the skills needed to cope easily in an English speaking country. It is offered to beginner and elementary students. Grammar and vocabulary are improved through drills, dialogues, and listening exercises. You get a lot of repetition of the new language so you remember and can personalise what you have learnt and are taught practical language for real life topics and situations.
This course is a perfect introduction to the other skills classes and as an addition to the Avalon Direct English.

The students are provided with all the materials that they will need and classes last fifty minutes.