Our Courses
English Language Courses
At the UCT English Language Centre, we use a learner-centred approach. It focuses on your individual needs and learning style, and gets you communicating confidently from the start. Whether you want to learn English for conversational or business use, or to complete the IELTS, TOEFL, FCE or CAE exams, there is an English course tailored to your needs.
The lessons are based on real-life themes, topics and ideas to help you engage with the language in an exciting and relevant way, and as part of our learner-centred approach, you and your classmates will have the chance to give feedback to your teacher on what kind of topics and activities you want to do in in class. You will also have regular individual tutorial sessions, where your teacher will review your work over the previous few weeks and suggest areas to focus on and techniques to help you improve more quickly. At the end of the course, you will receive a University of Cape Town certificate with your final level, how many weeks you have studied with us, and a report from your teacher. All coursebooks and learning materials are provided free of charge.
Our General English courses are ideal if you use English for everyday purposes. We offer year-round general English courses for all levels, from Elementary to Advanced, starting every Monday. With courses ranging from 20 to 30 lessons a week, we have a course to suit different budgets, daily schedules and language learning needs.
Standard
On our Standard course you will study 20 lessons a week from 9am to 1pm. The course will teach you English vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation together with the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Semi-Intensive
After studying General English in the morning, you will be able to choose from a range of electives to take for two afternoons a week, to allow you to focus on the English skills that you most want to improve.
Intensive
The intensive course takes place every morning and four afternoons a week. This course is quite demanding and is intended for students who want to improve their English as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Private
Private classes are most appropriate for students who have specific language learning needs, such as needing to learn English for a particular professional context. The timetable is arranged to suit your personal schedule.
IELTS Preparation
This course is designed to prepare you for the IELTS academic English exams, with focused training in exam strategies and techniques to allow you to maximise your potential and achieve the grade you need.
The IELTS exams are requirements for degree study at many English-speaking universities, including UCT. They are also used for immigration purposes and for professional accreditation.
These courses run all year round and exams can be taken at regular intervals at a local test centre. Courses can be combined with General English afternoon electives. Please note that these courses are subject to availability, and you need to be at least Upper-Intermediate level to join the course.
English for Academic Purposes
The English for Academic Purposes course is for students who need to use English in an academic context. The courses take place in the afternoons and is combined with a 20 lesson general English class in the morning.
There are two components: (i) Reading and writing, and (ii) Speaking and Listening. The reading and writing component trains students to produce and respond to complex written academic texts, while the Speaking and Listening component supports students’ ability to participate in seminar discussions, give presentations and understand lectures. Students need to be at least upper intermediate level to join this course.
Business English
This course is ideal for you if you mainly need to use English at work or in a business environment. It takes place in the afternoon and is combined with a 20 lesson morning General English course.
The course covers a range of business and work related topics, including speaking in meetings, giving presentations, negotiating, email and report writing, networking, making decisions and many more. Students need to be at least intermediate level to join this course.
General English and Language Excursions
ELC, in collaboration with Kurus English, are proud to offer a unique experiential learning programme, which we call Language Excursions.
The Language Excursions are out-of-classroom communication classes, where your teacher becomes your language guide. This promotes, encourages and links the practice of English through social, historical and cultural excursions.
The Language Excursions are flexible and co-ordinate with actual events in Cape Town, whenever possible and/or desirable. These excursions give you the unique opportunity of improving your English while meeting and encountering the people, the energy and the diversity of Cape Town.
