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Are you a student with a high-level of English? Preparing to take the IELTs, B2 First or C1 Advanced exams? Perhaps you are about to begin boarding school in the UK or at an International school? Or maybe you are already at a English speaking school and need an extra boost with your English language skills?
If the answer to any of these questions is “yes” then our Academic Skills in English course might just be the one you are looking for…

An English language course for teenagers who already have a high level of English  
You probably (and rightly!) feel that you already have a very high-level or English, but that now you are ready to take that next step up to become advanced-level user of the English language. In order for us to help you achieve this, we will be using engaging and challenging materials that stretch and push you as you look to boost your academic English language skills. As a class, you will have clear and set goals from the first lesson both in terms of your fluency and accuracy. Importantly, the classes will be fun as well as dynamic: just because you are learning at a high level, does not mean lessons should be boring!

Online learning
We are aware that you will learning from home and, for the majority of you this will be during your summer holidays, so our aim is to ensure that the lessons are as engaging as possible for you. As Whitgift spent the majority of 2020 and the early part of 2021 teaching our year-round students online through Microsoft Teams, we are confident that your lessons will be engaging and fun – even if you also have spent a lot of this year learning online! Whilst the course will be fun, that does not mean things will be easy for you!  We will be looking at various components of academic English that will stretch and challenge you: writing essays, debating, extended reading, longer listening excerpts as well as looking at academic vocabulary.

Improving your speaking skills in English
Each week has a specific, up-to-date and stimulating topic that is aimed to promote healthy discussions and develop your ability to debate. We are of the belief that a great topic is essential in motivating you to talk during lesson time and there will be lots of opportunities for everyone to communicate and offer their perspective of the matter being discussed. This may take the form of an in-class discussion, in a breakout room or in a live debate. This type of work will be particularly useful if you are preparing for the IELTs exam (particularly parts 2 and 3 of the exam) or B2 First exam (parts 3 and 4). Functional language such as giving opinions, disagreeing, asking for clarification and developing arguments will be looked at, which will mimic the two or three-way discussions that occur in the IELTs and Cambridge speaking exams.  All these skills are also essential for any student who is attending an English medium speaking school and will equip them well for in-class discussions and communication is general.

Becoming better at listening and reading in English
One of the reasons we integrate each skill – Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking -  with the topic of the week is that it provides you with the necessary context you need in order to improve your confidence – especially with unknown language. In this way, you will have both the necessary linguistic and cultural awareness to approach two skills that can sometimes be more challenging: reading and listening. We will be using texts that are longer than perhaps you have been exposed to and this will provide you with plenty of opportunities to discover unknown language and create strategies to understand what difficult words mean. Ultimately, it is our aim that you will complete the course able to read more effectively and be able take notes from an extended listening task more efficiently and accurately.

Writing essays in English  
Always linked to the theme of the week, you will have the opportunity to study the ‘anatomy of an essay’, focusing on how to write an introduction, topic sentences, coherent and cohesive paragraphs and logical conclusions. Different ways of approaching writing will take place during the three-week intensive English course, which will include following a model of an essay, collaborative writing, as well as a timed assessments.

We all know that it is essential to prepare well before we start something new. Whether that be a course, project, essay, exam or school, we all know that preparation is key. As Abraham Lincoln once said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe” and so , by familiarising and engaging with tasks and challenges that mimic the things you will undertake in the near future, you will complete our course with a new set of linguistic skills that will help you with your future studies.

 Whitgift Online Summer School will run on the following dates:

Session 1: Monday 12 July – Friday 30 July 2021

Session 2: Monday 2 August – Friday 20 August 2021

To find out more, click here or book a call with us