General English (GE)
(CRICOS Course Code 066402C)
Levels: Elementary to Upper-Intermediate
Duration: Full time – 20 hours per week
Most overseas students who commence their English studies for the first time will take the General English course.
General English (GE) prepares students for the kind of English they will need in everyday real-life situations. The General English program at Australian Centre of English will develop your communication skills and fluency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Of course, the GE course also concentrates on improving your knowledge of grammar, and increasing your vocabulary.
At ACE, we use the ‘communicative approach’ to language teaching. Communicative Language Teaching means that the most important thing about teaching you how to speak English is that everything you learn in class is to help you communicate with others. Learning English is more than doing exercises in a textbook – at ACE, there is a strong focus on speaking. Group-work, pair-work and student presentations are therefore a key part of the GE course.
Course Entry Requirements
There are no prerequisites for entry other than the requirement to be over 18 years of age.
Students will be allocated to a class on the basis of their performance in their placement test. They will progress through levels according to their performance.
The main aim of this course is to provide students with the necessary English to be able to communicate their needs and intentions to others in everyday situations.
The major aims of this course can be summarised as follows:
- to improve the general proficiency level of all students in all of the macro skills: speaking, writing, reading and listening
- to specifically improve those macro skills that may be less well developed as a result of their previous learning experience (i.e. listening and speaking)
- to increase learner autonomy allowing graduates to function within the English-speaking community
- to demonstrate to students that language learning can and should take place outside the language classroom
- to provide students with strategies to enhance learning opportunities outside the classroom
- to allow students the opportunity to explore their own skills
- to provide students with a functional level of English sufficient to allow them to move into IELTS or VET courses in accordance with their own goals and objectives
- to provide students, through a variety of experiences, with a sample of learning expectations of study in Australia
- to introduce students to a variety of study modes and methodologies for learning English
Tests and course progress
Both you and your teachers will want to know how your English is improving. Your teacher will give you a formal test every week, usually on a Thursday. You will be tested on at least one of the four macro skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and you may also be tested on grammar and vocabulary.
These test results provide useful information both to you and your teacher about how well you are doing. They also give useful information on areas that may need more work.
As you demonstrate your progress through successful test results, you will move up to the next GE level. If your results are not satisfactory, you will need to spend more time at the same level to consolidate your learning.
When you finish your course, you will also receive:
- STATEMENT OF ATTAINMENT which will state your English level using the CEFR scales, and/or
- CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE which will state your enrolment and level attended in the college.