Information for students

No, RefugEAP is not primarily an IELTS course (although many of the skills you learn on this course will also help you with IELTS).

Module 1 of RefugEAP is a pre-university academic English course, which focuses on helping you reach the level of English and academic skills you need to enter university. It will focus on certain academic skills which are not included in IELTS, such as: finding and using academic sources in your writing; referencing correctly; writing longer essays; giving academic presentations; listening to lectures; reading academic articles. This is much closer to authentic university tasks than IELTS tasks are. If you feel you need an IELTS preparation course instead of an academic skills course, RefugEAP probably isn’t the best course for your needs.

However, in Module 2 of RefugEAP, you will have an opportunity to attend some IELTS workshops if you need to take an IELTS test to demonstrate your English level when applying to university. You can only attend Module 2 once you have successfully completed Module 1.

No, RefugEAP is not primarily a language course. The main focus of RefugEAP is academic skills to prepare you for university in the UK. There is a little bit of language work in the classes, but you are expected to do most of this in your independent study tasks and in any additional self-study (linked to your study goals in your personal development plan). If you feel you need a language course instead of an academic skills course, RefugEAP probably isn’t the best course for your needs.

To receive an attendance certificate, you need to attend at least 80% of classes and complete the majority of the independent study tasks. Also, to keep your place on the course, you need to keep in regular contact with us to let us know when you need to be absent, and give us a reason.

The independent study tasks make up 50% of the course content and learning. They are a compulsory part of the course, helping you:

• cover all of the course content;
• prepare for the upcoming lessons;
• improve your level of English more quickly;
• make progress towards your personal goals on your personal development plan;
• prepare you for the study style at UK universities.

We know that some students find it challenging doing independent study, so we will do everything we can to support you in this. However, if you know now that you cannot commit to spending 3-6 hours doing these tasks each week, RefugEAP probably isn’t the best course for your needs.

Please get in touch with us if you cannot access a computer or don’t have adequate internet access. We work with a charity called Screen Share, which has a small number of laptops which it can offer to RefugEAP students who are in real need of one. We also work with the National Databank to provide data SIM cards to students who can’t otherwise access adequate internet.

Don’t worry about this at this stage. We work with organisations who can help you with this.

We understand that students may have unexpected challenges throughout the course. We will always try to support you to enable you to continue with your studies.

If you don’t have a clear idea of your current English level, you can roughly check your level using the online Cambridge English Language Assessment before you fill in the application form. That way, you can let us know in the application form what your approximate level is. To have the best chance of benefiting from this course, your level should be Upper-Intermediate (IELTS 5.5-6.5 / CEFR B2). If your level is lower than that, we recommend that you work on improving your level of general English first.

• Useful resources to help you in your self-study (Word, 130kb).

When you have completed the application form, if you meet the criteria for the course then we will invite you for an online initial assessment. This will last for 1 hour and will test your level in more detail.