Cape Town School of EnglishCape Town, South Africa

The courses run continuously throughout the year. Students may enrol at any time and continue for as long as they need.

Students do either a written or verbal test to determine the best group for them to join.

All core textbooks are imported and prescribed to the International requirements for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching.

All aspects of language learning are covered in the courses:

• Reading
  
• Writing
  
• Grammar
  
• Conversation
  
  The group will use a textbook and workbook but the teacher will use supplementary worksheets or readers (no extra cost to the student). Regular testing is done to determine a student's readiness to progress to the next level. While all topics from the textbook will be covered, relevant topics relating to new developments in the world are also addressed. The Beginner to Pre-Intermediate levels are suitable for those learning English. For students who have a reasonable level of English language skills, the Intermediate and Upper-Int. classes would be applicable covering more in-depth reading and speaking topics.

Business English differs from general English in that the syllabus tends to be aimed specifically at the students’ workplace needs while General English courses draw their material from the everyday world, Prior to the start of a Business English course, the trainer will give the student an interview in which he/she will establish two things: firstly the proficiency level of the student, and secondly which business functions the student needs English for (a needs analysis). A specific custom designed course will be created based on the results of both the needs analysis and the student’s proficiency level.

If the student is preparing to enter the business world, but does not yet have a job, we can offer a General Business English course that covers major areas of relevance to people in the corporate environment without a specific target area.

Course options:

1. The custom designed course
   
   a. Topics
   Depending on the results of the Needs Analysis, our course can include any of the following topics:
   
   • Meetings – writing an agenda, keeping minutes, chairing the meeting, presenting ideas, disagreeing politely, the politics of turn taking.
     
   • Negotiations – making offers and counter-offers, reaching compromises, recapping on the agreement.
     
   • E-mailing – opening and closing conventions, using appropriate tone, being concise and objective
     
   • Telephoning – mastering standard regular phrases for telephonic exchanges, using intonation to reinforce message, interpreting the caller’s tone, paraphrasing the message for confirmation.
     
   • Presentations –making proposals, using visual aids to support ideas, using the voice effectively, presenting facts and figures in a clear and interesting manner.
     
   • Report Writing – organizing material to substantiate claims or explain events.
     
     b. Core language skills.
     In order to use English successfully in the business world, students need to strengthen the core language skills, i.e. speaking, reading, listening and writing.
     
     Within the context of the given topic, the trainer will guide the students with":
     
   • Pronunciation, clarity and coherence in speech
     
   • Comprehension in reading
     
   • Organization, task achievement and coherence in writing
     
   • Separating the gist from detail in a listening task
     
     Using the topic as a guideline, the Trainer will introduce vocabulary and functional language which will be presented in a realistic context and continually reviewed until it becomes a natural part of the students’ speech.
     
     
2. General Business English course
   
   This course is an introduction to business topics that are general but topical They may include any of the following:
   
   • Globalisation
     
   • Managing People
     
   • Advertising, Marketing and Branding
     
   • Corporate Culture
     
   • Trade
     
   • Employment
     
   • The Internet
     
   • Stress in the Workplace
     
     This course will also cover the four core language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.
     

The TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is a standardised test designed to measure the English language competence of non-native speakers. Although the TOEFL is used for emigration, especially to the USA, most of those taking the test do so to be admitted to universities in which English is the medium of instruction. There are currently two versions of the TOEFL, namely the paper-based test (TOEFL pbt) and the internet-based test (TOEFL ibt). Please note though that the paper-based test has been phased out almost everywhere and can only be written in countries whose technological infrastructure is too rudimentary for a reliable computer-based test to be possible. The overwhelming majority of test takers will therefore take the TOEFL ibt.

The TOEFL is an integrated test which assesses all four fundamental skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing). In the TOEFL ibt the maximum possible score for each section of the test is 30, which means that a perfect score for the TOEFL ibt would be 120. As with the IELTS, official test scores remain valid for two years from the date of issue.

The course is designed to help students deal with these large blocks of complex material and to respond to the accompanying tasks in a competent and appropriate manner.

Students will learn how to separate main ideas from detail and how to cope with vocabulary and grammar they don’t understand. The school will give students tactics for dealing with the writing section: they will learn how to create good opening and closing paragraphs, how to organize answers so that the message is clear, and how to use signposts and signals to show the reader how the main ideas are developing,

Students will also be given guidance with the speaking section of the test and the Trainer will provide detailed feedback on problems with pronunciation, audibility, grammar, coherence and communicative competence.

The materials used on this course mirror those of the TOEFL test so that by the time students come to take the test there will be no surprises. They will know exactly what is expected of them and will tackle all sections of the test with the confidence of prior knowledge and comprehensive practice.

The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an exam designed to determine whether non-native speakers are capable of living and working in an English speaking country or of studying at a university in which English is the medium of instruction. Unlike other exams such as the TOEFL or the Pearson Test of English Academic the IELTS is an exam which comes in two forms, namely the General IELTS and the slightly more demanding Academic IELTS. The General IELTS is usually needed for emigration and the Academic IELTS is always required for further study, so it is important for students to find out which version of the test they need to write and be prepared for.

Both the General IELTS and the Academic IELTS are integrated tests which assess all four fundamental skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing). The IELTS is scored in bands ranging from band 0, the lowest, to band 9, the highest moving up this scale in half-band increments (6.0, 6.5, 7.0. 7. 5…and so on). Test scores remain valid for two years from the date the official test result is issued.

The course is intended to maximize performance on the IELTS test by ensuring that candidates remain alert, comfortable and confident through all four of the exam modules. To achieve this goal, the school has compiled a program aimed at guiding students through a series of tasks identical to those given on the IELTS test while simultaneously giving intensive coaching in sub-skills and strategies that have been proven to enhance test performance. Research has shown that students who have mastered strategies for dealing with test tasks perform better than students who haven’t.

In addition to this, the course Trainer will do continuous assessments of the students’ work and use the results of these as a diagnostic tool for further training. In this way students can be assured that the objectives of this program will be aimed at strengthening their weaknesses rather than wasting valuable time in areas in which they are already proficient.