Foreign Language Courses

Foreign Language Courses

COURSE OVERVIEW

  • Are you thinking about learning a new language?
  • Are you ready for a challenge?
  • Are you planning to travel?
  • Do you have a business or relations abroad?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions we are here for you.

By joining our Language Courses you will be able to learn new languages from qualified, native speaker/bilingual teachers. Our courses will help you learn the language from the very basics to more advanced levels. By speaking a new language you will be able to work or study abroad, get to know new people, new countries and cultures

LEVELS

CEFR LEVELS

Common Reference Levels (A1-C1)

Spanish

French

Italian

German

Portuguese (Brazilian)

Russian

Polish

Arabic

Chinese (Mandarin)

Urdu

Hindi

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each €250
Awarding Body Liffey College

Course Duration

Our 8-week courses are of 16 hour duration. Studying 2 hours, one evening per week can fit into everybody’s schedule.

Enrolment Intake

Courses run consecutively throughout the year with breaks for Christmas and Easter periods. This provides the opportunity for continuous classes, allowing learners to progress and move up to higher levels as their skills develop.

Timetable – TBC

  • Course Structure
  • Entry Requirements
  • Study Modes
  • RECOMMENDED BOOKS
  • LEARNER CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
  • PROGRESSION ROUTES

Course Structure

Our courses are designed to provide you with a general idea of what you might cover during the course and include typical themes, vocabulary fields, grammar, cultural content and skills work for the language and the level. The outlines are flexible rather than prescriptive, in that our teachers always plan their lessons with the specific abilities, aims and interests of the learners in their classes in mind. All of our courses are carefully structured and designed to cover a wide range of topic areas, grammatical structures and skills and include the following elements:

  • Spoken communication to build confidence in interacting with native speakers
  • Listening and comprehension skills to improve understanding
  • Grammar and sentence structure
  • Everyday language for use in real-life situations, both spoken and written
  • Core vocabulary
  • Pronunciation
  • Reading practice and written communication

Entry Requirements

  • 18 years of age (or above)
  • There is no other entry requirements

Study Modes

Campus, self- directed learning, study group. Social sport and social programme.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

The Academic Committee selected the following (per level/course offered);

  • A1 – “English File (Fourth Edition) – Elementary” Oxford University Press
  • A2 – “English File (Fourth Edition) – Pre-Intermediate” Oxford University Press
  • B1 – “File (Fourth Edition)– Intermediate” Oxford University Press
  • B2 – “English File (Third Edition) – Upper-Intermediate” Oxford University Press
  • C1 – “English File (Third Edition) – Advanced” Oxford University Press

Learners can buy the books from International Books Shop. Each book costs €40-€45 approximately (Subject to change).

It is recommended but not compulsory at this time for learners to purchase a course book (subject to change).

Our General English programmes are delivered using the Liffey College online platform/ELMS. The platform is designed to track learner progress and enables learners to follow the lessons from home even if they miss class. Learners must have a functional device to access the online platform. A laptop or tablet is recommended.

LEARNER CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

Learners at Liffey College are assessed on an on-going basis in order to continuously evaluate and record their progress throughout the duration of their stay at the college. Liffey College operates a continuous assessment policy to accommodate the learning needs of the learners completing long term courses (25 weeks).

Every 6 weeks, learners take a Progress Test covering the main language learning skills, i.e. Writing, Reading, Speaking, Pronunciation and Listening.

The Progress Tests are adapted from English File and are divided into three sections:

  • Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation
  • Reading, Writing and Listening
  • Speaking

Learners are tested on the material covered in the previous 6 weeks of class. The first two sections are completed electronically via the Liffey College online platform/ELMS, which tracks learner progress and records all of their test scores. The third section, the Speaking task, is an oral test which may take the form of an in-class oral presentation, interview (one learner or more at a time), debate or discussion, etc. Learners are able to view their scores on the online platform after completing the test.

The grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, reading and listening exercises are graded electronically/automatically by the Liffey College online system. The tutor manually grades the Writing and Speaking tasks. The Writing task is graded based on the following criteria:

  • Completion of task
  • Grammatical accuracy
  • Lexical range
  • Spelling
  • Overall coherence

The topic for the Speaking task is set by the tutor at the beginning of the week and is based on the material that learners have covered in class over the past six weeks. Learners are assessed on their speaking skills by the tutor during the class based on the following criteria:

  • Preparation for task
  • Grammatical accuracy
  • Lexical Range
  • Pronunciation
  • Fluency

Learners are also assessed internally via Weekly Progress Reports submitted by their tutors. These reports provide additional information about each learner’s performance and participation in class, their progress and eligibility for the next level (if applicable).

PROGRESSION ROUTES

By learning and speaking a new language you will be able to get access to work and study opportunities abroad, as well as immerse yourself in the language and culture while on holiday or travelling.