Pre-sessional English Language
Why study Pre-sessional English Language at Goldsmiths
- This programme is more than just a language course, which is why it is longer than other pre-sessional programmes you might find elsewhere. It will increase your cultural and interdisciplinary knowledge, familiarise you with the British education system and develop your study skills.
- It is tailored to the arts and social sciences, so it’s ideal if you’re planning on studying these subjects in the future.
- The programme covers: English language, academic study skills, cultural background studies, and critical analysis.
- There is continuous assessment through regular assignments, especially listening exercises, presentations and essays.
- At the end of the programme, you receive a profile of your performance and progress, and recommendations for your future language development.
- You will gain skills within a genuine academic context; ie listening to lectures, reading academic texts, understanding academic presentations and writing essays. Guided independent study will also focus on your grammar and vocabulary development.
- You will gain confidence in academic writing conventions, including in-text citation, referencing, direct quotation and compiling bibliographies.
- You will develop your academic English through content that is challenging, dynamic, interesting, and often useful for your future studies.
- The programme encourages you to develop creative thinking along with critical thinking skills through debating and evaluating complex ideas.
If you have questions
Online teaching
For 2025, our 12-week, 9-week, and 6-week pre-sessional programmes will be offered online only. Programme details are the same, we will just deliver the course digitally.
Please see the Pre-sessional Online page for more information.
Dates for 2025
12-week course
9 June – 29 August
9-week course
30 June – 29 August
6-week course
21 July – 29 August
Fees for our 2025 courses will be announced shortly.
Accredited by BALEAP
What you will study
Structure
The 12-week, 9-week and 6-week programmes all follow a weekly timetable of 21 hours of online learning, consisting of 21 hours of work online (including three hours of guided independent study and webinars and tutorials).
There is also a series of five lectures that takes place during the final five weeks of the programme covering some key themes generic to most Goldsmiths disciplines.
Lessons are every day with some classes accompanied by recorded lectures and flipped classes.
You are also expected to engage in a minimum of 10 hours of independent self-study outside of the programme hours each week.
Modules
- Academic Reading and Writing Skills
- Academic Listening
- Academic Grammar and Vocabulary
- Pronunciation Skills
- Presentation and Seminar Skills
- Modernity
- Critical Thinking
- Research and Study Skills
- Postmodernity
- Textual Analysis
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Entry requirements
There are different UKVI IELTS requirements depending on the length of the programme you want to apply for.
See the Pre-sessional English language requirements page for details.
Learning outcomes
When you complete the programme you will have:
- Developed both independent and collaborative academic study skills, enabling you to both analyse issues and formulate questions;
- Developed your English for academic purposes and gained the ability to both listen to and communicate complex ideas to a variety of audiences;
- Developed as an autonomous learner, so that you can derive meaning from complexity using evidence;
- Increased your intercultural awareness, gained a better knowledge of Goldsmiths, London and the UK and developed your social and academic life.
This is achieved by:
- The programme concentrating on increasing cultural and interdisciplinary knowledge through independent and collaborative learning;
- Focusing on the four language learning skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing;
- The skills being practised within a genuine academic context; ie. listening to lectures, reading academic texts, understanding academic presentations and writing academic essays. Guided independent study will also focus on grammar and vocabulary development;
- Gaining confidence in academic writing conventions, including in-text citation, referencing, direct quotation and compiling bibliographies;
- Studying content with a discipline specific focus. This means that you will be developing your academic English through content that is challenging, dynamic, interesting, and often useful for your future studies;
- Developing your creative thinking along with critical thinking skills through debating, and evaluating complex ideas.
How you are assessed
The overall aim of the Goldsmiths Pre-Sessional Programme is to improve your Academic English to the level whereby you can participate in your chosen undergraduate or postgraduate programme.
You will complete formative written assignments throughout the programme.
The end-of-programme summative assessment includes:
- An analysis of sources (including a library source)
- Annotated notes on sources
- A draft of an argumentative essay including a thesis statement
- A final essay based on feedback as well as other criteria
- A joint presentation on the theme of sustainability
- A listening to summary assessment
Progression
Progression onto your degree programme will depend on achieving an overall pass mark of 50% for Postgraduate students and 40% for Undergraduate students.
Failure to achieve the required grade or not engaging appropriately with the Pre-sessional course will mean students have not met the conditions of their offer from the University and will therefore not be permitted to progress on to their degree programme.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all modules may be available every year.
Additional costs
In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.
There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments.
