jTELS/TELSa – Proficiency Award in English as Second or Other Language (ESOL) MQF/EQF Level 4   – 14 ECTS – Equivalent to C2 of CEFR

• The course is designed for pre-tertiary students who wish to gain access to a University, as well as tertiary students and adult individuals who, for reasons relating to educational or work opportunities or other personal reasons wish or need to gain a certificate which represents their actual level of English.
• Total Qualification Time is approx. 350 hours, split up as follows:
  • 100 ‘guided learning’ hours (i.e. contact hours)
  • 234 hours – active self-study
  • 16 hours – Assessment
• The design of the course is based on a ‘continuous-improvement’ process, with interconnected components in each of its six modules.

Entry Requirements:

Learners joining the course will need to provide proof of successful completion of a recent MQF(MFHEA) accredited course at  Level 4 – Advanced Award (13 ECTS) and/or sit a (standardised) Placement Test which will determine their actual current level of performance.  [‘Recent’ certification applies to courses run not more than 12 months prior to course commencement of the Proficiency Award in English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) course.]

A learner joining this course should be able to do all the following things that a student in a Level 4 course (Advanced Award – 13 ECTS) is able to do, besides also demonstrating competences targeted at lower levels:-

– discuss in detail issues related to success, including how to build a motivated, successful team

– talk in some detail about his/her favourite paintings and architecture,

– discuss problems of society, and possible solutions to problems

– participate in discussions about conservation, sustainability and habitat protection,

– talk about events and issues in the news, and how they affect people and companies

– discuss risks in life, including dangerous sports, as well as changing jobs etc.

– compare/contrast various forms of education and individual schools,

– discuss various types of humour, including subtle forms, such as sarcasm,

– Understand various communication styles, including direct and indirect , as well as formal and less formal,

– discuss issues relating to quality of life, work-life balance, home environment,

– understand and discuss ethical issues, such as ethical issues like civil disobedience etc.

Programme Objective:

This course focuses on maintaining and developing further the learners’ competence in the four skills of Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, ensuring that they achieve a level of competence which allows them to use the language fluently, with near-native ease, demonstrating mastery and flexibility of language structures, functions and notions which enable him/her to add subtleties to the language. 

Additionally, the course aims to foster development of/refine language skills needed for further study, work and leisure, and

Encourages consolidation and further development of methods of learning which help learners build up the knowledge, skills and attitudes (i.e. Communicative competences) they need to become more independent in thought and action so as to further develop a variety of techniques for promoting creativity in their own output.

By the end of the course, learners at this level will be able to ….

– understand  and interpret with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, complex texts, such as specialised articles and literary works, as well as colloquial literary and non-literary writings,

– appreciate subtle distinctions of style in a piece of written language, and identify implicit as well as explicit meaning,

– understand virtually any kind of spoken language, even specialised lectures and presentations, even when delivered at fast native speed and when employing a high degree of colloquialism, regional usage or unfamiliar terminology,  

 – use a variety of techniques for promoting clear understanding in their speech and writing,

– summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation,

– write clear, smooth-flowing, well-structured text in an appropriate style, providing an appropriate and effective logical structure facilitating location (by reader) of significant points, 

    – write clear, smooth-flowing, complex reports, essays or articles which present a case or give critical appreciation of proposals or literary works, making use of  an effective logical structure to help the recipient notice significant points,

– express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently, effortlessly, and precisely, with unhesitating flow, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations,

– take part effortlessly in any discussion, expressing themselves fluently and conveying finer shades of meaning precisely. 

– backtrack, while speaking,  and restructure around any difficulty of formulation with such ease that other speakers are hardly aware of it,

– present clear, smooth-flowing descriptions or arguments in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure which helps the listener/s to notice significant points,

– demonstrate a good command of a very broad lexical repertoire, including idiomatic and colloquial language, showing awareness of connotative levels of meaning,

– display correct and appropriate use of vocabulary, whilst maintaining consistent grammatical control of complex language, even while his/her attention is otherwise engaged during speech,

– vary his/her intonation and place sentence stress correctly in order to express finer shades of meaning,

– demonstrate full appreciation of sociolinguistic and sociocultural implications of language used by native speakers and can react accordingly,

– appreciate and signal register shifts

– demonstrate great flexibility in reformulating ideas in differing linguistic forms so as to give emphasis, differentiate according to the situation or speaker, and in order to eliminate ambiguity,

– intervene appropriately in discussion, exploiting appropriate language in so doing, and can initiate, maintain and end discourse appropriately with effective turn-taking,

– provide elaborate descriptions and narratives, integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion,

– create coherent and cohesive speech, making full and appropriate use of a variety of organisational patterns and cohesive devices

– demonstrate mastery of grammatical structures, functions/notions covered up to Level 4 Advanced Level, which s/he is able to use effortlessly and a level of flexibility that enables him/her to add subtleties to the language as suggested in the above points.

Additionally, learners will be able to …

– identify and establish an after-school learning programme (by way of recalling, recording, recycling and/or activating earmarked structures) targeting a variety of issues covered during guided-learning hours.

The above-indicated course objectives are mirrored in the overall aims of the relative syllabus for the TELSa Level C2 examination which has been targeted by way of assessing learners’ progress during the course, and proficiency at course termination. Assessment during the various stages of the course is meant to endorse candidates’ competence in the four language skills, whilst also targeting their ability to use the language fluently, accurately and appropriately.

Learning Outcomes

 The learner will be able to:

1. pursue further studies outside of the classroom, on his/her own initiative, using memory strategies, such as ‘distributed practice’ where he/she is able to determine essential information, establish patterns and ‘chunk’ information,
2. establish goals in order to consolidate his/her language knowledge and to hone targeted language strategies so as to ensure further development in his/her communicative competencies and accelerate his/her learning,
3. plan and manage time, prioritizing as necessary,
4. seek help as and when necessary, and
5. evaluate his/her own development, plan future development and establish goals through reflection and self-assessment in line with prescribed learner outcomes (See Learner Outcomes document), regular feedback from the teacher and peers, and regular formal assessment (i.e progress tests)

To apply for the next available intake or to register your interest for the programme, kindly contact us on  info@esatqualifications.com