General Intensive English (CRICOS Code 03378G)
+ Elective: PTE/IELTS Preparation and Essential Academic Skills

*Please note that this course is available to Student Visa Holders as their main course and this course can be packaged with University, TAFE or training colleges.

20 hours of classroom instruction + 2 hours of self access and group work each week. The course runs from 1-54 weeks in length for Student Visa Holders, 1-17 weeks for Working Holiday Visa Holders, and 1-12 weeks for Tourist Visa Holders.

Course	Duration	Fee
Pathway Program	11 weeks	$330/week + $350 Enrolment fee ($3980 in total for 11 weeks)

PATHWAY PROGRAM - SAMPLE CLASS TIMETABLE

Time	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00-11:00	Course book related work including all macro-skills	Course book related work including all macro-skills	Course book related work including all macro-skills	Course book related work including all macro-skills
11:00-11:30	Morning Tea	Morning Tea	Morning Tea	Morning Tea
11:30-13:00	PTE or IELTS preparation including focus on Writing	PTE or IELTS preparation including focus on Reading	PTE or IELTS preparation including focus on Listening	PTE or IELTS preparation including focus on Speaking
13:00-14:00	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
14:00-16:00	Course book related work including all macro-skills and Academic skills.	Course book related work including all macro-skills and Academic skills.	Course book related work including all macro-skills and Academic skills.	Self access and study groups.

GENERAL INTENSIVE ENGLISH

General English prepares students so that they can use English to communicate more fluently and with confidence and accuracy in social, personal, work, study or travel contexts. The TIES General English Course has been designed for students from a range of English language proficiency levels and with a diverse range of personal language objectives. All students are encouraged and supported in developing their English language proficiency at TIES so that they leave TIES more effective communicators in English and are better prepared to make choices for their future. Students are tested on arrival to ascertain the most appropriate level of entry into the course from Beginner/Elementary to Advanced. Students may also begin on any Tuesday during school terms and study at TIES from five weeks to fifty weeks.

IELTS ELECTIVE

IELTS Preparation provides students with the skills, techniques and knowledge necessary so they can gain the band score they require. The course will also help students' proficiency particularly within an academic or professional context. An important component of the TIES IELTS Preparation elective is the use of past IELTS papers in preparation for the examination. Therefore, the elective prepares students directly for the type of test they will be taking ensuring the best possible result whilst learning the intricacies of the English language within an educational or professional framework.

PTE ELECTIVE

The purpose of this elective is to prepare students to successfully take the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A) Test. A PTE-A test can be used for a range of different purposes from migration to tertiary studies, and as such, test takers require a range of different scores to achieve success. This elective will provide a range of opportunities for students to improve their communicative and enabling skills to achieve the score that they require.

PTE-A is a globally recognised computer-based English language test that has been designed to accurately measure your English language ability. There are 20 different task types which reflects the wide range of situations and contexts in which test takers will potentially use the language, from professional and government organisations to educational institutions. For instance, one task type will test your comprehension of a lecture by requiring you to re-tell it, while another will test your ability to understand a written passage by writing a summary of the text.

ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC SKILLS

Throughout the coursework, students will be prepared with a range of academic skills like essay and report writing, presentations, group work, research and organisation and vocabulary for specific courses. Students will develop skills in listening and notetaking and will be able to speak clearly and confidently. These academic skills will prepare students for their transition to university, TAFE or training colleges.

General English is a sequential and developmental set of courses designed to develop students' communication skills and fluency in:

Speaking and Pronunciation

At TIES we will help you to speak English more fluently and coherently. We use a range of techniques to improve your pronunciation, intonation, word and sentence stress, so you feel more confident speaking English.

Listening

At TIES we use a range of authentic real-life listening examples so our students can practice listening to native English speakers as much as possible. We listen to TED talks, Music, YouTube videos, as well as the listening excerpts in the course books we use. We also arrange vists from various organisations to practice listening.

Reading

Reading is one of the best ways of improving your English level, especially in terms of learning new words and grammar forms. We use a range of course books which we supplement with articles from newspapers and the Internet to make our course as relevant as possible to our students.

Writing

Apart from the writing we do every day in our exercise books, we also have a writing focus lesson once a week dedicated to practicing this important skill. We cover a wide range of writing genres, styles and techniques throughout the General English course.

Vocabulary

One of the most important aspects of learning any language is vocabulary. We understand the importance of learning new words, and our General English course has been designed to maximise your exposure to a wide range of interesting, informative and contemporary topics.

Grammar

We also recognise the importance of learning the grammar of English at TIES. However, we don't present grammar in the typical boring 'chalk and talk' method that so many students have learned in school. Our grammar lessons are interesting, engaging, fun and based on real-life contexts.

Student Testimonials

This is what our students have to say about us

Vella Wang

From Taiwan

I studied at Townsville International English School (TIES) for six months just before Christmas 2022, and I passed my English course and now l’m able to study with JCU this year. I really appreciate the owners of the English school Kit and Yvette, and our teacher Kathy who treated us like their own kids. In TIES they not only teach us English but also all about Aussie culture. I feel like I have finally integrated into Aussie life since I started study with TIES. I mean, joining some local activities such as going to the stadium to watch a Cowboys football match or having barbies with whole class at The Strand.