All language teachers at Southbourne School of English have a recognised teaching qualification. Our teachers are friendly, helpful, and efficient, and are available to advise and assist students at all times.
Our Academic Principal and teaching staff are responsible for the selection of all teaching materials used in class. They are constantly researching and developing new ways of improving language teaching.
Courses
Junior courses run from the middle of June until the end of August, and closed group junior courses are available all year round. All students take a placement test on the first morning of school, allowing us to accurately assess each student’s ability and place them in an appropriate class.
At the end of the course, students receive a certificate which assesses their level according to the CEF (Common European Framework) levels.
Students take fifteen one hour lessons each week, from Monday to Friday. The maximum class size in summer is 16, and the average is 14. Courses can be of any length, from one week to a whole summer, with many students choosing to stay for a month or more. We accept students from 12 to 15 at the main school, and students from 10 – 16 at our residential centres.
Please note that students aged 9-11 may be in the junior classes at the main school and residential centres if they have enrolled as part of a group. 16 year olds may be in main school junior courses for the same reason.
Levels
Beginner • Can communicate very basic needs and understand very simple conversational language • Has a limited vocabulary for everyday situations • Can read and produce short, simple pieces of writing
Elementary (A1) • Can communicate basic needs and speak about personal topics • Has sufficient vocabulary for everyday routines • Can recognise main grammatical structures • Can write short personal texts and notes
Pre-intermediate (A2) • Can communicate in everyday situations and hold short conversations
• Can use main grammatical structures • Can write texts which include details
Intermediate (B1) • Can communicate with some confidence in a reasonable number of situations • Has good control of main grammatical structures • Can write longer texts using paragraphs with reasonable accuracy
Upper-intermediate (B2) • Can communicate effectively and express ideas / opinions in most situations
• Can discuss a range of topical issues • Can use a wide range of structures, with reasonable accuracy
• Can produce a range of written texts using the correct register
Advanced (C1) • Can express feelings, opinions and ideas accurately and precisely using a wide range of vocabulary
• Can produce the full range of texts with unnoticeable, natural cohesion
• Can understand authentic texts with little difficulty • Has a very good degree of grammatical control