English Language Skills for University Study

This sample of online learning materials introduces and practises some important English language skills needed by international students planning to study at a British university.

Assignments and academic writing in British universities
This activity will help you to assess how prepared you are for the academic writing that you will need to do at university. You will find out what different skills are involved in producing a written assignment.

Proofreading your written English work
In these activities you will practise proofreading and correcting the first part of a written assignment produced by an international student for her university course.

How to take good notes while listening
In these activities you will consider what makes a good set of lecture notes. You will also explore some useful techniques for taking notes while listening to lectures and seminar presentations.

Focusing on the language in a lecture
In these activities you will practise your listening skills using an extract from an economics lecture given at a British university. You will focus on some of the language used by the lecturer and explore the different ways in which the lecturer expresses doubt or a critical view.

Using noun phrases instead of clauses
These activities provide practice in using noun phrases instead of clauses, to help give your academic writing a more concise and formal style.

Identifying the study skills you need
These activities will help you to become familiar with a range of particular study skills for university study. You will also consider how prepared you are for independent study at a British university.

Using online concordances to improve your vocabulary
In these activities you will learn about the principles used in concordancing. You will practise using a concordancer to gather examples of vocabulary in use in order to extend your vocabulary in English.

These materials have been produced by eLanguages at the University of Southampton.