University Centre for Academic English (UCAE)
All teaching in Alliance MBS takes place in the English language. There are no facilities for the presentation of teaching material or tutorials in any language other than English. All students are therefore expected to have attained a sufficient standard in English to enable them to understand the teaching material and to be able to effectively communicate with others. If you are at all concerned about the standard of your English, particularly if you think it will hinder your progress on the programme, you should discuss this with your Programme Administrator, or Academic Advisor.
To help you, the University Centre for Academic English offers a variety of English language courses throughout the year - before and during your period of study at Manchester. The Centre also provides support with in-sessional support classes in academic writing/listening and speaking/pronunciation and academic writing consultations.
As well as offering a wide range of courses and services for international students for whom English is not a first language, the University Language Centre Centre also provides courses and language learning resources for students from a wide variety of disciplines wishing to include a modern language element within their studies.
Offered as part of the University Language Centre’s institution-wide language programme (LEAP), these courses are available to students from across the University and may be studied on a credit or on a non-credit basis to complement your degree. Some are general language courses, and others are designed for special purposes (that is, for scientists, medical students and business students). If taken for credit, language courses are free, but there is a small additional charge if you take them as an ‘extra’.
There is a wide range of languages offered, ranging from the main international languages to a number of less-widely taught languages.
For more information on the full range of languages and levels that are available, please consult the University Language Centre - LEAP courses page.
If English is not your native language, you may wish to enquire about the wide range of credit bearing and non-credit bearing English courses available through the University Centre for Academic English.
International students who would like advice on how they can improve their academic writing are encouraged to make use of the one-to-one writing consultation service. Around 500 individual sessions are held per year and these are free of charge.
Timetabled in-sessional courses for international students, covering areas such as academic writing, academic speaking, pronunciation and grammar are also available at no cost to students. Writing is delivered on a broad disciplinary specific basis: Engineering and Physical Sciences, Life sciences, Medical and Human Sciences, Business-related disciplines, Humanities.
Please refer to the Academic Support Programme section of the UCAE webpage for more information.
Face to Face - This is a reciprocal language learning scheme, in which students can meet with native speakers of the language they are learning. International students find that this is a good way to meet home students and to become more integrated into the University. Home students can prepare themselves for study abroad by finding out about their partners’ home universities and cultures. For more information, please enquire at the UCAE reception.
Tandem Programme - This programme is similar to Face to Face, but is more formal and provides credits which count towards your University degree. It is fully monitored, assessed and supported via practical workshops. For more information please refer to the Foreign Languages section via the link given below.
Open Learning Facilities - The University Centre for Academic English’s open learning facilities, situated in the Samuel Alexander Building, offer:
- A well-stocked library of materials in text, audio, video, DVD and CD-ROM formats
- Materials in some 70 languages
- A suite of TV/VCR presenters fed by a range of satellite and terrestrial channels
- A suite of dedicated multimedia PCs for computer aided language learning
- Support and advice for learners from expert staff and through on-line resources
A full guide to the University Centre for Academic English’s courses, services and its language learning resources is available at: