Origin of Course/ Examination
English Language for Foreign Students (ELFS) is a school-based course specifically written to prepare students for higher or tertiary education. Students will be awarded a Certificate in English Language Skills, validated by International Management School Pte Ltd.

General Aim

ELFS is an English Language course designed and developed to prepare foreign students for higher or tertiary education.  The course is aimed at developing students’ knowledge in applying listening, communication, reading, and writing skills set in the English Language.  Upon completion of the course, students will be competent in both linguistic and pragmatic aspects (e.g. phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, discourse/ text, functions, interactive skills and cultural framework).

Specific Objectives

Listening Comprehension (Receptive Skill Set)
Listening comprehension skills will be embedded in this course. Students will have opportunities to practise this skill set through a variety of conversational means in class (e.g. daily lessons, weekly spellings/ dictations and student’s oral presentation).  CD-ROM to aid listening comprehension will also be employed to enhance the learning experience.

Communication (Productive Skill Set)
Communication skills will be taught in this course. The course will require students to partake in an immersive environment where activities such as role plays, oral presentation, and simple debates will be employed to allow students with maximum opportunity to practise the communication skill set. Emphasis will also be placed to familiarise students with international phonetics. 

Reading Comprehension (Receptive Skill Set)
Reading comprehension skills will be employed to enhance students’ receptive skill. Students will be required to understand general and specific information conveyed in passages and articles.  The following sub-skills will be covered:

• Skimming/ scanning key information or relevant points from a text
• Guessing vocabulary from context
• Recognising rhetorical patterns (e.g. understanding lexical & grammatical cohesion devices, recognising main idea & supporting details)
• Critical reading (e.g. assessing fact versus opinion & writer intention, assessing cause and effect, making inferences)
• Interpreting pictures and diagrams.

Writing/ Composition (Productive Skill Set)
Writing skills will be imparted in this course. The curriculum comprising words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and passages will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on how to plan, organise ideas and paraphrase correctly. Students will be expected to write at least 250 words at the final level of this course. Writing descriptive, factual and argumentative essays will be gradually exposed.

Target Students/ Admission Requirements

A prerequisite guideline for each level is:

• IELTS 0 to 2.5 for the Elementary level,
• IELTS 3 to 3.5 for the Pre-Intermediate level or IMS Certificate in English Skills (Elementary) or KET,
• IELTS 4 to 4.5 for the Intermediate level or IMS Certificate in English Skills (Pre-Intermediate) or PET, and
• IELTS 5 to 5.5 for the Advanced level or IMS Certificate in English Skills (Intermediate) or FCE.

Students are required to take a Placement Test for each level to determine their proficiency.

Total Course Duration / Weekly Instruction Hours

The duration of ELFS is approximately 12 months/ 432 hours (9 hours per week) for full-time. Course duration is specified as follows: