Our Specialist English Courses
International House Bristol offers Specialist English Courses that include DVD-making, Drama, Journalism, Banking and Finance and many other possibilities. These courses offer you the chance to practise your English while learning other skills and collaborating with your fellow students. The courses are fun, practical and ensure maximum exposure to the kind of English you need for both work and leisure.
- Business English for Young Professionals course - This is the ideal course if you are doing a business related degree at university, are looking to start or have recently begun your career. This course can also assist you if you are about to start an MBA programme.
- Business English for Executives course - IH Bristol's Business English For Executives course will look at areas ranging from participating more effectively in meetings and presenting economic trends to entertaining clients after a long day.
- Banking and Finance course - Our Banking and Finance course builds on your existing knowledge of the world of commerce while expanding your knowledge of English.
- DVD-making course - Our DVD-making course provides you with extensive English language practice by engaging you in the enjoyable and creative process of producing short video clips.
- Drama course - On our Drama course, you work on pronunciation, stress and intonation plus the necessary dramatic skills to put on a performance of a musical drama.
- Journalism course - Our Journalism course takes you through some of the key components of English-language newspapers and you collaborate on a project to create your own paper.
Business English For Young Professionals
Being able to communicate effectively in English in our constantly changing business world can be challenging. But after finishing IH Bristol's Business English for Young Professionals course you'll come away able to speak and write in English more confidently, effectively and fluently. This course will improve your chances of success in today's competitive job market. This is the ideal course if you are doing a business related degree at university, are looking to start or have recently begun your career.
During this course you will:
- Improve your ability to take part in meetings
- Learn to write e-mails more quickly
- Expand your knowledge of key business terms
- Become a better negotiator
- Write a CV that will stand out from all the others
- Be able to give an effective presentation in English
- Become more confident with interviews
The course also looks at:
- Entertaining clients and visitors
- Business case studies
- Current business topics and trends
- Cross-cultural issues in business
- Communication strategies
| Dates | Duration | Prices | Notes |
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Monday June 14th 2010 Friday June 25th 2010 |
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Monday January 3rd 2011- Friday January 14th 2011 |
Business English For Executives
Developing strategies is key to success in business. The same is true when it comes to the art of communication. Clear, confident communication skills are a must in the business world of today. At the end of this intensive course, you will speak with more confidence, write with more ease and be more competitive in today's marketplace.
During the course you will:
- Develop sound communication strategies
- Speak in formal and informal situations with confidence
- Expand your knowledge of business issues.
- Become a more successful negotiator
- Be able to deliver presentations with more self-assurance
- Become skilled at business correspondence
The course also looks at:
- Entertaining clients and visitors
- Business case studies
- Current business topics and trends
- Cross-cultural issues in business
- Authentic business reading and listening activities
| Dates | Duration | Prices | Notes |
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| Monday April 19th 2010 - Friday April 30th 2010 |
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Monday May 17th 2010 Friday May 28th 2010 |
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| Monday September 20th 2010- Friday October 1st 2010 | |||
| Monday October 18h 2010 Friday October 29th 2010 | |||
| Monday November 15th 2010 Friday November 26th 2010 | |||
| Monday January 17th 2011- Friday January 28th 2011 |
Banking and Finance course
Our Banking and Finance is a specialist English course that introduces students to the world of money and international trade in the UK. Through a series of classes and visits to financial institutions, the course covers everything from day-to-day personal banking through accounting practices to investment strategies.
On the Banking and Finance course, you will be able to apply your existing knowledge of commerce while expanding your awareness of both the practices in use in the UK and the English language needed to talk about them.
DVD-making course
This is an English course, for individuals or closed groups of students in which the students get practical experience in making and editing video clips which are eventually made into a DVD.
Each lesson focuses on a particular area of production skills such as storyboarding, dialogue and lip-synching with songs and helps you to acquire these skills through English. Each lesson also has language input of relevant technical vocabulary and phrases needed for the sorts of interpersonal communication that the tasks require and makes direct use of professional television and film material.
During this English course, you produce an instruction video, an advert, a dialogue, an interview and a pop video for a song of your choice, which you present to other students in the school on the final day of the course.
Course overview
| Day | Video Skill | Language / Language Skill | Viewing Material | Project | Computer Skills |
| Day 1 | Basic camera operation, precautions. Important parts of the camera. Establishing team roles. | Instructions / PrecautionsBasic group cooperation language. | In-house made instruction video for the camera and software. | Make instruction video for other gadget: Phone / camera / can opener / umbrella / dictionary | Basic uploading / use of the storyboard system forediting clips |
| Day 2 | Storyboarding / video planningMovie narrativeBasic framing / camera angles | Adjectives and expressions typically used in advertisements. | TV commercials for new products: Compare two different TV commercials. | Make TV commercial for unusual food products: cereal bars, cakes, etc. | Practise uploading, editing / use of the storyboard system |
| Day 3 | Framing. Picture composition. Awareness of shot types | Names of shot types. Clauses of reason and purpose. | Dialogue from Lord Of The Rings / The Island | Learn and plan a short humorous dialogue, Yoghurt Dialogue to be shot over two days | Familiarising with editing techniques. Working from the script. |
| Day 4 | Continuity. Shooting pick-ups (re-shooting a parts of a previous days work). Re-dubbing where soundtrack quality is poor. | Film set jargon, words and phrases typically used in the film and television industry. | Previous groups versions of the Yoghurt Dialogue | Finish shooting the dialogue that was started on Day 3 | Editing dialogue. Applying new soundtrack of re-recorded speaking (over-dubbing) |
| Day 5 | Camera movement: zooming, panning, tracking. Planning a series of shots to make up an extended video clip. | Language used to express relative quality and quantity. | Two pop video clips to be analysed with a checklist of different components. Shot length, number of wide / medium / close-up shots | Start planning and filming a pop video clip for a song of their choice to be completed over next two days. | Applying music to a soundtrack. Removing sound from live video. Fine adjustment of shot length. |
| Day 6 | Special effects: use of green screen, speech bubbles, lighting effects, slow motion, speeding up video. | Sequencing of steps in a procedure. Following written instructions. | Pop video clips from previous groups. One more commercial pop video | Continue pop video project. Introduce more advanced elements. Focus on lip synching scenes | Lip synching. Special effects: slow motion, speeding up video, green screen. |
| Day 7 | Final day of shooting. Completing a project to a deadline. | Use of modals of obligation: Rule expressions.Language of presentations. | Pop video of students on the course made by the course teacher. Spoken presentation to introduce the video. | Complete pop video. Write presentation to read out when introducing the pop video at the talent show. | Completing a project to a deadline. Creating DVDs containing all previous projects. |
| Day 8 | Delivering spoken introduction to a video presentation.(Optional: filming parts of a live event) | Listening / Speaking practice. | Presentations of all groups on the current video course. | Present video. (Optional take video of other parts of the talent show). |
Drama course
This is a specialist English course, for individuals or closed groups of students in which the students get practical experience in rehearsing and staging a musical.There are a number of musical productions which you can perform but on the most recent specialist drama courses the musical has been "Grease". Groups of 10 - 20 students have successfully staged a twenty-minute version of the musical.
Lessons focus on choreography, pronunciation of song lyrics, acting, and related language input areas. The drama courses are overseen by professional drama and dance teachers who have an awareness of both the students' linguistic needs and production issues.
You will have the opportunity to sing, dance and act and on the final day you will take part in a live performance in front of the rest of the school.
Course overview
| Day | Drama Focus | Skills | Materials | Tasks / input |
| Day 1 | Starting to look at the script and to focus on the roles that they will be performing at the end of the course.Analysing the way in which the characters deliver their lines. Game-based activities are designed to allow more confident students to show what they are capable of. This will play a role in the selection of students for specific roles. Homework: learn your part for tomorrow! | Lots of speaking as they break the ice with each other and get familiar with what they are going to be acting out. Listening to the film dialogue and the songs. This is quite casual at first but will become more focused and intensive as the lesson progresses. Writing summaries of the plot which helps them to select the most important scenes and to identify why they are important. Reading each others summaries of the plot. | Scene Scripts DVD Handouts for Warm-up games and Drama games | Warm up games: (focusing on getting people to perform and feel comfortable being the centre of attention)Adjective namesPiggy in the middleFruit bowlAnyone whoTrust circlesTrust ObstacleTrust launchDrama games: (expanding on the idea of performing)Adding to the improvGuess the character mimeChoose 3-5 scenes from the film and create a short summary of the plot. |
| Day 2 | Mini-auditions to select students for roles. Singing songs from the film, solo and as a chorus. Acting out sections of dialogue in character. Different combination of students will be used here.Choreographing the opening movement piece using blue backdrop. | Again, lots of speaking is needed both In and out of character. There is a focus on pronunciation, as the lyrics have to be comprehensible and the dialogue has to make sense.Reading is mainly done as reading aloud, which can be quite daunting but should lead to students learning their roles and not needing the text. | Lyrics for all songs to be sung Scenes 1, 4 and 8Handouts for Warm-up gamesDVD | Vocal warm-up:Shake out Chewing gum Breathing/humming exercises Reflected sounds Londons burning Read through Movement games: Traffic lights Different mediums/slow and fast motion Character wake-up/meeting with Grease track |
| Day 3 | Working with blue sheets. Looking at how these can create the idea of the sea. Creation of a seaside tableau and adding on noises. Direction of first scene: Danny and SandyChoreographing of movements for the chorus parts. Finalize dance and perform. | Their listening here is partly for detailed instructions and partly to see how well they have created the seaside scene. They also watch more of the DVD in detail and focus on meanings of lyrics. They will need to write down what they see .Read through of scene 2 and checking understanding. | Matching meaning: vocabulary from the song DVD Scene scripts | Warm-up games: TopicsDoorways Change the space Movement warm-up: Octopus Freeze-frames of movements from the song |
| Day 4 | Do a run through of scenes rehearsed so far. This should include vocal work on the songs and movement work on the choreography.Dialogue repetition to help with pronunciation and improve comprehensibility. | The speaking and listening skills are starting to come together now as students have to react to one another in character and out of characters for making suggestions for improvement or changes. Read through of scenes 3 and 4 focusing on the meaning. | Scenes 3 and 4 plus activities to check if students can follow language used.DVD | Warm-up games: Anyone who in character Musical statues with Grease soundtrack Walk past with central gesture (individually) Vocal warm-up Shake out Chewing gum Breathing/humming exercises Reflected sounds Londons burning Read through |
| Day 5 | Choreographing the dances for Sandra Dee and Greased LightningLots of singing, some of it solo depending on strength of voice and confidence Choreography of dances for the two scenes | As the students have to negotiate what they want in the choreography, there is a lot of speaking and listening needed this session. The two groups also need to comment on each others work.Both groups, Pink Ladies and Thunderbirds, need to read through the scenes and check understanding. | DVD Scene scripts Handouts | Warm-up Games: Shake out Plasticine Atoms Musical machine Concentration Game: Pass the pulse |
| Day 6 | Students are now looking at how the production will look. They will need costumes and these need to be brought in tomorrow. Movement of rollercoaster . Choreography of Youre the one that I want. Practise singing Youre the one that I want. | Reading through scenes 8 & 9. By now, students should be used to the read-throughs and it should be possible for them to answer fairly detailed questions about what they have read. Again, lots of negotiating so lots of speaking and listening. | DVD Scene scripts | Vocal warm-up:Breathing/hummingScalesTeach Doe, a deer from Sound of Music3 scale notes reflected back by others |
| Day 7 | This is a mini-dress rehearsal, so the students should be getting fully into character for the first time. Resolving difficulties with costumes, checking exits and entrances and other stage business with furniture, etc. Assigning somebody to help Sandy with her costume change between scenes 7 & 9. | It is hoped that by now everybody knows their lines, so the emphasis is on speaking and listening, not on reading. | Warm-up Full-body warm-up Breathing / humming Summer Nights | |
| Day 8 | Full dress rehearsal. This gives the students a chance to run through the whole performance before the audience arrive. It must start promptly and it is good to have students there to help with setting out chairs, setting up the sound system, posting the running order, checking costumes, etc Performance! | Authentic production of English before a live audience. | Scripts in case of nerves Lyrics | Warm-up:Choose the two warm-ups which best suit the group and use these before the dress rehearsal. |
Journalism course
This is a specialist course, for individuals or closed groups of students in which you get practical experience of producing a class newspaper in English, incorporating many of the typical features of an English-language newspaper.
Typically, students on a journalism course will study English headline patterns, editorials, lead stories, sports writing, gossip columns and horoscopes with refernce to both print and electronic media. You will gain an awareness of the grammar of English headlines, the stylistic components of various article types and many of the words and phrases commonly used in British journalism.
At the end of the two weeks, your work is presented to other students in the school in the form of a class newspaper project.