ESOL Support

For students where English is their second language, our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programme focusses on building the students’ English skills.

If a student needs additional English support, this is built in to their normal timetable. None English speaking students attend one or two ESOL lessons a day, in addition to their English lessons and for the remainder of their timetable, they are in mainstream classes doing their subject options. As their English improves, this drops to one ESOL lesson a day, and then we gradually reduce it until ESOL is no longer needed. We follow the Cambridge ESOL programme which most students are already familiar with, as it is used world-wide, and our testing is in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

After School IELTS Preparation Courses

We also run IELTS preparation classes for all ESOL students. These classes are offered in the afternoon from 3:30-4:30 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, to avoid clashes with other subjects. In some cases, these classes are compulsory as they form part of the students’ study programme.

What is IELTS?

The IELTS test has played a key role in language testing for study, work and immigration purposes for over 25 years. IELTS is accepted by more than 9000 organizations around the world including universities and employers in many countries, as well as by professional bodies, and other government agencies. It is also used for language testing for NZ immigration and for migration to other countries, including the UK, Australia and Canada. More than 3 million IELTS tests are taken annually in over 140 countries.

Wentworth College believes that our after school preparation course will be highly beneficial for advancing the ESOL students’ English language skills as well as improving their understanding in their other subjects. Students will work mainly to increase their word bank to achieve high marks in the IELTS exam which they may need if they want to attend universities in or outside of New Zealand. They will be given a vocabulary test every day to assess their knowledge, and students will be challenged by a variety of activities where they have to be creative.