At the end of spoken component of ACS, you are expected to:
•demonstrate that your proficiency both in terms of spoken production and interaction as well as listening is CEFR C1 or higher;

•be familiar with the relevant CEFR descriptors and scales and will be able to interpret them and apply them to your own proficiency as well as that of your peers;

•have gained an understanding of some of the theoretical approaches to speech and interaction. (e.g. Politeness Theory)

•speak RP, but also recognise other major regional and social dialects of the UK.

•show awareness of register and suitable phrasing in a formal/academic setting.

At the end of the writing component of ACS, you are expected to:
•apply the conventions of English academic writing;

•formulate an effective thesis statement to shape your writing;

•develop a sustained research paper;

•use bibliography software;

•formulate and motivate an effective research question;

•present information in tables and graphs where appropriate;

•summarize, synthesize, and critically evaluate academic sources;

•cite sources appropriately;

•revise a clearly structured, lexically and grammatically correct research paper.

The first two periods of Academic Communication Skills (ACS) are dedicated to oral communication skills, offering a wide variety of assignments and activities, such as taking part in discussions and giving formal presentations on a variety of academic subjects, e.g. issues in pragmatics. Class time is more clearly focused on an academic setting rather than on the more general setting of the first year course. Activities focus on developing listening skills and fluency as well as expanding vocabulary and further perfecting pronunciation skills. Assignments include watching and listening to British English TV and Radio, and Internet programmes, as well as required reading on a number of theoretical approaches. The focus on exposure to native British English will help students to expand their receptive vocabularies. The transfer to the students' active vocabularies is aided by keeping an Academic Vocabulary Notebook.

The third and fourth periods of ACS are dedicated to the writing of a research paper. Two-weekly workshops help guide the writing process by providing instruction on specific aspects of academic writing and the opportunity for peer reviewing. The writing component of the course focuses on conducting a literature study, interpreting scholarly articles (reading skills), critical thinking, synthesizing source information, and structuring a research paper with a precisely formulated research question. Writing skills are developed in constant dialogue with fellow students by giving and receiving feedback on the various aspects of academic writing: paragraph structure, sound argumentation, correct incorporation of summaries, paraphrases and quotations and solid referencing (MLA or APA). An academic skills module introduces bibliography software as a means of archiving source material effectively.