The Pre-Undergraduate programme is a 9-week programme designed for students who already possess a relatively high level of English but do not fully satisfy entry requirement to undergraduate and postgraduate study. The course is also suitable for those students who already satisfy the admission requirements to their chosen programme, but who wish to refresh their English language skills. During the intensive programme, students perfect their written and verbal communication, and are trained in study skills necessary for an improved performance at third level. The content of the language materials reflect contemporary issues of the business world.

Award

The Pre-Undergraduate programme an internal Dublin Business School award.

Duration & Structure

The programme is delivered over one term of 9 weeks duration. Each week consists of 20 hours of classroom delivery. Assignments and guided self-study account for a further 10 hours per week.

Aim

The programme aims to prepare advanced students of English for the linguistic demands of studying at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

This aim is achieved by:

• Ensuring the students' language knowledge, skills, and competence are commensurate with the standard required for higher-level study.
• Increasing the students' lexical range of key business terminology.
• Promoting the use of effective study skills and standard academic conventions.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme a student will be able to:

• Read authentic business texts
• Write an essay using academic conventions
• Research and produce a standard business report
• Recognise and use common business terminology
• Use compensatory techniques to cope with difficult text
• Take lecture notes effectively
• Adopt a systematic approach to assignment work
• Exploit library and IT resources
• Perform effectively in written examinations.

Programme Overview

The programme is a thematic-based integrated skills course comprising nine modules. Each module has a theme relevant to the contemporary global business environment and develops four key academic skills. The skills are Listening, Research, Academic Writing and Presentation Skills. Each skillis studied for 5 hours a week.

Subject Area Objectives

Writing

• to improve accuracy of expression
• to increase awareness of genre
• to develop business corpus
• to introduce academic conventions

Presentation

• to improve pronunciation
• to improve fluency and accuracy 
• to improve presentation skills

Research

• to appreciate the role of research in the academic process
• to empower students with greater reading efficiency
• to recognise and overcome issues of  academic impropriety

Listening

• to teach global listening strategies
• to teach micro listening strategies
• to develop the importance of note-taking skills

Learning Experience

Students come from many different parts of the world giving the Pre-Undergraduate programme a distinct multicultural dimension. English is the working language of the programme and students work both alone and together in teams researching and presenting projects to fulfil programme requirements. Class size is limited to 20 students ensuring each student receives individual attention from the lecturers. Classes take place in lecture rooms and IT laboratories. Seminar rooms and libraries are used for group work and self-study. Students are encouraged to participate fully in the sporting and social activities organised by Student Services allowing for a good balance between study and recreation.

Assessment

Throughout the programme students are assessed to ensure that the learning outcomes have been achieved and that the students are ready to progress to programmes of higher learning. Assessment involves a combination of interm continuous assessment and final examinations. Continuous assessment accounts for 40 per cent of the overall grade and consists of a research project (20 per cent), an oral presentation (10 per cent) and an extended academic essay (10 per cent). The final examination accounts for 60% of the overall grade and consists of three papers, Academic Writing, Academic Reading and Listening. Each paper is of equal weighting. All assessment tasks are individual with the exception of the research project which is a collaborative group task.

Progression

Students who successfully complete the programme are awarded pass, merit, or distinction level. Pre-Undergraduate graduates automatically satisfy language requirements for DBS professional, undergraduate, or postgraduate programmes, subject to the student's entry-level language standard.

Admission Requirements

Pre-Undergraduate applicants must possess a minimum standard of English of IELTS 5.5, or equivalent. Admission requirements vary, depending on your further course of study at DBS.

What our Students Say

Polina Pavlova Former DBS language student now enrolled on Graduate Diploma in Business Studies
“The course allowed me learn a lot of interesting things about the business and culture of Ireland. It was very useful for my language skills. Moreover, I found a lot of international friends and wonderful teachers. It was a 9 week pleasure for me.”

Programme Content

Module 1
Theme: Inter-culturalism
Listening: Discourse
Research: Methodology
Writing: Word Form
Presentation: Pronunciation
 
Module 2
Theme: Education
Listening: Note Taking
Research: Evaluating
Sources
Writing: Sentences
Presentation: Voice
Projection
 
Module 3
Theme: Media
Listening: Gist
Research: Field
Research
Writing: Paragraphs
Presentation: Emphasis
 
Module 4
Theme: Politics
Listening: Transition
Research: Fact finding
Writing: Essay
Presentation: Planning
 
Module 5
 Theme: Ideology
Listening: Detail
Research: Statistics
Writing: Presentation
 
Module 6
 Theme: Technology
Listening: Inference
Research: Using sourced material
Writing: Paraphrasing
Presentation: Main Body
 
Module 7
 Theme: International Trade
Listening: Clarification
Research: Case Study Analysis
Writing: Summary writing
Presentation: Conclusions
 
Module 8
 Theme: The Environment
Listening: Prediction
Research: Extrinsic Reading
Writing: Register
Presentation: Questions & Answers
 
Module 9
 Theme: Globalisation
Listening: Lecture
Research: Project Presentation
Writing: Editing
Presentation: Audio Visual Aids
 

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Dates
There will be two intake dates each year for this programme*:

July - Leading to commencement of a further academic programme in our autumn intake.

October - Leading to commencement of a further academic programme in our spring intake *These intake dates are subject to enrolments/demand