Rockford College

RTO Code: 45650

CRICOS Provide Code: 03882C

The General English course is designed to prepare students for conversation, everyday situations and daily interactions that take place when traveling or living in an English-speaking country. Students learn and practice the four macro-skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking in an interactive environment. Levels of difficulty increase over the duration of the course to assist students to develop their skills and to be more confident and fluent in English.

• Age: 18 and above
• Nationality: Students come from a range of overseas countries.
• Aims: The target group is seeking to develop their English language skills to be able to communicate effectively in a range of situations
• Experience: The target group may have little or no understanding of the Australian way of life or cultural expectations.

The course is structured into 6 levels (Starter, Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced). Each of the levels has a duration of 10 weeks (the study period) and the course in total is 60 weeks. The specific outcomes for each level are detailed in the section of this curriculum document on course outcomes.

• Students commence at the level according to their current ability. Where a student is having difficulty, they may be placed at a different level (where possible) or provided with additional support as per the Teaching and Assessment Policy and Associated Procedures.

This course is divided into multiple levels, general outcomes for each level are as below:

Starter (level 1)
Completion of the starter level will enable students to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and basic phrases. Students will be able to introduce him or herself and others, as well as ask and answer questions about personal details. Students will also be able to interact in a simple way when the other person speaks slowly and clearly and repeats or clarifies information as needed.

Elementary (level 2)
Completion of the Elementary level will enable students to understand and use sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (for example, basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Students will also be able to communicate in situations requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.

Pre-intermediate (level 3)
Completion of the pre-intermediate level will enable students to understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure and other familiar situations. They will also be able to write simple, connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest, as well as describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and give brief reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Intermediate (level 4)
Completion of the Intermediate level will enable students to understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics. Students will be able to interact with some fluency and spontaneity, making regular interaction with native speakers relatively easy. They will also be able to produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a current issue, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Upper intermediate (level 5)
Completion of the upper- intermediate level will enable students to understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, as well as recognise implicit meaning. Students will also be able to express themselves fluently and spontaneously, use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. In addition, students will be able to produce clear, well-structured and detailed text on complex subjects and demonstrate controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

Advanced (level 6)
Completion of the Advanced level will enable students to understand with ease virtually everything heard or said and can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Students can also express themselves spontaneously, fluently and precisely and differentiate finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

Up to 80 weeks (60 weeks study and 20 weeks holidays)

(Each of the levels has 10 weeks of study period and 4 weeks of holiday)

This course will be delivered 20 hours face to face in class.
Delivery Locations:
Level 3, 633 Princes Highway Rockdale NSW 2216
Level 1, 507 Princes Highway Rockdale NSW 2216

• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Participate in the English Placement Test and an interview.
• Participate in the Course Entry Requirement Interview.
• International Students must meet the Student Visa (SC500) requirements.

This course may have various timetables which may vary from term to term.
Students will be notified of their class timetable prior to the commencement of each term.
Please contact our admission team for further information.
E: admissions@rockford.edu.au

Rockford College believes in providing quality education to each student. We offer and deliver high-quality teaching that helps students to succeed in their learning goals.
Our teachers are highly qualified and experienced professionals, and our teaching materials are practical, up-to-date and relevant to the current context.
Rockford College is fully equipped with infrastructures required to complete students teaching in an effective manner. Students are required to bring their own laptop with Office 365 (or similar program) to all classes. These costs are not included in the course fees. Specifications for laptops and associated costs can be found in the resource’s requirements segment below.
Our experienced qualified teachers will outline the curriculum and assessment requirements at the beginning of teaching of each level.
Students will be provided with the list of supplementary resources applicable to each level prior to commencement of the class which they can purchase directly.
During the class, each student will be provided with learning resources such as student learner guide, power point presentation, formative activities, and where applicable simulated case studies, policies and procedures.

Each level involves a combination of formative and summative assessment tasks as below:
Formative assessment
Each level includes mini-tests to be completed in Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 that test pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and functional language. Mini-tests are both written and spoken. Following the completion of the tests, teachers will review the results with students and provide feedback to assist students to assist them to develop their skills and/or feedback on gaps in mastering the language.
Summative assessment
Each level includes two tests. First in week 5 and next and final in week 10. These tests test pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and functional language. Tests are both written and spoken. The assessments are designed to assess whether students have achieved the required levels, therefore students must achieve a 50% pass mark for both tests.
Teachers total each student’s test results and prepare an overall achievement grade for each student. This is recorded in the record of student progress. If the student has achieved at least a 50% pass mark they may progress to the next level.
Please contact our admissions team for further information.

Email: admissions@rockford.edu.au

Students are required to bring their own laptop with Office 365 (or similar program) to all classes. These costs are not included in the course fees. Specifications for laptops and associated costs are included below.

All International students are required to meet satisfactory course progress in order to meet their student visa conditions. Please refer to International Student Handbook which is available in our website on the specific support that Rockford College offers to international students. Additional support is provided to those international students who are identified as a risk of not meeting the course progress requirements as per the intervention strategy.

Rockford College is committed to providing ongoing student support to our students. Our support staff will assist students from the time of enrolment until they complete the teaching program. Our support staff will engage with the individual student in a number of ways in order to understand their needs and provide necessary internal or external support in every step of their journey with the Rockford College, so that they could successfully complete their course.

We will provide wide range of learning support options and resources to assist students if required such as;

• One to one support from the teachers to assist with their studies.
  Additional classes, tutorial, and workshops.
• One to one support from the Administration relating to any student concerns such includes language, literacy and numeracy issues.
• Counselling support
• Referral to relevant external services.

If students need any support, please contact the support team.
E: support@rockford.edu.au

The costs for this course are as follows:
Enrolment fee: $250 (non-refundable)
Tuition fee: $250 per week. $2,500 per term.
Materials fee (non-tuition fee): $15 per week for first 40 weeks. No material fee for remaining 20 weeks (maximum $600 for 60 weeks). Students who are enrolled for less than 10 weeks are required to pay $150 as material fee.

Total course fee: $15,850

Note: Material fees include Textbook for each student, Workbook for each student, Learning Handouts in the class and does not include supplementary resources which student can purchase directly.

These costs may vary from time to time and students are required to do their own research in relation to these costs.

Please go through the International Student Handbook which outlines the detail payment terms and conditions. Furthermore, a detail payment plan and payment arrangements including any additional charges that may be applicable are provided in the letter of offer and written agreement.

Students need to review the detail payment plan before accepting the offer.

Rockford College reserves the right to vary the tuition fees and/ or other charges from time to time.

However, once the student is enrolled into a course, the fees will be same for the normal duration of that course. Updated fee structure will be applicable if student fails to complete the course in due time and on the extended period.

Please contact admissions for current course fees and associated charges.

Email: admissions@rockford.edu.au

Student can apply by completing online student application form with relevant suppoting documents. Students have option to apply directly with Rockford College or through an authorized representative of Rockford College.
For details application process, please visit our website www.rockford.edu.au

Rockford College
Level 3, 633 Princes Highway Rockdale NSW 2216
Mon – Fri, 8:00AM – 5:00PM (AEST)
E: admissions@rockford.edu.au
P: (02) 85934200