WELCOME TO UCC LANGUAGE CENTRE

We are very happy to welcome you to University College Cork Language Centre.

We know that you will greatly benefit from and enjoy your time with us.

LANGUAGE CENTRE

You will have a team of experienced, highly qualified teachers who will help you to make maximum progress in English. Your progress also depends on you, however. Here are some very good tips to help you:

• Speak only English while you are in the Language Centre (including break times)

• Complete all homework given in class

• Review class work in the afternoons/evenings

• Start a vocabulary notebook for new words/phrases/expressions

• Keep a learner diary in English which will improve your writing skills

• Ask questions in class if you do not understand or need more information

• If you have any particular requests, please speak to your teacher

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Dear Student,

Welcome to UCC Language Centre! I am sure you will find your course beneficial and UCC an excellent learning environment in the exciting, unique, and richly cultural city of Cork.

All the Language Centre staff are very happy to help you settle in to your studies here at UCC. We welcome questions and want you to make the most of your time with us, so please do not hesitate to talk to your tutors if you have any queries. Also, I can be reached at the email and office address below for you to make an appointment to see me to help find answers to your questions.

I am very much looking forward to meeting you.

Kind regards,Sally Orren, Acting Director of Studies

G.45 O’Rahilly Building, UCC, Cork+353 (0)21 490 3617 sally.orren@ucc.ie

I am available in Room G45 to discuss any queries regarding your learning programme at

UCC Language Centre. Please email me at sally.orren@ucc.ie for an appointment time.

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Student Centre Honan Chapel

Language CentreO’Rahilly Building Boole Library

UCC MAIN CAMPUS

FIRST DAY PROGRAMME

Arrive: 08.50

Placement testing & Needs Analysis: 09.05-10.00

Induction & Orientation Tour of UCC: 10.05-10.45

Break: 10.45-11.15

First class: 11.15-13.00

MAIN QUAD, UCC

TYPICAL WEEKLY TIMETABLE

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MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY(Sessions divided into Academic Track and Vocational-

General Track)

THURSDAY (First session divided into Academic Track and

Vocational-General Track)

FRIDAY

09.00 – 10.45 NEW STUDENTS: Placement testing, Needs Analysis and induction

Orientation tour of UCC (LC admin staff)

ENROLLED STUDENTS: Presentation / task (formative

assessment) or test (summative assessment) on alternate weeks

Individual feedback from teacher

Listening and speaking skills and language (e.g. Listening focus: (e.g. listening practice and strategies to identify important data effectively)

Pronunciation (e.g. weak forms, sentence stress)

Speaking focus (e.g. developing fluency, strategies to communicate effectively)

Academic Track Academic study skills (e.g. referencing /

paraphrasing) Exam focus (e.g. listening for specific points

/ using prompts effectively when speaking)Vocational-General Track Functions practice: developing use of

English in context (e.g. giving opinions, agreeing / disagreeing)

Integrated skills (e.g. presenting information in different contexts)

Academic Track Academic skills (e.g. Academic Word

List, nominalisation) Exam focus (e.g. Time management /

selecting appropriate texts for research)

Vocational-General Track Integrated skills: using grammar in

context (e.g. developing accuracy when speaking and writing / using vocabulary in spoken contexts)

Language focus: grammar analysis and practice

10.45 – 11.15 Break Break Break Break Break

11.15 - 13.00 Using language in context: group / pair / individual work (e.g. classroom research, university / community-based task / collaborating on producing a web page / creating a video or blog)

Vocabulary focus: (e.g. learning to record vocabulary academic word list, noun formation)

Integrated skills: (e.g. reformulating a listening task into a spoken text)

Language focus: grammar analysis and practice

Academic Track Academic skills (e.g. critical thinking /

textual analysis) Exam focus (e.g. writing practice:

structuring a text, paragraphing, style)Vocational-General Track Integrated skills: (e.g. using target language

for persuasion or interpreting data) Integrated skills: (e.g. using vocabulary in

spoken contexts)

Language focus: grammar analysis and practice (e.g. developing accuracy in using tenses)

Reading focus (e.g. understanding lexis from context, skimming / scanning)

Writing skills focus (e.g. sentence structure, punctuation)

Review of language and skills studied during the week

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch

14.00 - 16.00 Afternoon class: IELTS/exam preparation (for students signed up)

Afternoon class:LEAP programme: (e.g. tour of Cork city / how to recognise varieties of English)

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CLASSES

Extra ClassUCC Language Centre offers a two-hour class free to our full-time students on Wednesdays 2-4pm. This is a chance to meet other students from the LanguageCentre, practise your English and learn about life in Ireland and UCC. Activities include tours of historical parts of Cork, workshops about Irish music, languageenhancement and much more. Students receive an email about the class each week and can then sign up on the attendance sheet outside the Resource Room(G.29).

Holidays when there are no classes at the Language Centre St. Patrick’sDay: 17 March Easter Break (1 week) May Bank Holiday: First Monday in May June Bank Holiday: First Monday in June August Bank Holiday: First Monday in August October Bank Holiday: Last Monday in October Christmas Break (2 weeks)

Mobile Phones in Class The use of mobile phones in class can be disruptive and disturbing to teachers and other students in the class. You may only use mobile phones in class if the teacherrequests you to use them. At all other times in class:

Mobile phones must be on ‘Silent’ Mobile phones must never be used for receiving or sending texts or emails or other messages Non-urgent calls on mobile phones may not be answered or made until the break If you are expecting an urgent call (for example from home, a child’s school, a hospital etc.), please tell the teacher at the start of the class that you may have to leave

the room to answer it.

PunctualityClasses begin at 9am and students are expected to arrive punctually. Teachers may ask latecomers to wait until a suitable point in the session before allowing them to enter, in order to avoid disrupting the class.

AttendanceStudents are expected to attend at least 85% of the course in order for them to benefit from it fully and receive a certificate with their assessed level and attendance. Students who are unable to meet the 85% attendance target will need to talk to their course tutor, who may be able to make allowances and request reconsideration of this rule in certain circumstances (e.g. medical issues).

SERVICES & FACILITIES FOR STUDENTS

Here at the Language Centre, we want you to really enjoy your time spent in UCC and to feel supported and encouraged from the first moment you thought of studying with us.

RESOURCE ROOM

The self-access facilities in the language laboratory offer a valuable service to language learners of all levels and abilities covering all aspects of language learning: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Facilities include the use of books, DVDs and CDs within the language laboratory during our opening hours.

THE LANGUAGE LABORATORY:Is well stocked with textbooks/CDs geared towards those studying for Cambridge Examinations (FCE, CAE, CPE) and IELTS.

Provides books that cater for student’s individual language needs – grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary etc.

Runs a Book Club offering members the opportunity to take home English novels and graded readers to help improve their English.

Has desktop computers in two language laboratories for students to use to practise their English.

Keeps a folder with details for conversation exchanges between students.

CHECK THE TIMETABLE ON THE DOOR OF G29 FOR OPENING/ACCESS HOURS

BOOLE LIBRARY

The Boole Library also has a range of services and facilities that will help you to improve your English

• newspapers / periodicals reading area (Q floor i.e. ground floor)

• Multimedia Area complete with large-screen monitors and an extensive DVD and CD collection (Q+3)

• study rooms which can be booked in advance for group study sessions or project work

• extensive collections of books and journals in subject-specific areas

STUDENT ID CARDS

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It includes your • Name • Date of Birth • Picture • Unique Student Number• Course Registration• Course Finish Date

Gives you access to Campus Wi-Fi (eduroam) Boole Library Sports arena Discounts in shops, restaurants and travel

CLUBS & SOCIETIES

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Clubs in UCC

Sport and recreation is an integral part of the student experience at UCC. The university has over 58 Sports Clubs ranging from traditional team sports such as GAA, Soccer, Rugby, and Hockey to Martial Arts, Indoor Sports, Water Sports and Adventure Sports such as Snowsports, Kite surfing and the recently formed Parachute Club. Clubs provide coaching for both Beginners and the more Advanced Athletes. All clubs are free to join and are a great way to make friends.

Further information on Sports Clubs can be found on the Students' Union Clubs Website at http://sport.ucc.ie/

Societies in UCCThere are 106 societies in UCC with an over-arching focus to enhance the cultural, creative, social, political and intellectual experience of students in the university.Societies in UCC are run by students for students and our key values are leadership, accountability, excellence and collaboration. We aim to encourage innovation, creativity and initiative in all our activities and we are committed to enhancing the student experience for all UCC students.There is something for everyone so if you would like to find out more about any particular society, then check out our societies our Societies List and send them an email, our members will be more than happy to get back to you!Further information on Societies can be found at http://societies.ucc.ie/

We encourage all our students to join at least one club or society.

It’s a great way to make friends while here in UCC and also to speak English outside of class & gain confidence!

CONVERSATION EXCHANGE

Practice your English by meeting up UCC Irish students .

We provide a free language exchange service to our Language Centre students. You can meet English Speaking students from UCC and practise your English. Please sign up for the service in G29, Resource room in O’Rahilly Building, UCC.

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OTHER FACILITIES AND SERVICES

Careers Service

UCC Language Centre offers all its full-time students access to careers advice – how to write CVs and cover letters, apply for jobs, prepare for interviews etc. You can go to www.ucc.ie/en/careers/ to make an appointment with a careers expert who can offer one-to-one advice for you.

Student Counselling

Student Counselling & Development (SCD) is a free confidential service to all registered students and provides individual counselling to students.

Student Health Centre

The Student Health Centre is located at Ardpatrick, College Road, Cork.

Phone: +353 (0) 21 4902311

Opening Hours 9:30 - 10:45am & 2:15 - 3:15pm

Out of hours

SOUTHDOC

6pm -8am and weekends

1850 335 999

CORK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY

Open 24 hrs (021) 492 0200

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In the event of an emergency, the contact number for the emergency services is 999 or

112.

IT SERVICES

Which computers can I use?Computers are located in the Language Labs, Boole Basement and Boole Library.

How do I log on?

When the computer is switched on, a Log-on dialogue box will appear.

Type in your log in details.

Username: Student ID number.

Password: Your Network Account password

You can obtain your Network Account Password from the IT Helpdesk in the Boole Library/Basement on presentation of your Student ID card. The very first time you log on to a computer, you will be asked to change the randomly generated password that you obtained from the IT Helpdesk to something that you yourself decide upon.

What do I do if I have a problem?The staff in the Computer Centre IT Helpdesk for Students (located in the Boole Library and in the Boole Basement) are very approachable and are there to help you. Alternatively, you can email sit@ucc.ie

Connecting to the Student Wi-Fi (eduroam)You can connect to eduroam using your Username & Password from the IT Helpdesk.You can connect as many devices as you like (Phone, Tablet & Laptop!)

Don’t forget to log in to your Umail account (UCC student email) for updates on what’s happening on campus!

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Photocopying / PrintingPrinting and photocopying services are available in the many IT centres throughout the University, including in the Boole Library. You will need your Student ID card which you can top up online (smartcard.ucc.ie) or in the Boole Library (Q-Floor room) or the Student Centre (main foyer).

THE MARDYKE ARENASports Complex & Leisure Centre

The Mardyke Arena UCC is a state-of-the-art sports and leisure facility that is OPEN to all students!

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What does membership of the Mardyke Arena UCC offer to UCC students?

• Unlimited use of the Pool, Sauna and Steam Room

• Unlimited use of the Fitness Gyms• Free Exercise and Fitness classes

(subject to availability/fixed numbers per class)

• Free access to Indoor Climbing Wall Hall

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE: http://www.mardykearena.com/static/index.htm

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HOMESTAY ACCOMMODATION

• Host accommodation is offered by UCC Language Centre to enable students from other countries to experience life in an Irish household. Hosts provide:

• Accommodation in a bedroom in their house

• Access to the shared living areas of the house (at reasonable social hours)

• Bathroom (usually shared with household members)

• Laundry facilities (this may be access to the washing machine or your host may do your washing, depending on the household)

• 2 meals daily (breakfast and dinner)

• Lifts to/from airport (at reasonable social hours)

• No more than 3 students of any one nationality in the same household

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HOMESTAY ACCOMMODATION

• There may be 1, 2 or more family members in a host household. Don’t forget that in sharing their home, hosts are showing you how Irish people live so please be respectful of their household norms. Cultural differences can sometimes cause issues, so here are some tips to help you settle in!

• The food may be different from your home country. You should expect to receive food that a typical Irish family would eat, so that means lots of potatoes!

• Dinner is early in Ireland, usually some time between 5.30pm and 7pm. It is not part of Irish culture to spend a long time at the table. People gobble up their food in 20-30 minutes, and sometimes watch TV while eating

• Irish houses tend to have a lower temperature than you may be used to (around 20 degrees centigrade) so you might need to wear a jumper, or put an extra blanket on your bed

• Showers are generally short (5 - 10 minutes) and hot water may only be available at certain times

• Irish people tend to ask a lot of questions. Don’t worry - This is just their way of making you feel welcome!

• Hosts provide accommodation in their private home. Remember to respect their privacy and the hours of the household and let the host know if you are going to be home late

• Remember that you may need to ask the host if you require any changes, e.g. a later meal time. Irish people are generally friendly and will help as much as possible

• People in Ireland are excessively polite. We say sorry all the time even when there is nothing to be sorry for. It’s important to say “please” and “thank you”. Also say “I would like” instead of “I want”, and say “Could I have” instead of “Give me”

• Please see https://www.internationalstudents.ie/info-and-advice for general information about living in Ireland as an international student.

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Contact us:• Language Centre Office, O’Rahilly Building,

University College Cork, Cork, IRELAND

• +353 21 490 2641/2043/2898

• General Enquiries: info@langcent.ucc.ieSummer School Enquiries: eflsummerschool@ucc.ie

• www.ucc.ie/esol

LANGUAGE CENTRE