COURSE FACTSHEET
Advanced Level Foundation — Communication and Study Skills module Who is this course for?
Recognised by widest choice of quality universities
The Kings Advanced Level Foundation is based on A-level syllabuses, taught by A-level teachers, assessed against A-levels and moderated by an independent Advisory Board of external examiners. As such, it is one of the most highly academic and successful pathways to leading UK universities.
Kings does not work with a narrow range of university partners. This is because our Advanced Level Foundation is based on, and linked to, A-levels. It is therefore automatically recognised and accepted by the widest choice of universities. Out of the top 25 universities listed in the Times and Sunday Times 2018 rankings, 21 have accepted Kings’ Foundation students.
Key Facts
The Kings Advanced Level Foundation has Pearson assured status, awarded after an annual Pearson audit of quality assurance.
Pearson assured
Start dates: 7 January, 8 April*, 1 July*, 9 September 2019; 6 January, 6 April*, 29 June*, 7 September 2020 (*Extended version) Locations offered: Oxford
London
Bournemouth Brighton
Level: Minimum IELTS 5.5 (standard version); IELTS 4.0 (extended version). Completed 11 – 12 years of schooling. Minimum age: 17 Length: 1 Academic Year (3 terms). Or Extended Advanced Level Foundation of 4 – 7 terms (including 3-term Advanced Level Foundation) Lessons: Average 21 hours per week (plus homework and private study) Class size: 8 – 12 Learning outcomes: à Raise academic qualifications to UK university entrance level à Raise English to university level à Develop learning and self study skills for degree level
Benchmarking against A-Level grades
Advisory Panel Standards for the Programme are set by an external and independent Advisory Board which meets three times each year to ensure best practice, moderate marks where required and hear appeals.
Assessment Paper
Weighting
Term 1 Assessment
30%
Term 2 Assessment
35%
Term 3 Assessment
35%
Typical top 30 university offers to students following the Programme are based on their normal A-level offers. The Programme is benchmarked against A-level grades as follows: Typical A-level offer
Typical Kings Foundation offer
A*A*A*
80%
AAA
75%
AAB
70%
ABB
65%
BBB
60%
CCC
50%
Extended option Students with lower language levels can join an extended programme of 4 – 7 terms (including the 3-term Advanced Level Foundation), from IELTS 4.0. It offers practical content designed to provide a bridge into UK academic life. The main focus is developing suitable language proficiency for the Advanced level Foundation with concentrated IELTS lessons, but as the course is made up of English language classes and some 1:1 or small group study, it has the flexibility to also provide bespoke academic study skills and subject enrichment. The course can also include a Maths GCSE if required.
Advanced Level Foundation
Sept
Jun
Apr
Jan
Sept
Jun
Apr
Jan
Sept
Jun
Pathways
Vacation
Advanced Level Foundation IELTS 4.0
Extended Foundation IELTS 5.0 IELTS 4.5
Extended Foundation Extended Foundation
Top 20 university Top 20 university
Vacation
Advanced Level Foundation
Vacation
Top 20 university
Vacation
Advanced Level Foundation
Vacation
Top 20 university
Advanced Level Foundation
Vacation
Top 20 university
COURSE FACTSHEET
Course structure and content The programme is highly flexible, and able to adapt to the needs and academic aspirations of each student. It does this through a combination of core modules and a series of elective modules which can be combined in different ways to create main subject streams: Main subject streams à Business à Engineering à Life Sciences and Pharmacy à A rchitecture à Media and Communications à Humanities and Social Sciences à Mathematics, Computing and Science
Core modules are: à Communication and Study Skills à Data Handling and Information Technology Elective modules are: à A rt and Design à Biology à Business Studies à Chemistry
à Economics à History à Human Geography à Law à Mathematics à Media à Physics à Psychology à Politics and Government
2018 – 19 Sample academic timeline September
October
November
December
January
February
September starters
10 Sept: term starts Student induction
20 – 28 Oct: half term
University fairs/visits
14 Dec: term ends CSS Assessment 1 (Written) End of term exams
7 Jan: term starts
14 – 17 Feb: half term CSS Assessment 2 (Presentation) University fairs/visits
January starters
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7 Jan: term starts Student induction
14 – 17 Feb: half term University fairs/visits
March
April
May
June
July
August
September starters
22 Mar: term ends Assignments* End of term exams
8 April: term starts Assignments*
Assignments*
14 June: term ends CSS Assessment 3 (Listening and Reading exam)
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January starters
22 Mar: term ends Assignments* CSS Assessment 1 (Written) End of term exams
8 April: term starts Assignments*
Assignments*
17 – 18 June: 2 day break CSS Assessment 2 (Presentation)
CSS Assessment 3 (Listening and Reading exam)
2 Aug: term ends
*students spend two weeks on each assignment and do three in total — one for each of their ‘elective’ modules. Please note that specific dates are subject to change.
Communication and Study Skills module structure and content Learning outcomes On successful completion of the CSS module, students should be able to: à Research information for assignments using a wide range of written and verbal sources à Use the Library system and IT resources à Refer to source material, extract relevant information and incorporate this information into a well-organised piece of work à Present written work correctly, observing the conventions of essay writing. à Demonstrate the ability to address the topic clearly, develop it in a clear and rational way and take account of the needs of the reader à Write/speak using the language appropriate to the particular functions required e.g. present argument, analyse data etc à Plan, formulate, organise and convey his /her own ideas clearly, coherently and succinctly in short or extended prose/speech à Become a critic of his/her writing/speech, evaluating his/her own performance
à Read a range of academic texts appropriate to the level of a student embarking on undergraduate studies, adopting relevant strategies to deal with the information presented à Gauge the relevance of a written source to his/her academic requirements à Have an awareness of written discourse and the impact verbal markers may have on a text à Listen to a range of spoken English used in lectures, presentations and seminars and adopt relevant strategies to deal with the information presented à Focus on the main features in a lecture and talk clear and relevant notes à Present ideas in a clear and logical manner in seminars and tutorials à Demonstrate an awareness of the phonological features of spoken English à Use aids such as PowerPoint to reinforce his/ her presentations
General Study Skills à Self-organisation: study planning; timetable planning; prioritising; categorising; filing and recording à Selecting sources: reading lists and bibliographies; Internet searches and key word scanning. à Note-taking and summarising: outlining; mind-mapping; marking texts à Organisation of academic texts: contents, bibliography, appendices, citations, presentation, layout, graphics à Quoting and paraphrasing: identifying the main idea, identifying sources; distinguishing quoting from plagiarising à Debating, dictionary work, finding your way round a library, keeping vocabulary notebooks and learning vocabulary
Continued overleaf æ
COURSE FACTSHEET
Communication and Study Skills module structure and content continued
Recommended reading
Term 1 Academic Writing and an Introduction to Note-taking for Listening and Reading à The process of writing: organising material coherently and effectively; incorporating material from several sources; credibility of source; considering the reader’s expectations à Functional areas: description, clarification, narration, generalisation, argument à Text construction; thesis, support, argument, conclusion à Register
Below is a list of text books normally used on this course. In many cases the textbooks will be supplied by the school, and you may borrow them for the duration of your time at school. However, if you already know what three subjects you want to choose you may prefer to purchase one before you arrive.
Listening, note-taking and vocabulary à Understanding the structure and organisation of lectures and talks à Listening for the main idea, specific information and attitude à Developing the skills of prediction, summarising and filtering information à The character of spoken English in lectures and talks à Developing topic specific vocabulary for academic subjects
à Learn To Listen, Listen To Learn by Roni S Lebauer (3rd Edition) à Academic Writing Course by R. R Jordan (3rd Edition) à Check Your IELTS Vocabulary Rawdon Wyatt (3rd Edition)
1800 08/18
Term 2/3 Presentation Skills à Strategies and techniques for presentations: planning structure, making talk-notes; using visual aids. à Linguistic, paralinguistic and phonological devices: framing; signposting; summarising; rephrasing; pausing; articulation and voice quality. à Teamwork; asking and answering questions
Effective Reading à Understanding text organisation and function. à Understanding vocabulary from contextual clues. à Evaluating the writer’s purpose and attitude à Techniques for rapid reading. à Techniques for detailed reading.