Study English in Ireland

Giorgio says:

I came to Ireland in January 2016 with the aim of learning the English language. I only knew a little about the Country and its culture, but after doing some research I came to know that Ireland, especially Dublin, was exponentially growing its economy thanks to the numerous companies and many international students coming here.

I enrolled in a 12 weeks course of general English by paying around 1900 Euro including accommodation in host family (the accommodation was only for 5 weeks). The accommodation was a bit far from city but with the good transportation and the Dublin bus app (see: https://www.dublinbus.ie/Your-Journey1/Mobileapps/) is easy enough to move around and reach all the places in the city.

The course took place in Dublin City University (see DCU: https://www.dcu.ie/), a new University located in Dublin 9, only 30 minutes walking from city centre. During my first day, I took an English test to determine my initial level. I started with an A2 level (pre-intermediate), and I ended the course with a B1/B2 level (intermediate/upper intermediate). The classes were structured well: they were 4 hours long and I was in a class with people having my same level, this made easy the communication and the hanging out with other students. Every week I used to take a small exam to test my improvements; after three tests with a score > 0.8, I was allowed to take the exam to move to the next level.

After those 12 weeks of general English, I decided to enrol in a IELTS English course (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_English_Language_Testing_System). This is a test you need to pass if your mother tongue is not English, and you want to study (e.g. BSc or MSc) in a Country with English-speaking population. IELTS test involves four tasks: Writing, Reading, Speaking, and Listening (probably the hardest task). For info about IELTS Test Format, see: https://idpielts.me/book-test/ielts-test-format-2/

I needed the IELTS Certification because I wanted to enrol in a MSc at University College Dublin (UCD) and the language requirements were: 6.5 overall score with 6 as minimum score for each task. You need to submit your certificate along with other documents to be admitted. The language requirements can vary from a University to another but generally for a Bachelor of Science the overall score is 6, while for a Master of Science is 6.5 as mentioned. Different are the requirements if you want to study English Literature or any medical field; in that case, the requirements are quite high (i.e. overall 7).

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