Academic language support
Information about academic language support available to you during your time at UCL.
There are a range of resources and support services available to you at UCL to help you improve your written and spoken English. Below you can find more information on the following:
- UCL Academic Communication Centre (ACC)
- IOE Academic Writing Centre
- Students’ Union UCL Language + Writing Support Programme
- study skills and e-learning
UCL Academic Communication Centre (ACC)
The UCL Academic Communication Centre, which is run by the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education (CLIE) offers faculty-specific support to both native and non-native English speakers studying for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree to support you in developing critical thinking, oral and writing skills.
We offer:
- one-to-one tutorials
- workshops
- webinars
- courses
- writing retreats
- online resources
Credit-bearing modules in English for academic purposes
Develop your academic writing and English language skills through one of our credit-bearing module options. These are available for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
More information about credit-bearing modules can be found on the ACC website.
Academic English Courses for Graduate Research Students
Part-time Academic English courses are available at UCL for PhD students who want to enhance their academic writing and oral communication skills.
The Self-Access Centre
You can also take advantage of the CLIE Self-Access Centre database, which contains many books, films, documentaries, course videos and audio recordings in a wide range of languages. The Self-Access Centre enables you to supplement class-based language learning with self-study in your own time. It is available to all UCL students, and you are required to log in with your UCL user ID and password.
You can browse the CLIE Self-Access database and access study resources on the SAC website.
IOE Academic Writing Centre
The Academic Writing Centre provides support for IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society students only in the form of short courses (face-to-face and online), one-to-one tutorials (face-to-face, Skype or phone), online discussion forums, and online resources.
More information about the Academic Writing Centre can be found on the IOE website.
Students’ Union UCL Language + Writing Programme
Students’ Union UCL runs the Language + Writing Support Programme to help international students with their academic writing and speaking. The programme’s Peer Tutors run several different types of free activities to help you with your written and spoken English. These include:
- A regular programme of workshops, covering a variety of academic and cultural topics.
- One-to-one sessions, to discuss specific pieces of written work or get help with oral presentations
- “Coffee and Conversation”, a weekly opportunity to get together and practice your spoken English with other students
You can find more information about the programme and the services they offer on the Students’ Union UCL website.
Study skills and e-learning
The UCL study skills and e-learning webpages contain a wide range of resources to help you during your studies. These include resources to help you improve your academic writing skills and research skills.
