International Students

Appointments: One-on-One Writing Consultations 

Writing Centre Appointments are available for all current undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students, from all Faculties and courses. Appointments are 30-minutes long, offering a chance to have a one-on-one discussion about your writing with a Learning Advisor.

Appointment Hours during teaching weeks
OPEN Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm, for both online and face-to-face consultations. Limited out-of-hours appointments are also available on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4:30pm-6:30pm.

Appointment Availability: Appointments open 4 business days (weekdays) in advance - this runs on a rolling schedule that excludes weekends. For instance, appointments on Fridays open for booking on the Monday prior, while appointments on Thursdays open for booking on the Friday prior (4 weekdays in advance). So, if you were aiming to get an appointment at 11am on Friday, then this would become available to book from 11am Monday onwards. 

No appointments available? If the booking system currently shows that no appointments are available (they are often in high demand!), keep checking back and more will become available over time. Or, consider coming to one of our drop-in times - no appointment needed!

Finally, before making an appointment, please read our Booking Policies.

Want a quiet space to study and work on your academic writing and English skills? Can't make it to an appointment? Come along to our weekly drop-in times - no appointment needed! 

Our drop-in sessions will have a Learning Advisor present to answer your questions and to help facilitate an encouraging space to work on your writing – a great addition to the one-on-one consultations we offer at the Writing Centre. 

Please see the table below for information about the type of drop-in sessions we are running, as well as when they are occurring.

2023 Drop-in Times - Semester 2

Our online resources and guides are available to help with developing your skills in your own time. We have interactive essay writing modules and a number of writing guides for you to access - these are great for developing your academic writing skills.

If you have any questions about the information in these resources, consider making an appointment to ask a Learning Advisor in the Writing Centre to help you develop your skills in these areas. 

We also have a range of recorded videos/seminars available. For example, it takes organisation and commitment to study several courses in English when it is not your first language. The recorded seminar below talks about strategies you can use to manage this process and to continually improve your English. It also shows several self-access resources you can use to keep learning.

Presented by Dr Jillian Schedneck and Jayee Teh.

• Video: studying in English
• Studying in English presentation slides

The University of Adelaide recognises that ongoing academic language development and social engagement are key to student success.  The English Assist Program is here to support you.

The English Assist Program is exclusive to international students studying an undergraduate or postgraduate coursework degree in their first semester of study. There is no obligation to complete the program - it is completely optional. The program is not counted towards your academic transcript, and your activity is not graded or tracked; we like to think of it as a useful resource for non-English speaking background students that will assist your conversational, reading, and writing skills for university study, if you need it.

The Program offers three streams of support for international students studying an undergraduate or postgraduate coursework degree in their first semester of study. One stream provides opportunities to develop your Speaking and Listening skills and focuses on conversation skills for university study and social engagement; one stream supports specific courses to enable students to develop discipline-specific language competencies; the third stream will develop your skills in Reading and Writing in English for academic study.

Communicate and Connect

This series of free, interactive, conversation based workshops, running from Weeks 2-7 (from July 31 to September 8), will develop your speaking and listening communication skills, help you make new friends, and build your confidence to fully engage in your University of Adelaide studies. To attend the workshops, visit the English Assist MyUni course for a full schedule and list of topics. You can also see the schedule below. 

The workshops will assist you with the spoken language needed to fully participate in key study activities such as tutorials, seminars, group projects, oral presentations, and social conversations.

Communicate and Connect sessions are run by specialist language tutors from the University of Adelaide. Classes will have a maximum of 20 students, providing the opportunity for you to get to know your fellow classmates and to receive tips, strategies and feedback from your tutor. No preparation or out of class work is required for these workshops.

Attendance at the sessions is able to be claimed towards the Adelaide Graduate Award, a free employability program that formally recognises your extra-curricular achievements.

English for Coursework Success 

English for Coursework Success sessions (ECSs) support the development of knowledge for specific disciplinary contexts. The series of free weekly sessions are designed to give you the support you need to communicate effectively in both written and spoken English for your courses.

In these sessions, you will work in small groups practising the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills needed for success both in your courses - developing confidence in discipline-specific language - and for your further studies at the University.

Session times, course lists, and weekly content are available on the English Assist MyUni course. A schedule of session times is also viewable below, with sessions running from Weeks 2-4 (July 31 - August 18) and Weeks 9-11 (October 2 - October 20)

Reading and Writing in English

This self-guided course will provide a combination of lectures and modules to help you build your skills and confidence in writing and reading in English. To watch the reading and writing lectures, please go to the English Assist MyUni course 

Once you complete these modules, we encourage you to make a 30-minute one-on-one mentoring appointment with a Learning Advisor from the Writing Centre. These appointments can be made via the Writing Centre website, and are currently available both in-person at the Writing Centre (Level 3, Hub Central) and online (Zoom) from Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm. 

The modules will help you:

• Build your skills and confidence in writing and reading in English.
• Build your understanding of academic writing expectations at University.
• Develop your ability to understand and use academic texts in English.
• Expand your English vocabulary.
• Build your understanding of the themes, content, styles and structures of different texts in English.
• Work on communication skills which will help you in your professional life.

An internationally recognised volunteer program is also available to provide language support for students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESB) who have an additional need to improve their oral communication.

For more information visit International Student Support's talking with Aussies page.
 

The State Library of SA provides an English Language Learning Improvement Service (ELLIS)  as a free service for people who are learning English as a foreign language and want to improve their language skills.

ELLIS supplements other English language and literacy programs within South Australia by providing self-help materials and opportunities to improve conversation.