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Accessibility statement
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You don’t need a formal qualification in English to study with the OU. But you will need a reasonable standard of written and spoken English so you can make best use of study materials, communicate effectively with your tutor or fellow students, and seek help from other OU staff. This guide will tell you more about the English skills you need.
Reading is a core skill for study, so you need to be confident in your skills before you start.
To start on most modules, you’ll need to be able to understand written English of the standard of a broadsheet newspaper. This means a newspaper with long sections of text, such as The Guardian or The Daily Telegraph.
You will do a lot of reading for your academic work, so if your reading in English is slow, you may need to allow extra time for study.
Reading for an academic purpose is different to reading for pleasure. You will need to:
The ability to write in clear, well-structured English can make a big difference to your assignment and exam marks.
For many subjects, you will need to show that you can:
When you do a piece of academic writing, it’s helpful to think about key areas:
Listening skills are just as important for successful study as reading and writing.
You will need your listening skills to:
In order to study successfully, you’ll need to be able to:
You’ll need to communicate effectively with your tutor and fellow students and may need to speak to a member of staff to get help.
You’ll need your speaking skills to:
In order to study successfully, you’ll need to be able to:
Efallai and ydych yn hyderus ynglyn å defnydddio Saesneg academaidd yn eich astudiaethau oherwydd mai Cymraeg yw eich iaith gyntaf. Dan ein Cynllun laith Gymraeg fe allai fod yn bosibi trefnu i diwtor sy’n siarad Cymraeg farcio eich aseiniadau.
I drafod beth allai fod ar gael cysylltwch a’r Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru, os gwelwch yn dda, nail ai trwy’r Saesneg neu’r Gymraeg, cyn gynted ag y byddwch yn cofrestru ar y cwrs: 02920 471170 neu [email protected].
Perhaps you are not confident about using academic English in your studies because Welsh is your first language. Under our Welsh language Scheme, it may be possible to arrange for a Welsh-speaking tutor to mark your assignments.
To discuss what might be available, please contact The Open University in Wales, in either English or Welsh, as soon as you register on your course: 02920 471170 neu [email protected].
I would recommend the OU to anybody. It’s so flexible that whatever your age, educational background or circumstances in life; you’ll be supported all the way – the OU has got you covered.
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