Registered international students (undergraduate and postgraduate) in any department are eligible to attend the classes, with priority being given to those for whom classes are specifically recommended. Some academic departments ask us to arrange specialist in-sessional classes for their students; anyone wishing to know if their department organises this type of class should contact their department directly for further advice. Note that classes are not suitable for near-native speakers or very advanced students of English operating at CEFR C2 level.

Natalie Sharpling has taught English for Academic Purposes across the University of Warwick for 25 years. She worked in the department of Applied Linguistics for over 20 years before joining Warwick Foundation Studies in 2020. Natalie currently convenes credit-bearing modules in academic writing for STEM students, as well as a variety of support classes for students in all faculties. Her main interests are in language testing and assessment literacy, literature in English and other European languages, European theatre, language teaching methodology, and language teacher development.

To join a class, you need to register your interest. Registration for Term 3 is now open.

Complete the registration form here.

If you are strongly recommended to follow In-sessional classes, you will be advised of this by an academic tutor in your department, when the academic year begins. You will still need to complete a registration form even if you have been recommended to attend classes by your academic department.

You do not need to register for In-sessional classes unless you are specifically advised by your academic tutor in your department that you need extra support. This does not stop you from registering for the sessions if you wish to do so, although we cannot guarantee that there will be no duplication/repetition of teaching and learning materials, and topics, between the Pre-sessional and In-sessional course. It is important to be aware of this when making your decision to attend.

We are unable to offer places in our In-sessional English classes to students from outside the university (i.e. non-registered students) at the present time.

We welcome referrals from academic staff at any time of the year. The quickest and easiest way of doing this is to email us on and we will respond promptly to your request for support. Please note that we offer different types of support, and referring a student to us does not guarantee that they will be able to receive one-to-one assistance.

In-sessional classes are currently free at the point of use for students. But there are costs to running the courses, so it is important to value the classes and in particular, to let the tutor know if you cannot attend.

Yes, once registered, we ask you to attend all the sessions. If you know in advance that you are going to be absent, you must inform the tutor or email . If you should miss a session without good reason, or explanation, we may decide to allocate your place to another student on the waiting list. Remember that all services cost money to run, and failure to attend the In-sessional class you have registered for deprives another student of the opportunity to gain the support they may urgently need. We ask you to be courteous and respectful to your fellow students and your English tutor.

It is not possible to gain credits (CAT points) for following our in-sessional classes.

We do not require you to take a test, but we do ask you to tell us about any previous test scores when you register.

This depends on how much work you are doing to develop your English. If you are trying to speak and listen to English outside the classroom on a regular basis, then you will make quicker progress.

There are no exams or formal tests, but we do give you informal assessments through the classes (e.g. quizzes; interactive activities; comprehension questions for you to try out; test-yourself activities; short vocabulary tests; etc.)

Class sizes are generally from 15 - 20 students (20 for dissertation workshops).

Students who are strongly recommended to attend by their department will be given priority. Anyone else wishing to follow the classes will be allocated if vacancies become available.

No, we do not issue certificates of proficiency for the language classes; however, we can supply a certificate of attendance for Erasmus students as long as they have attended most of the sessions during the term. This will be useful if you have to show your home university as proof that you have attended classes.

We don't offer any English exams within Warwick Foundation Studies, but we can advise you about nearby test centres where you can take English language tests. Ask your tutor or contact for advice.

You may be able to - but this will depend on the tutor. This year, we hope to keep most of the materials used on Moodle sites, so if you are registered for a class, you will be able to obtain materials if you miss a week. You will have to be registered for the class, however, to be able to access the relevant site.

No, unfortunately we do not provide a proof-reading or language correction service. If you are requesting proofreading from a private provider, such as someone who advertises on a university notice board, please be sure that they (and you) have read and are fully conversant with the university's proof reading policy. Failure to comply with this may lead to disciplinary action.

For further information and advice about any aspect of our English language support for international students, or any of the language courses that we organise, please contact:

We contact all students by email, each term, to invite them to complete an online feedback sheet for the classes they are taking. But if there is something specific that you would like to cover in the classes, you can tell the tutor at any time.

If you should have a complaint, please let us know and we will be happy to look into the matter for you and sort out any problems. See the university's complaints procedure.