Find out more information on what our previous students got up to on the variety of EAP programmes over the course of 2018.
Looking back on 2018
English for Academic Purposes short courses and summer schools
During the summer students from all over the world came to Edinburgh Napier to study one of the bespoke summer schools and short courses. Not only did they return home with dramatically improved English language skills, but also having experienced a head-to-toe shower of Scottish history, culture and a course full of energy and fun. A genuine once-in-a-lifetime experience!
This year we had a spectacular summer with almost one hundred international students attending our short courses. We taught 114 hours of English classes and six hours of guest lectures; we visited 10 attractions in Edinburgh, four in Glasgow and seven in other Scottish cities; we organised a three-day trip down to London and another trip to Loch Ness and the Isle of Skye; as well as industry visits, service learning and sport activities.
In August, a group of students had the opportunity to experience the world’s largest arts festival – The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. They saw a variety of entertaining shows, danced at a Ceilidh and were wowed by the fireworks at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Intercultural Dialogue: Moscow – Edinburgh Continuing Education Programme
From 11-15 June 2018, 16 students from Moscow studied a one-week short course that combined intercultural communication, presentation skills, and British history. The course content was designed around the requirements of our partner University, The People’s Friendship University of Russia. The students on the course were all extremely thirsty for cultural knowledge and thoroughly enjoyed their week in Scotland.
Cultural and Language Immersion Scheme with official IELTS test on campus
From 30 June-30 July 2018, 39 students from City University of Hong Kong joined an intensive Cultural and Language Immersion Scheme. On the last day of the programme, all students' sat an official IELTS test on campus. Impressively, 87% of students improved their IELTS score by at least 0.5, 12% of students improved by 1.0 and 5% improved by one. All within only four weeks!
However, this programme was more than improving the students IELTS score. The students experienced a number of cultural excursions and industry visits, including an Edinburgh Castle and Old Town walking tour, a visit to the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, a trip to the Loch Lomond Highland Games, as well as visits to St Andrews, Stirling Whitelee Windfarm and Glengoyne Distillery.
The students then put their presentation and survey skills that they learned in class to good use by carrying out a street survey on Scottish people’s views about Scottish independence.
To help the students get an insight into community work, we partnered with Streetwork Edinburgh, a charity which works with the homeless. The students learned about the services they offer and the work they do to improve the quality of life of homeless people in Edinburgh. In addition, the students had the opportunity to give homeless people a gift that they had prepared in advance.
The students also turned their hand to conservation work for Heritage Scotland in the Hermitage of Braid.
The highlights of the programme for the majority of the students were the sporting activities: a golf lesson at the stunning Archerfield Links golf course and a rugby lesson in Roseburn Park next to the world famous Murrayfield Stadium.
It was the first time we’ve housed summer school students in homestay families. It was an extraordinary experience for all as 94% of the students found that living in a host family helped them to gain a more in-depth understanding of Scottish culture as well as improving their English communication skills.
English Language and Culture Summer School
From the 16-27 July 2018, we welcomed 15 Chinese students from Edinburgh Napier’s partner universities plus six students from the University of Leicester for a two-week English Language and Culture Summer School.
The course has proved to be very successful over the years and is a fantastic opportunity for overseas students to get a taste of life in Edinburgh as an Edinburgh Napier student. In fact, several of our former summer school students have enrolled at Edinburgh Napier as postgraduate students.
Summer International Festivals in Edinburgh
This summer was the third year that students from partner university HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) have come to study on our Summer International Festivals Programme, and this year, we offered the most ambitious and widest-ranging programme ever. From the 18-26 August 2018, a group of enthusiastic and energetic students with an interest in Scottish culture and festivals attended Fringe shows in the MacEwan Hall and at The Meadows Circus Hub, ate and drank like a Scot in traditional pubs and spent unforgettable nights ceilidh dancing and watching the breath-taking fireworks at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
The students learned about Scottish culture and food and drink on campus and visited a number of major attractions in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Then they set out on a three-day guided tour to Loch Ness and Isle of Skye. Stunned by the magnificence of the Scottish Highland scenery and history, all students rated this trip "five stars" and described it as “beyond their expectation”. They also agreed that it had opened up their horizons to see a part of Scotland other than the large cities.