Video transcript: Studying a Masters pre-sessional at the University of Leeds

Transcript for the video embedded on the Masters pre-sessional English page.

(Upbeat music. Aerial shots of campus.Text on screen says: ‘Prepare for your Masters’)

(Bee Bond sits in an office on campus, smiling. Text on screen says: ‘Bee Bond, Deputy Director, University of Leeds Language Centre’.) 

Bee: Studying on a pre-sessional course at Leeds helps you to adapt to and experience academic study ahead of your degree programme. The main reason that students choose to take a pre-sessional course is because we support students to meet the academic language requirements that are needed to enter their degree programme.

(Students studying at laptops and talking in the classroom.)

Bee: Beyond that, we take you further so that you are not just meeting those language requirements in the way that you would if you were taking a language test, but that you also start to understand how to study within this particular university. 

(Students walking up to the University campus and Parkinson building.)

(Haokun sits on a chair in the Language Zone. Text on screen says: ‘Haokun, Pre-sessional student’) 

Haokun: The six week pre-sessional language course helps me a lot in my language skills.  

(Haokun studying in the library and students in the classroom.)

Haokun: I went to university in China, so this course helps me to understand what should I do, how can I read the reading materials effectively and how to write an essay, how to participate in a seminar, so it helped me feel confident to engage with my degree course. 

(Freshta sits in a chair in the Language Zone. Text on screen says: ‘Freshta, Pre-sessional student’.)

Freshta: Pre-sessional course helped me with all academic skills like writing, presenting, and also writing blogs and how you can write a good essay and introduction.  

(Freshta giving a presentation in the classroom.) 

Freshta: It was really helpful to join this course. 

[Shots of students in the classroom] 

[Bee sits in an office on campus] 

Bee: If you take a pre-sessional course with us over the summer, your course is tailored and very specific towards the discipline and the subjects that you're going to be studying on your Masters programme. So we really, really focus very specifically on the kind of language that is needed and the skills that are needed within a particular subject area, and we work very closely with lecturers in those Schools and Faculties to help you develop an understanding of what is required. 

(Freshta sits on a chair in the Language Zone.)

Freshta: We learned a lot about academic skills like academic writing and applying our skills into practice in our discipline, so it was really useful. 

(Freshta talks to tutors in the classroom.)

(Mick sits in an office on campus. Text on screen says: ‘Mick Parkin, Deputy Director, University of Leeds Language Centre’.) 

Mick: During your time here, we'll help you become more familiar with the facilities available, such as online systems, libraries, which means when you actually start your degree programme, all of that preparation is out of the way.  

(Students read and write notes in the library.)

Mick: You're not new, you're not finding your feet. You can just concentrate on your study right from day one.

(Misa sits on a chair in the Language Zone. Text on screen says: ‘Misa, Pre-sessional student’.)

Misa: I could make lots of friends through the pre-sessional course, and it gave me lots of confidence in participating in postgraduate studies.  

(Students talking in a café and walking outside Leeds University Union.)

Misa: Moreover, I had lots of opportunities to join events and lots of support from the university. 

(Students play a board game together in a café.)

(Freshta sits in a chair in the Language Zone.) 

Freshta: We can use the opportunity and time to open a bank account and settle in a really good way and have the time to prepare for our degree. 

(Students meeting outside Leeds University Union.)

(Aerial shots of campus. Text on screen says: Find out more at leeds.ac.uk/language-centre.)