Information for Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and Max Weber-Programm students
Hilderstone College is a non-profit specialist Language Studies Centre. We offer a wide range of English language courses for adult learners aged 16+, and for teenage school groups. Since 1970 Hilderstone has established an international reputation for running top-quality courses for students and teachers from all over the world. We work with educational organisations and government agencies in the UK and worldwide.
The College is accredited by the British Council and is a member of English UK and IALC. We collaborate closely with the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, the Max Weber-Programm and with universities and colleges throughout the world to ensure that our courses for university students are of the highest quality.
Hilderstone College is situated in the seaside town of Broadstairs. It is 110 km from London (80 minutes by high speed train), 30 minutes from the vibrant city of Canterbury and within easy access of the Channel Tunnel and port of Dover.
Broadstairs is attractive and friendly with excellent residential areas within walking distance of the town centre. There is a wide choice of small shops, restaurants, coffee bars and pubs in the town centre and on the seafront. Not far from the College is a modern shopping centre, and there are cinemas, swimming pools, parks and sports facilities in the local area.
Broadstairs retains some of the character of the town that so attracted the novelist Charles Dickens. The famous "Bleak House", where he wrote David Copperfield, overlooks the bay and the Dickens House Museum is well worth visiting. For more information about the town and the local area please click here.
| Course | Arrival and departure expected dates | Course dates |
|---|---|---|
| Course 1 Broadstairs | 09 February - 01 March | 10 February - 28 February |
| Course 2 Broadstairs | 02 March - 22 March | 03 March - 21 March |
| Course 3 Broadstairs | 23 March - 12 April | 24 March - 11 April |
| Course 3 online | n/a | 24 March - 11 April |
| Course 4 Broadstairs | 13 July - 02 August | 14 July - 01 August |
| Course 4 online | n/a | 14 July - 01 August |
| Course 5 Broadstairs | 03 August - 23 August | 04 August - 22 August |
| Course 6 Business Broadstairs | 03 August - 23 August | 04 August - 22 August |
| Course 7 Broadstairs | 24 August - 13 September | 25 August* - 12 September |
| Course 8 Engineers Broadstairs | 14 September - 04 October | 15 September - 03 October |
| Course 9 Broadstairs | 14 September - 04 October | 15 September - 03 October |
* Please note that Monday 25th August is a public holiday in England, and the College will be closed. Broadstairs students will be offered a free excursion or activity on those days.
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Complete our enrolment form |
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Submit your pre-course test and questionnaire for USC students |
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If you are attending a course in Broadstairs, please tell us your travel plans when you have this information |
| Before the beginning of your course, you will get a full course confirmation. If you are taking an online course, your tutor will be in touch the Friday before your course starts with the link to access your first online lesson. If you have any questions or queries in the meantime, please feel free to contact us. | |
Each course offers a minimum of 21 hours of classes and up to 11 hours of additional, optional, supervised self-study each week. These courses are specially designed for university students with Studienstiftung and Max Weber-Programm scholarships. Any other students in your class will be in higher education, either studying English as a main subject or requiring English to facilitate study in another field. Scholarship students have been coming to Hilderstone for over 30 years and have found the courses to be both stimulating and extremely valuable.
These courses are not suitable for beginners or elementary level students. The level of the courses is upper-intermediate to advanced.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09.00 - 10.30 Break 11.00 - 12.30 |
Morning classes: presentations, grammar, vocabulary, discussions, writing topics, skills, pronunciation | ||||
| Lunch break | |||||
| 13.45 - 14.45 Break 15.00 - 16.00 |
Optional self-study/social activity | Communicative activities, roleplays, debates, fluency work, projects, cultural briefing, intercultural awareness | Optional self-study/social activity | ||
| 16.00 - 17.00 | Optional self-study | ||||
Your course will be a minimum of 10 hours online per week with intensive offline tasks - both between lessons each day and overnight. The course will maintain the same aims, intensity, level and content as the in-Broadstairs course.
Here is a sample timetable of the online programme:
| ONLINE course timetable | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09.00 - 10.00 UK time Online | Students will go over any homework set for the evening before. New grammar, vocabulary, or language skill will be presented and practised. | ||||
| 10.00 - 11.00 UK time Offline | Students will receive an email with tasks they need to perform e.g. grammar exercises, a reading task, a YouTube clip, etc. | ||||
| 11.00 - 12.00 UK time Online | Students will go over the task that was set for the previous hour. The target language or skill will then be practised. | ||||
| Overnight: Offline | Homework will be set every evening. | ||||
The main aims of the course are to:
The main focus of the classes is on the productive skills and language areas. Some classes may also take topics as a starting point. Depending on the wishes and interests of the group, these might cover areas such as aspects of British life, current affairs, literature, business English, etc.
Speaking: giving presentations and responding to questions, discussion skills, use of appropriate language in different academic and social settings, with attention to register and style
Writing: structuring and developing arguments in academic essays, formal letter writing and CVs
Receptive Skills: exposure to authentic reading and listening texts as a stimulus for discussion or vocabulary work
Vocabulary: Lexical field development in areas of topical interest, collocations and work on multi-word verbs and idiomatic language
Useful exponents of language in informal and semi-formal contexts, e.g. polite requests, social and colloquial language and language used in discussions: expressing opinion, eliciting information, exemplifying, explaining, structuring information
An overview of the tenses (with attention to continuous forms), conditionals and dependent prepositions; remedial work with errors originating from own language, pronunciation and intonation, stress, rhythm, and contrast of individual sounds in English and own language.
This course takes place in July and gives students the opportunity to develop their English in business and general contexts. Topics include the language of meetings and negotiation, preparing a CV, managing people, cultural differences and advertising. Skills work focuses on business correspondence and communication, giving presentations and job interviews.
This course takes place in September and gives students the opportunity to develop their oral fluency and academic/technical writing skills in the field of engineering as well as in general contexts. Topics include describing processes and products, discussing maintenance and reporting change. Skills work focuses on structuring and developing arguments in academic essays, writing a technical paper (structure, academic/scientific language).
(Broadstairs course only)
You may also study after class using a wide range of self-access materials available in our multimedia Learning Centre. You will also be given a Google for Education account which you can use to communicate with staff and other students, complete assignments and store documents. Please click here for more information.
(Broadstairs course only)
In addition to the daily tuition, there is a full social programme including afternoon and evening/after-school activities as well as one full-day and one half-day excursion each week. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to meet students from all over the world, get to know your classmates in an informal setting, have fun and see more of England.
For more information and approximate prices, please visit the Social Life webpage.
We need a minimum of 4 students booked on each activity to allow a social event to go ahead.
(Broadstairs course only)
Students are placed in carefully-selected homestay accommodation within a maximum 30-minute walking distance of the College. You will have your own room that will be furnished with a bed and storage space for clothes. Please note that, while we cannot guarantee there will be a desk in your room for self study, there will be an alternative, suitable place in the homestay for you to work. You are provided with breakfast and a main evening meal on weekdays, and all meals at weekends. Please also note that if you arrive before the specified arrival day or depart after the specified departure day, you will be required to pay for the extra accommodation provided.
(Broadstairs course only)
Click here to view our Student Handbook.
(Broadstairs course only)
You are responsible for making your own travel arrangements. Click here for information about how to get to Broadstairs.
We recommend that all students take out travel and medical insurance before departure.
Click here to view Terms and Conditions for the Broadstairs course.
Click here to view Terms and Conditions for the online course.