Student Opinions towards a Six-Week English Programme in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Studying abroad can be a very beneficial opportunity for a learner in terms of academic, language, cultural, and life experience. This study aims to survey the opinions of twenty-eight university students towards a six-week English programme run by the Centre for Global Programmes (CGP), University of York, UK.  Pre- and post-course survey questionnaires were used to gauge the students’ expectations and their level of satisfaction with the five main components of the programme. Two regular teachers of the course also rated their perceptions towards each component of the course through a parallel questionnaire. In addition, two students who had experienced a similar programme at other two different institutions in two different countries in an earlier year were interviewed to provide more insightful information concerning learning opportunities, daily life and weekend, and host families and culture. The results showed that the students’ expectations were mostly met, although student and teacher perceptions varied slightly.