International Students

Appointments: One-on-One Writing Consultations 

Writing Centre Appointments are available for all current undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students, from all Faculties and courses. Appointments are 30-minutes long, offering a chance to have an in-depth one-on-one discussion about your writing with a Learning Advisor.

Current Appointment Hours 
OPEN for in-person and online consultations from 10am-4pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Appointment Availability: Appointments open 4 business days (weekdays) in advance - this runs on a rolling schedule that excludes weekends. For instance, appointments on Fridays open for booking on the Monday prior, while appointments on Thursdays open for booking on the Friday prior (4 weekdays in advance). So, if you were aiming to get an appointment at 11am on Friday, then this would become available to book from 11am Monday onwards. 

No appointments available? If the booking system currently shows that no appointments are available (they are often in high demand!), keep checking back and more will become available over time. Or, consider coming to Drop-In Wednesdays - no appointment needed!

Finally, before making an appointment, please read our Booking Policies.

OPEN for in-person drop-ins from 10am - 4pm, every Wednesday during teaching weeks.

Want a quiet space to work on your academic writing and English skills with the support of a Learning Advisor? Come along to our Drop-in Wednesdays - no appointment needed! Drop-in Wednesdays have Learning Advisors present to answer your questions and to help facilitate an encouraging space for you to work on your writing. 

Drop-in session guidelines

• Drop-in sessions are designed for independent study with quick check-ins from a Learning Advisor to keep you on track. For more detailed advice about your writing, consider booking a one-on-one, 30-minute appointment.
• Before you see a Learning Advisor, consider what targeted advice you need before they come to help you.

Our online resources and guides are available to help with developing your skills in your own time. We have interactive essay writing modules and a number of writing guides for you to access - these are great for developing your academic writing skills.

If you have any questions about the information in these resources, consider making an appointment to ask a Learning Advisor in the Writing Centre to help you develop your skills in these areas. 

We also have a range of recorded videos/seminars available. For example, it takes organisation and commitment to study several courses in English when it is not your first language. The recorded seminar below talks about strategies you can use to manage this process and to continually improve your English. It also shows several self-access resources you can use to keep learning.

Presented by Dr Jillian Schedneck and Jayee Teh.

• Video: studying in English
• Studying in English presentation slides

The University of Adelaide recognises that ongoing academic language development and social engagement are key to student success.  The English Assist Program is here to support you.

The English Assist Program is exclusive to international students studying an undergraduate or postgraduate coursework degree in their first semester of study. There is no obligation to complete the program - it is completely optional. The program is not counted towards your academic transcript, and your activity is not graded or tracked; we like to think of it as a useful resource for non-English speaking background students that will assist your conversational, reading, and writing skills for university study, if you need it.

The Program offers a series of workshops that take place throughout the semester and are designed to assist in the development of communication skills and academic skills in the university context.

To register for these workshops, visit our workshops page.

Reading and Writing in English

The English Assist Program also offers a self-guided course, which provides a combination of lectures and modules to help you build your skills and confidence in writing and reading in English. To watch the reading and writing lectures, please go to the English Assist Program course in MyUni (you are automatically enrolled upon commencement of your studies).

Once you complete these modules, we encourage you to make a 30-minute one-on-one mentoring appointment with a Learning Advisor from the Writing Centre. These appointments can be made via the Writing Centre website, and are currently available both in-person at the Writing Centre (Level 3, Hub Central) and online (Zoom). 

The modules will help you:

• Build your skills and confidence in writing and reading in English.
• Build your understanding of academic writing expectations at University.
• Develop your ability to understand and use academic texts in English.
• Expand your English vocabulary.
• Build your understanding of the themes, content, styles and structures of different texts in English.
• Work on communication skills which will help you in your professional life.

An internationally recognised volunteer program is also available to provide language support for students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESB) who have an additional need to improve their oral communication.

For more information visit International Student Support's talking with Aussies page.
 

The State Library of SA provides an English Language Learning Improvement Service (ELLIS)  as a free service for people who are learning English as a foreign language and want to improve their language skills.

ELLIS supplements other English language and literacy programs within South Australia by providing self-help materials and opportunities to improve conversation.