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Saba Darouei Haghighi

Saba Darouei Haghighi from Iran studied our online Certificate in Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (PEAP). Hear more about her experience.

Did you do the course online? What was it like?

Yes, I have done my course online through Microsoft Teams application. At first it was a new and stressful experience for me, and I had not had online course before that. After first sessions I adapted with that. It was interesting and comfortable for me.

How was the teaching on your PEAP course – can you give an example of how you were taught, and an activity you had to do where you learned a lot?

The teaching was interactive, and practice-based. The main topics were about academic skills which are crucial for study at UK’s universities. How to adjust reading to writing and listening to writing and integrating them were important skills I have learnt in PEAP class. Critical writing and reading were another interesting part of the module that helped me to consider both sides of a phenomena and be more creative.

We had a general room and smaller groups in breakout rooms. The general room was a learning room which lead with tutors and small groups were student lead with tutor’s supervision. The tutors encouraged us to peer support study and share our idea with each other.  We interacted with classmates in groups and had common task to do in the class and home assignment.

What were the best bits about the course?

Friendly environment, fantastic student support system, kind and knowledgeable tutors.

Do you think this course is better than doing an English language class locally?

Basically, I had Academic IELTS score 6 and experience of preparing English classes for that before my PEAP class. Confidently, I can say PEAP was better and totally different an experience for me compared with local classes. PEAP was like a university preparation class that not only increased my academic English skills but also helped me to be more familiar with university task, environment and setting.

Do you feel prepared for starting your degree course at NTU now you’ve done PEAP? Explain how it has prepared you for future studies.

I am studying in term 2 of my MSc course in Psychological Well-being and Mental health. I was prepared for online structure of the study in current situation and confident with using technology through my PEAP course. My English language has improved, and I learnt the crucial academic skills for study in MSc at NTU. I made friendship relationships which helped me to not feel alone. I met lovely people who I am confident are here to support me with any social support needs.