Develop your basic English skills for use in everyday situations and build more confidence in your reading and listening skills.

- Duration4 weeks
- Weekly study4 hours
- Digital upgradeFree
Basic English 2: Pre-Intermediate
Learn to use and understand everyday English
Are you looking to improve your English language skills so you can study or work in an English-speaking country?
On this 4-week course from King’s College London, you will build your English skills, develop your use of English in a wider range of everyday situations and grow your listening ability.
By the end of the course, you will feel more confident in your ability to speak and understand basic English.
Learn how to describe your town, ask for directions and talk about activities
On this course, you’ll learn how to talk about what you did at the weekend and learn lots of new vocabulary. You’ll also discover how to ask for directions and read a map correctly.
You’ll experience going to a shop and learn what to say to the shop assistant. In the final week, the focus will be university. This will be a chance for you to discover some useful phrases and learn which questions to ask when you arrive.
Improve your English grammar
Grammar can be complicated in English, but we’re here to guide you. You’ll learn how to form the past tense, ask questions using the past tense and use irregular verbs.
You’ll practise prepositions of place and movement when asking for directions, and learn about comparatives and the zero conditional when shopping.
Boost your English listening skills
Throughout the course, you’ll have many opportunities to listen to others speak in English, which will help you to improve. To check how well you listen to conversations, you will be asked questions about what you hear.
If you think this course sounds a bit difficult, please try Basic English: Elementary.
What topics will you cover?
- Asking for directions
- Describing your town and where you live
- Talking about your daily routine and activities
- Talking about technology
- Language for shopping and other daily tasks
- Language for preparing for University
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and learn at your own pace. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Identify language associated with everyday situations, such as studying, shopping, and talking about time and schedules
- Develop confidence in key language items useful in a range of different scenarios
- Apply language skills for everyday conversations
- Demonstrate understanding of relevant language that can help the learner progress along the path to studying at a university
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for refugees, displaced people and the communities supporting them in the MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) region who want to learn English for studying and for work. It has been created as part of the PADILEIA project.
However, it will also be of interest to anyone looking to develop their skills in basic English.
We recommend learners have a minimum of CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) A2 to get the most from this course.
Supported by UK aid - Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education, Innovation and Reform
Who will you learn with?
Jessica is the Post Graduate and Executive Education Coordinator at The English Language Centre, KCL and has taught EFL and EAP in Holland, Portugal and the UK.
I am the Instructional Designer for the PADILEIA MOOCs at King’s Online, King’s College London. I am also a language teacher and have taught both English and Spanish in Europe and Asia.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps, but you can complete them as quickly or slowly as you like
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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What's included?
King's College London are offering everyone who joins this course a free digital upgrade, so that you can experience the full benefits of studying online for free. This means that you get:
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