Certificate in English and Design - Full Time

This unique new course is for students to improve their English skills and at the same time get a taste of a variety of digital media. You will learn the basics of design and improve your general English at the same time.  Based at our Auckland design school campus, this is no ordinary language course,  you will be surrounded by creative students and the latest Macintosh technology.

Forget language schools where no one speaks English outside of class – at Yoobee School of Design you can socialise with New Zealand and international students as you improve your English and create exciting design work using the Adobe Creative Suite. There is nothing else like it in New Zealand.

You will study English for 3 hours each morning with our English tutor Sara. She has a degree in Art History, and over four years teaching experience in New Zealand and Asia. In this class you will prepare for taking the IELTs General Training exam with a goal of 5.5 in mind. As well as this, you will get plenty of practise with technical design vocabulary and improve your everyday English.

Ken, who also manages Yoobee School of Design's own graduate studio ‘Creative Bite’, is the tutor of the digital design part of the course. Ken has extensive industry experience as an art director and studio manager and was a lecturer at Sydney’s top design college Billy Blue for over 10 years. In this part of the course you will study for 2 hours per day learning the basics of key creative industry programs and complete design briefs on photography, the design process, digital video, package design, Flash animation and many more aspects of digital design. On Fridays your study will be self-directed, allowing for time to do research, complete assignments or brush up on problem areas in your English with tutor input available.

If you successfully complete the course you will receive the NZQA approved Certificate in English and Digital Design (Level 3).  Then depending on your IELTS, you can apply for the Natcoll iCreate certificate course or one of the Diploma courses. You may sit an IELTs exam externally in Auckland towards the end of your course which will open up a number of options for further study at a higher level.

To enter this course you need a minimum level of IELTs 4.5 (General Training) or equivalent TOEFL or Cambridge examination scores. Students may also be able to gain entry under special conditions. While you do not need any design experience, we are looking forward to working with students who are interested and motivated to succeed in this field. Students who are more experienced can also greatly benefit from the course – completing the practical modules to a high standard.

This class is strictly limited to 15 students, so if you want to combine English study with practical computer design projects in a fantastic learning environment, enquire now – you can start any Monday!