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Cambridge First Certificate Examination (FCE)

Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast
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Course description

The Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE) is a Certificate for students
who need to demonstrate that they can use written and spoken English at an
upper-intermediate level in everyday life, in the workplace or at university.
The learning outcomes are directly linked to the official Cambridge test skills,
and are as follows:
- Improve your reading skills to better understand written texts on general topics
- Produce a range of texts, including letters, emails, articles, reviews, reports
and essays
- Improve your listening skills across a range of situations from short
monologues to multi-person conversations between native speakers.
- Learn to speak with greater control and accuracy, and develop your
pronunciation and intonation.
- Learn to use more complex sentences. In higher levels, you will learn to better
manipulate grammar structures and vocabulary.
- The approximate exit level equivalency for Cambridge FCE is IELTS 5.0
- The FCE course comprises 20 hours of intensive face-to-face English classes
plus 3 hours of supervised General Independent Study (GIS)
- The standard Cambridge FCE Grammar text is used

Course topics

Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar

Class schedule

Course duration
1-52 weeks
Start dates
Every Monday
Classes per week
23 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 55 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday
School holidays
16 Dec 2024 - 01 Jan 2025, 27 Jan 2025, 18 Apr 2025, 21 Apr 2025, 25 Apr 2025, 05 May 2025, 06 Oct 2025

Australian Interntional College of Language does not hold classes on the holiday dates above. The school does not compensate for these holidays, so make sure to choose your start date accordingly.

Class times

You can choose from the following class times:

Morning session
08:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.

Class level

Intermediate
You will take a placement test on your first day to determine your class level. You may also take this test before your arrival in Gold Coast.

Class size

Average 12 students
Maximum 15 students

Student age

Age range 16 years old and older
Average 22 years old
(18 in the summer)

Certificate

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.
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school

School description

AICOL was established in 1993. It is the oldest English language school on the Gold Coast. All teachers fully qualified and experienced.

Courses are available for students from 6 years of age through to seniors. The classrooms are air-conditioned and have natural lighting. All windows can be opened to the outside for fresh air ventilation.
We have covid-safe practices. Our school building is directly opposite the Southport Broadwater Parklands, where the swimming events for the 2018 Commonwealth Games were held.

Just 5 minutes walk away is the Australia Fair Shopping Centre, bus terminals, and the light rail network. A new shopping centre called Queen Street Village is a 10 minute walk.

AICOL has its own homestay placement service, as well as airport transfers. AICOL can also make activity bookings for students, with a very wide range of activities to choose from. Our Winter, Spring, and Summer Camps have been operating for years, and have become well known around the world.

The Gold Coast offers 42 kilometres of beautiful beaches, a great climate, a multicultural society, and is just 45 minutes away from the world heritage listed Lamington National Park.

Year opened
1993
Number of classrooms
18

Accreditations

Facilities

  • Elevators
  • Eating Area
  • Cultural Trips
  • Wireless Internet
  • Studying Area
  • TV Room
  • Wheelchair access
  • Sports Activities
  • Free Internet
  • After-Class Seminars
  • Audio Learning
  • Computers
  • Social Activities

Teacher qualifications

Native English speakers
Over 50%
Teachers with English teaching certification
All
Teachers with college degrees
Over 50%

Nationality and age mix

The nationality and age mix at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast varies over different time periods, courses and levels. Throughout the year, the average age is 22. In the summer, the average age is 18.

Australian Interntional College of Language teaches students from all over the world, including:

Japan
20%
South Korea
15%
China
10%
Hong Kong
10%
Taiwan
10%
France
5%
Vietnam
5%
Russia
2%
Other
23%

School holidays

Australian Interntional College of Language does not hold classes on the holiday dates below. The school does not compensate for these holidays, so make sure to choose your start date accordingly.

Open dates
Year round
School holidays
16 Dec 2024 - 01 Jan 2025, 27 Jan 2025, 18 Apr 2025, 21 Apr 2025, 25 Apr 2025, 05 May 2025, 06 Oct 2025

School location

AICOL is conveniently located just 3 minutes walk away from Australia Fair shopping centre in the Southport Central Business District where there are more than 200 speciality shops and an international food hall. The school is just 45 minutes away from the world heritage listed Lamington National Park.

The Gold Coast light rail linking Southport with Griffith University, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach provides a very convenient means of public transport and the Southport station is only 5 minutes walk from our school. The Gold Coast Aquatic Centre with Olympic standard pools and facilities is directly opposite our school.

AICOL faces onto 34 hectares of the Broadwater Parklands, which is a magnificent public facility fronting to the Broadwater with water-based activities such as swimming, paddle-boarding, rowing etc.

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photos

Photos

  • Activities offered at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 1/36
  • Building of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 2/36
  • City of Gold Coast 3/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 4/36
  • Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 5/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 6/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 7/36
  • Building of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 8/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 9/36
  • Activities offered at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 10/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 11/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 12/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 13/36
  • Homestay housing offered by Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 14/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 15/36
  • Activities offered at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 16/36
  • Activities offered at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 17/36
  • Classes at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 18/36
  • Classes at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 19/36
  • Activities offered at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 20/36
  • Classes at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 21/36
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  • Classes at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 23/36
  • Classes at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 24/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 25/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 26/36
  • Homestay housing offered by Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 27/36
  • Homestay housing offered by Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 28/36
  • Homestay housing offered by Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 29/36
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  • Homestay housing offered by Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 33/36
  • Building of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 34/36
  • City of Gold Coast 35/36
  • Students of Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast 36/36
reviews

Reviews

100% recommend

based on 3 reviews
5 stars
1
4 stars
1
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
0
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"I had wonderful experience there."

HIROSHI UEDA, student from Japan

I took a general English for 4 weeks. I learned a lot English here and have a confidence to speak in English now. Teacher was very kind and taught English us for each level of student and each student’s purpose. Student came from different of country and I felt very international there.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
20 May 2024 - 14 Jun 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Very good"

Yuka Ota, student from Japan

I liked the classes but I was expecting to develop my conversation skills more.
I also liked the staff.
The classes had too many Japanese students but I cannot blame the school for that.
The extra activities were good but could be better. For example: Sea world, paradise country.
My host family was wonderful.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
26 Mar 2018 - 29 Mar 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
Garth Keppie, Director and Co-Principal at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast responded to this review.
12 February 2019

Thank you for your comments, and my apologies for not replying sooner. April is the Japanese Spring holidays, so naturally there will be a predominance of students from japan, but we appreciate your understanding and acceptance of the situation. We are very proud of our homestay family network, and always appreciate comments such as yours.

Kind regards,

"Overall positive"

Giovanni Domesi

The school had two classes for children. Overall, I did a lot of talking but very little of grammar. There were also too many exits out of school for activities which were not strictly related to teaching English.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
5 Jan 2015 - 30 Jan 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
Garth Keppie, Director at Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast responded to this review.
04 October 2016

Thank you for the feedback. We are always conscious of the need to balance study with activity, especially for young students. When activity is part of the classroom lesson, we do try to structure it so that it contains a learning experience. Having said that, we cannot get it right all the time, and we are sorry if your experience with us was not totally satisfactory. I have passed your comments on to our Director of Studies so that we may be aware of them when structuring future curricula.

housing

Housing

Australian Interntional College of Language offers the following housing types:
homestay

Homestay- Single Room- Full Board

S$ 393
weekly
Age range: 6 years old and older
Location: Outside the city center of Gold Coast
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (21 meals per week)
Distance to school: 10 - 25 minutes by other
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
S$ 393
As a general comment, please note that due to covid the circumstances of many of our regular homestay families have changed. Consequently, it has become more challenging to find good families. There is great demand for homestay families at the moment, so it is a matter of first come first served.

Students can choose to be placed with one of our homestay families, who will drive the student to school each day and pick them up after school if required. Families are located within an average of 20 minutes driving time by car from our school.

All families offer a caring and welcoming place in which students may learn about Australian culture and way of life, and practise their English. We try as best as possible to match each student with the most suitable homestay, according to the student's needs.

All homestay families are interviewed and their homes inspected, and all homestay family members over 18 years of age must hold blue cards (police clearance checks). Many of our homestay families have been accepting international students for 10 or more years, and are very experienced.

Our homestay families accept international students from 6 years of age. All students are given full details of their homestay families before they come to Australia, and the students and their parents are able to contact the homestay families direct before arriving in Australia.
visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you.

Visit the Australia Government website »

Flights and airport transfer

The school offers airport pickup services. If you wish to be picked up, just give us your flight details and arrival date. The price of a one-way airport transfer from Gold Coast Airport is A$ 100. You must book your airport transfer in advance when you register.

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Gold Coast based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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questions

Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from Australian International College of Language: Gold Coast staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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