Language Program - Private Lessons - Intermediate 10 Lessons University of Cape Town English Language Centre

Students who have specific language learning requirements may choose to have one-to-one lessons with a teacher. Your teacher will first carry out a detailed needs analysis to identify the context in which you need to use English, and the areas of the language where you need support and training. Through this process you and your teacher will agree the learning outcomes you will work towards together on your course.

The lessons can be scheduled to fit your timetable, and can be combined with other courses. Private Lessons may suit students in full time work or academic study who require support with tasks like giving a work presentation or writing a thesis. They can also be very useful to students with low levels of English to kick-start their language learning journey.

UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, a high school for boys. It began developing into a fully fledged university during the period 1880 to 1900, thanks to increased funding due to the discovery of gold and diamonds in the north and the resulting demand for skills in mining. During these years, UCT built its first science laboratories, and started the departments of mineralogy and geology to meet the need for skilled personnel in the country’s emerging diamond and gold-mining industries.

UCT was formally established as a university in 1918. The new university attracted substantial support from well-wishers in the Cape Town area and, for the first time, a significant state grant. In 1928, the university moved most of its facilities to a new site at Groote Schuur on the slopes of Devil’s Peak. It was here, on land bequeathed to the nation by Cecil John Rhodes as the site for a national university, that UCT celebrated its centenary the following year.

Between the 1960s and 1990s UCT was known for its its sustained opposition to apartheid, particularly in higher education. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, the number of black students admitted to the university rose by 35 percent. By 2004, nearly half of UCT’s 20 000 students were black and just under half of the student body was female. Today we have one of the most diverse campuses in South Africa.