Our team offers support for undergraduate and graduate students with English as an additional language.
If you learned to speak English after your first language or you are multilingual, our team are here to help you develop academic English skills.
We can work together on your writing, speaking, reading, and listening skills.
Have questions or want more information? Email eal.sass@queensu.ca.
All of our academic English help is free for Queen's students.
Individual appointments
We can help you improve your academic English. Every appointment is focused on your goals, but popular topics include grammar lessons, academic writing trends, pronunciation, and presentations.
You don't have to book more than one appointment at a time, but most students choose to come back on a regular basis.
To book an EAL appointment, use our online reservation system.
When we work together on your writing, we can
- explore general writing skills, grammatical conventions, and cultural expectations.
- identify trends in your writing, answer specific questions you have about writing, or practice applying writing strategies together.
When we discuss your speaking, we can
- work on general speaking skills, English pronunciation, and presentation strategies.
- give you feedback on your presentations, help you practice the sounds of English, and share strategies for speaking confidently in class.
When we discuss your listening skills, we can
- collaborate on understanding lectures and conferences, finding key ideas when listening to professors, and speaking with other students in class.
- practice strategies for understanding difficult vocabulary, participating in group discussions, and responding to what you've heard.
When working on your reading skills together, we can
- discuss how to get the most out of your readings and become a more efficient reader in English.
- practice taking effective notes, provide strategies for understanding academic vocabulary in textbooks and journal articles, and explain how you can integrate ideas from readings into your own academic work.
Weekly Programs
Write It
- What? An interactive academic writing workshop
- How? We focus on a different writing topic every week and practice different sentence-level strategies and choices by editing a paragraph together.
- When? Wednesdays from 2:30-4:00 pm
- Where? Queen's International Centre or attend on Zoom
Speak Up
- What? An interactive academic speaking skills group
- How? Practice skills and strategies for academic discussions and presentations!
- When? Mondays from 2:30-4:00 pm
- Where? In person at the Queen's International Centre
SASS @ QUIC Communication Practice
- What? A drop-in program to help you feel more confident communicating at university
- How? Want to practice your speaking skills? Have a writing question? Stop by the SASS table at the QUIC. No appointment necessary. Quick or complex questions are welcome.
- When? Wednesdays from 1:00 – 2:00 pm
- Where? In person at the Queen’s International Centre
Additional Support
- What? An informal workshop about overcoming academic culture shock
- How? Chat with SASS staff and fellow students about your transition to Queen’s and learn about resources and strategies that can help you succeed
- When? Mondays (Jan. 13 – Feb. 3) from 1:00-2:00 pm
- Where? In person at the QUIC
Looking for more support with your academic transition? Check out our online modules about overcoming academic culture shock:
- What? A certificate program that develops your awareness of different learning experiences and expectations.
- How? Participate in a series of online modules or in-person chats and try out some of the academic success services at Queen’s.
- When? The certificate can be completed on your own time, in 12 hours or less.
- Where? Online (Sign up for the certificate on onQ)
- Connect with other multilingual students at the Queen's University International Centre's Conversation Group. Learn idioms and expressions, practice vocabulary, and meet students from all around the world.
- Connect with the stories of international students whenever you choose by listening to our podcast, International Voices at Queen's. Episodes cover topics like housing, accented English, and culture shock.
“I have benefited a lot from the Write It workshops! It was like a course for me. The things I have learned from these workshops helped me to edit the writing myself. Although I still make mistakes, I believe I will be better and better! Everyone there are super dedicated in learning.”
Shirley W
Cultural Studies '22