English for University
One-to-one English lessons with experienced British teachers for non-native English speakers studying, or about to study, at a UK university. Academic English built around the lectures, seminars, reading lists and essays you actually face. Online across the UK, face-to-face in London.
Tell us what you are studying and where you are stuck, and we will match you with the right teacher. No commitment, no pressure.
Who English for University lessons are for
English for University at PS English is for non-native English speakers whose English has already been judged good enough to study at a UK university, and who are now finding that real academic life is harder than the test suggested. Most of our students are at upper-intermediate level or above. The grammar and vocabulary are in place, the IELTS or TOEFL score has cleared the bar, and the offer letter is in hand. What is missing is the easy command of academic English: keeping up with a lecturer who speaks quickly and assumes you can follow, contributing to a seminar without losing your thread, reading a long article in one sitting without giving up, and writing an essay that sounds like the kind of essay your tutor expects.
If you can read this page comfortably, you are very likely the right level for us.
English for University lessons work especially well for:
Undergraduate students in their first year at a UK university, adjusting to the pace and style of British academic teaching
Postgraduate students on Master’s or PhD programmes, where the reading volume is heavier and the seminar contributions count for more
Students about to start at a UK university, who want to arrive ready rather than spend the first term catching up
Foundation and pre-sessional students who have passed their entry English test but want extra support alongside their university programme
Visiting and exchange students spending a term or a year in the UK, who want to make the most of it
What you work on in English for University lessons
Every English for University lesson at PS English is built around your subject, your course and your specific frustrations, not a fixed syllabus. In your first lesson, your teacher asks what you are studying, where you are in your course, and what kind of academic work is giving you the most trouble. The lessons that follow are planned around the parts of academic English that will move you forward fastest. Most students focus on some combination of the areas below, in whatever proportion suits the work they are actually doing.
The vocabulary and structures British academics use, the signals that tell you when a new point is starting, the side-comments and asides that often carry the most important content, and practical strategies for note-taking when the lecturer is moving faster than you can write.
The phrases that let you enter a discussion without interrupting, disagree without sounding rude, ask a question that does not feel basic, and pick up your thread when someone has cut across you. Small phrases that change the way you are heard in the room.
How to read an academic article quickly without missing the argument, how to know which paragraphs deserve close attention and which can be skimmed, and how to read for the seminar rather than reading every word in order.
The structure British tutors expect, the register and voice of academic writing, the way to make a clear argument that builds across paragraphs, and the small editorial habits (signposting, hedging, referencing other sources) that mark out a well-written essay from a technically correct one.
The high-frequency academic words and phrases that appear in lectures, readings and essays regardless of discipline. Learning these once pays off across every module.
Conversations with tutors in office hours, group work with classmates, presenting in seminars, asking for an extension, and the everyday social English that turns a fellow student into a friend.
Holding your English steady in a viva, a presentation, an unexpected question from a tutor, or the first time you contribute in a seminar. The work that helps most students stop dreading the moments they currently find hardest.
If your need is broader than academic English, or you are not yet at a UK university, our English Tutor page sets out the wider range of one-to-one lessons we offer. If you still need to pass an entry English test, our English Exam Preparation pages cover IELTS, TOEFL and Cambridge exams.
How our English for University lessons are different
One-to-one, built around your course
University language support tends to be group-based and generic by design. Our lessons are one-to-one and built around the actual lectures, readings, essays and seminars you are dealing with this week. Bring the reading list, bring the essay brief, bring the lecture you did not follow, and we work on the English you need for the work you are actually doing.
Experienced British teachers who know UK academia
Our teachers are native British English speakers with years of experience teaching adult learners, including international students at UK universities. They know how British academic English actually sounds in a lecture, what tutors mean when they ask for a "critical" essay, and the small conventions of UK academic life that international students often pick up the hard way. You are not being matched with the next available person on a worldwide roster.
Practical, not theoretical
The goal is real progress on the work in front of you, not a parallel course in academic English theory. You will leave each lesson with something specific you can do better in your next lecture, seminar or essay. Most students see the biggest improvements not in their next test score but in the moment when they realise they understood the whole tutorial, or contributed twice in a seminar where they used to stay silent.
Flexible, online or in person
Lessons fit around your timetable, not the other way around. Take them online from anywhere in the UK, in person in central London, or mix the two as it suits you. Online lessons are particularly useful during term time when your timetable is unpredictable, and many students intensify their lessons in the run-up to exams, assessment deadlines or a viva.
I had passed IELTS with a 7.5 and I thought I was ready. Three weeks into my Master’s at a London university, I realised I was understanding maybe half of every lecture and saying almost nothing in seminars. Two months of weekly lessons with PS English turned that around. I am now the student in the seminar who asks the question everyone wanted to ask.
How it works
Book a free consultation
Tell us what you are studying, where you are in your course, and which parts of academic English are giving you the most trouble. We will match you with a teacher at a time that suits you, including around lectures and seminars.
Meet your teacher
Your first lesson is a real lesson, at a discounted price of £20 for 60 minutes online. Bring a reading, a lecture note, an essay brief, or whatever piece of your course feels hardest right now, and your teacher works through it with you. No commitment, no pressure.
Start your lessons
When you are ready, book a block of lessons online or face-to-face in London. Your teacher tailors each lesson to the work you are doing that week, and adjusts the focus around your timetable, your deadlines and your exams. Most students book lessons in blocks of ten or twenty and adjust as their needs change.
Related lessons
If you still need an IELTS score for your university offer or visa, our IELTS Preparation page covers one-to-one preparation for Academic and General Training.
Find out moreIf your university expects TOEFL rather than IELTS, our TOEFL Preparation page covers the new 2026 format and the score you need.
Find out moreFor the everyday conversational English of life outside seminars, friendships, flatmates, and the social side of university.
Find out moreFor students approaching graduation and starting to think about internships, job interviews and the professional voice that follows.
Find out moreFrequently asked questions about English for University
My IELTS or TOEFL score was high enough to get me into university. Why am I struggling now?
The entry tests measure general English at a level that universities accept as a minimum. Real academic life adds three layers on top of that: the pace and density of British academic English in a lecture, the discourse conventions of seminars and essays, and the volume of reading at university level. Many international students with strong test scores find at least one of those layers difficult in their first term, and almost all of them improve quickly once they have someone to practise with.
How quickly will I see a difference?
Most students notice a difference within the first three or four lessons, usually in following lectures or contributing to seminars, where the gains come fastest. Reading speed and essay writing take longer, typically two to three months of weekly lessons before the change is large enough for you to feel it without thinking about it. The honest answer is that academic English is a longer arc than exam preparation, and the students who see the biggest improvements are the ones who keep the lessons going through a whole term.
Will my teacher know my subject?
Your teacher will not be a specialist in your subject, and the lessons are not subject tutoring. What your teacher does know is the academic English used across UK universities: the vocabulary, the conventions, the way a tutor reads an essay, the way a seminar discussion is structured. We work on the English of your course, with you bringing the subject expertise from your own programme. In practice this works well: most international students do not need a second tutor for their subject, they need help making the most of the one they already have.
Can you help me before I start at university?
Yes. Students who come to us before they start, even just for a handful of lessons over the summer, tend to settle into their first term faster and with less anxiety. Pre-arrival lessons typically focus on the kind of academic English they will meet in lectures and seminars, the conventions of British academic writing, and the practical English of arriving in a new country and a new university.
Are lessons online or in person?
Both. Online lessons run across the UK and are particularly useful during term time when your timetable is unpredictable. Face-to-face lessons run in central London and tend to work well for students based in or near London who want a regular hour off campus. Many students mix the two as their term goes on.
How much do lessons cost?
Prices for our one-to-one lessons are set out in full on our Pricing page, including the discount that applies to lessons booked in blocks. The initial consultation is free, and your first lesson is a discounted 60-minute trial at £20, so you can meet your teacher and try a real lesson before you decide whether the cost is right for you.
See our pricingReady to feel at home in academic English?
Tell us what you are studying and where you are stuck, and we will match you with a teacher. Your consultation is free, with no commitment either way.