Intensive English Programme

The Intensive English Program (IEP) students at Curtin University Malaysia build practical English skills for general, academic or professional purposes. The mission of the IEP is to prepare students for university study in English by assisting students to:

  • improve English proficiency in listening, reading, writing and speaking skills
  • interact with English speakers in everyday and professional situations
  • gain an awareness of the culture of Malaysian/Australian university life.

The IEP is committed to maintaining a professional teaching and administrative staff and to following ethical standards in all areas. The IEP is also dedicated to establishing supportive lecturer-student relationships, fostering an atmosphere of openness among cultures, and collaborating with the Curtin University Malaysia community to serve all students.

A Placement Test is administered to determine students’ command of English.  Based on the test results, students are placed at the appropriate IEP level.

There are four levels in the IEP, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4. The course consists of 20 contact hours per week. There are four intakes/terms a year. Each term comprises 10 weeks (9 teaching weeks + final week of exams).


*The English Entry requirement for Degree courses in July 2013 intake onwards is IELTS 6.5.

Intensive English Programme Level

Levels 1-2 (Elementary – Lower Intermediate)

This level provides learners with the basics of English in grammar, reading, writing, speaking and listening. This track will be useful to all learners who want to improve their English communication skills no matter what their goals are for studying English.

Upon successful completion of this level, students will be able to:

  • understand basic English sentence structures
  • write simple and compound sentences using simple present and past tense
  • read and understand ESL beginner passages
  • speak on a variety of topics such as daily activities, plans, likes and dislikes, and past experiences
  • use listening strategies to improve their listening comprehension
  • develop their pronunciation, including English rhythm, intonation, consonant sounds and vowel sounds

Students continue to develop fluency and accuracy. Course work focuses on comprehensive skills as well as academic preparation skills, including the fundamentals of essay writing and the development of critical reading and listening skills.

Upon successful completion of this level, students will be able to:

  • practice speaking and listening for practical and academic conversational situations
  • listen and respond to simple ESL lectures on academic topics
  • give 4-6 minute presentations and participate in a variety of speaking tasks using simple present, past, and future tenses
  • use North American and English/British pronunciation including word stress, reductions, sentence stress, rhythm, intonation patterns, consonant and vowel sounds

At this level, students will focus on vocabulary expansion, pronunciation, advanced grammar structures, and extensive reading and writing.

Upon successful completion of this level, students will be able to:

  • develop skills, strategies and vocabulary for reading academic passages
  • develop summarizing and critical thinking skills
  • understand university-style lectures or talks
  • write descriptive reports and essays using academic requirement norms

Learning outcome

Upon successful completion of the Intensive English Program, students will be able to:

  • engage in spoken communication in a variety of contexts using correct pronunciation and intonation
  • develop skills and strategies for reading academic and non-academic texts
  • produce clear and coherent written texts
  • demonstrate use of correct grammatical structures and vocabulary in spoken and written contexts

Academic Calendar and Important Dates

Intensive English Programme Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4
Intake 2 Jan 2 April 25 June 17 Sept
Orientation for New Students 2 – 3 Jan 2 – 3 April 25 – 26 June 17 – 18 Sept
Teaching Weeks 6 Jan – 6 Mar 6 Apr – 5 June 29 June – 28 Aug 21 Sept – 20 Nov
Examinations 9 – 10 Mar 8 – 9 June 1 – 2 Sept 23 – 24 Nov
Results Released 13 Mar 12 June 4 Sept 27 Nov
IELTS Test Dates 14 Mar 13 June 5 Sept 28 Nov
IELTS Result Release 27 Mar 26 June 18 Sept 11 Dec
Important Dates for New Malaysian Students
Course Fee Settlement 27 Dec 2019 27 Mar 19 June 11 Sept
Late Admissions & Fee Settlement 10 Jan 10 April 3 July 25 Sept
Important Dates for New International Students
Applications Close 22 Nov 2019 21 Feb 15 May 7 Aug
Last Date for Acceptance and Payment to reach Curtin 29 Nov 2019 28 Feb 22 May 14 Aug
Important Dates for Current Students
Last date for course fee settlement 27 Dec 2019 27 Mar 19 June 11 Sept
Last date to withdraw without fee liabilities (census date) 17 Jan 17 April 10 July 2 Oct
Re-enrolment dates for next term
(Late re-enrolment fee: RM100)		 17 – 21 Feb 18 – 22 May 10 – 14 Aug 2 – 6 Nov

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