A 12 week preparatory course leading to the ILEC examination

The International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) is the only internationally recognised certificate for lawyers who do not speak English as a first language. The ILEC is a Cambridge ESOL examination, developed in co-operation with TransLegal – Europe’s leading firm of lawyer-linguists. The ILEC is recognised by leading associations of lawyers including the European Company Lawyers Association, the European Law Students Association, the International Association of Young Lawyers, and the European Young Bar Association.

(Cambridge ESOL is a member of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), which was formed in 1990. The members are all providers of language examinations and certificates from countries within Europe.)

The ILEC is equivalent in level to the Cambridge First Certificate in English and Certificate in Advanced English, and assesses language skills in a legal context. A certificate gained at the level of C1 can be used as proof of the level of language necessary to work in an international legal context, or to follow a course of legal study at university level.

The exam is held at the British Council only twice a year -- May and November. We offer an intensive 12 week preparatory course for a select number of lawyers working in Bucharest. The course would be held at weekends only and would optimise the chances of candidates successfully passing the exam.

Having an internationally recognised certificate in Legal English would, of course, enhance a CV and help to 'open doors' for those wishing to work with international legal companies who are currently assessing the legal market in Romania with a view to setting up an office in eastern Europe. And if you gain a certificate at the highest level, C1, it may even help you to gain employment in the field of law in English speaking countries around the world.

Only those with an excellent chance of passing ILEC will be accepted by Essential English for this short, intensive course. If you are ambitious and wish to join the creme-de-la-creme of the legal world, please contact us for details of the preparatory course.

"Just Grammar"

Do your employees have problems writing e-mails in English? Do they find difficulty understanding documents written in English? Do they sometimes fail to understand English-speaking clients on the phone or worry about using English when meeting business colleagues from other European countries? If so, then our  “Just Grammar” course will quickly improve their English language skills. People who have forgotten what they learned at school can quickly learn to use English with greater accuracy and confidence. The teacher corrects mistakes instantly in class and practises the grammar or language points with the students. The grammar learned is regularly  revised in class. “Just Grammar” is one of our most popular courses. 

Course duration: 60 hours  ( 3 hours per week for 20 weeks )

General English

For those who wish to make effective progress in a short time, this course concentrates on developing fluency, refreshing key grammar areas and extending vocabulary. Each lesson has a clear objective and students have a practice section in their books to test what they have learned. The teacher can also download supplementary materials from the Oxford University Press web-site to test the students' progress every month. The book used is called “Clockwise” (Oxford University Press) and is available for all levels: Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-intermediate and Advanced.

Course duration:  60 hours (  3 hours per week for 20 weeks )

Business English

There is a wide range of Business English books available. However, we recommend “Business Basics”. This textbook has been extensively revised and 90% of the material is new. The content of the book remains language-driven, giving learners the thorough grounding in basic structures and skills that they need. There is also a lot of scope for language practice during lessons based on business topics that are relevant to modern businesses.  

Course duration for “Business Basics”:  60 hours  ( 3 hours per week for 20 weeks )

Special courses

We have experience in planning courses to suit a company's special needs. For example, sometimes employees write e-mails or letters in 'Romanian-English'; the Romanian language structure and vocabulary are simply translated directly into English. Or sometimes they cannot structure their e-mails or letters well, expressing themselves in a way  that is difficult to understand. We can help to minimise this problem with a special writing course using examples written by your employees as the material for the course. Employees learn how to use clear, simple styles of writing that your clients can easily understand.

Course duration : Decided on a case by case basis.

One-to-one teaching ( Lectii Particulare )

Due to the increase in demand for our in-company courses we regret that we can no longer provide this service.