English is spoken as a first language by around 375 million people and has official or special status in at least seventy five countries with a total population of over two billion. Speakers of English as a second language (around 750 million people) outnumber those who speak it as a first language. One out of four of the world's population speak English to some level of competence; demand from the other three-quarters is increasing. English is the main language of books, newspapers, airports and air-traffic control, international business and academic conferences, science, technology, diplomacy, sport, international competitions, pop music and advertising and of the estimated 200 million users of the Internet, some thirty-six per cent communicate in English. By the year 2000 it was estimated that over one billion people will be learning English and 16 per cent of EU citizens speak English as their first language. In Barna House, our team of native English speakers provide classes across more than 12 levels.
Level 1A
Starting at the very basics, this course takes students from an elementary level- learning numbers, basic vocab and present tense, right up to a level where the student feels comfortable in basic conversation and comprehension and can express themselves in past, present and future about a variety of topics.
Level 1B
For those who have found themselves studying elementary english time and time again, this level allows the student to skip the absolute basics and begin slightly further down the beginners course.
See grammar contents for level 1A and 1B
Level 2 A
pre-intermediate level which takes students with a basic grasp of English and widens vocabulary across many topics, increases comprehension of varying accents, consolidates basic grammar and extends knowledge to include more advanced tenses (conditionals / perfect etc) and brings the studentīs conversational skills to an intermediate level providing them with more confidence.
See grammar contents
Level 3
This intermediate course teaches students vocab across topics such as health, money, family, work, the home, fashion and many other subjects. Students are challenged further by higher level listening exercises, short stories prepared for this level and finish the course with a more than adequate level for day-to-day use of English. See grammar contents
Level 4
Level 4 is an upper-intermediate level which begins to delve into the more advanced aspects of English such as subjunctive expressions, speculation, talking hypotetically, advanced conditional tenses, while simultaneously widening vocab and exposing students to visual and audio programmes to increase comprehension skills. In this course, in depth conversations and debates feature widely due to the high level of conversation possible. See grammar contents
Level 5
During a level 5 course, a student can expect to begin a 2 year preparation course for first certificate, perfecting pronunciation and eliminating any written or spoken errors. Students improve their spoken presentation skills and are also able to write in suitable English for any given situation, should that be an informal letter, a complaint, a report etc. By the end of this course students are ready to begin their final months of study before sitting the 1st Certificate exam.
Level 6
At this level, many students are preparing to sit the Cambridge First Certificate course. During the course, all aspects of the first certicficate exam are covered; students follow a pre-set booked desgined specifically to help students pass this exam and regular mock tests taken from real exams from previous years are provided with invaluable feedback given by the teaching team which no doubt led to our 100% pass rate in 2003/2004.
Level 7
The Cambridge Advanced Examination confirms a very high level of fluency among those skilled enough to take it, and this course carried students towards the exam, exposing them to all areas needed to sucessfully carry it out (once again including real past papers). A near perfect pass rate at this level also confirms the success of the course.
Level 8
The Cambridge proficiency level is for those studying English at the highest level. Desgined for those who wish to completely perfect their English, this level finishes with the Cambridge Proficiency in English exam and concludes the courses at Barna House. Once again, we are proud of our 100% pass rate achieved in 2003/2004.
Level 1N (Children)
For children aged 7 and above, this fun but invalulable course consolidates English learnt at school and introduces children to further aspects of English that they would normally not learn for another 2 - 3 years.
Level 2N (Children)
Following on from the 1N level, children are now able to communicate more openly, and the combination of children at this age with a native teacher results in a native accent for all children attending these levels.
Level 3N (Children)
Level 3N prepares children in basic tenses and gets them ready to move to a young personīs level where conversation with greater levels of fluency is possible. On finishing this level, students are capable of speaking at a minimum in past, present and future and can do so about a wide range of subjects.
Level 2J
This level prepares teenagers to take the step towards an adult level of English and by the end of the course, these students can speak at an adult intermediate level. A fun, down-to-earth course, the materials and activities are designed for teenagers but still maintaining the necessary contents to ensure that the studentīs level of English is raised considerably. (Đ Barnahouse)
english version
