Speaking Practice – Academic Speaking

Paula Villegas Verdu
Monday 10 July 2023

Overview of the sessions 

Preparing an academic presentation? Viva upcoming or spoken exam looming? This session is for you! 

You can sign up for a free, online 25-minute one-to-one tutorial with a specialist English language tutor, who can help you develop your academic speaking skills.  

We hold these sessions all year round, but there may be limited availability during holiday periods.  

Who are these sessions for?  

These appointments are for St Andrews students. However, these sessions cannot support students doing Foundation Studies or pre-sessional students at IELLI. 

How many sessions can I book?  

  • Viva Preparation – 2 meetings per semester
  • Presentation / oral exam practice -2 meetings per semester

We kindly ask that you only book one session per week

What we can help with 

You can use your appointment to get help with 

  • Presentation skills practice
  • Pronunciation practice 
  • Viva practice 

What we can’t help with 

These appointments are for speaking practice only, so we will not be looking at any written work. We won’t be able to help with content questions related to your discipline. Similarly, if you have questions about course content and marking schemes, you need to ask your supervisor or course tutors, as we won’t be able to help.  

Who will be my tutor? 

Our tutors are highly qualified and experienced language teachers who can help you with the linguistic and general academic aspects of your presentation. However, they will not be able to assist with content questions. Our tutors have a wide range of teaching commitments, so you may not be able to see the same tutor in all your appointments 

Guidelines for appointments 

To ensure the smooth running of the service, please remember that 

  • Appointments are individual and non-transferable. Please make sure you cancel your appointment if you can no longer attend 
  • Appointments are subject to availability, and priority is given to students who use English as a second language
  • You can only book one appointment at a time. Please only book one appointment per week
  • If you are more than 10 minutes late, your appointment will be cancelled, and you won’t be able to make an appointment until the following month.  
  • Shortly after you book your appointment, you will receive an email with a calendar appointment to let you join the online meeting in which your appointment will take place. 

Booking an appointment 

Please click on the link below. Please note it will open a new window

Schedule online

Please remember to cancel your appointment if you can no longer attend. Thank you for helping us keep the service effective and inclusive for all our students.