ESL Glossary

1:1 class One-on-one class

One teacher, one student, one hour. It is the core of every course here and the reason progress is faster than in a classroom: you cannot sit quietly at the back, and the lesson bends to your weaknesses instead of the group average.

ACR I-Card Alien Certificate of Registration Identity Card

An identity card issued by the Bureau of Immigration to certain foreign nationals staying beyond a set period. Whether it applies to you depends on your nationality and how long you stay, so treat it as a question for the office rather than an assumption.

Band score

The way an IELTS result is reported: a score for each of the four skills plus an overall figure. Institutions usually set both an overall requirement and a minimum for individual skills, which is why one weak skill can hold back an otherwise strong result.

BESA Baguio English Schools Association

The association of established English schools in Baguio, which A&J e-Edu Academy belongs to. It is also the body behind the shared airport pick-up that students from different schools travel on together.

BI Bureau of Immigration

The Philippine government body responsible for visas, permits and extensions. It accredits the schools allowed to enroll international students, and it is the authority behind every fee and validity period on this subject.

EAA Eco Academic Activity

The discussion-based twin of ECA: an optional evening group class working through a topic together. Closer to a debate club than a lesson.

ECA Eco Club Activity

An optional evening group class built around doing something rather than discussing it: dance, pop songs, badminton. English is the medium, not the subject, which is why it works for people who freeze in a classroom.

إيكو فيلا

One of the accommodation types on campus, alongside the Deluxe rooms and the Premium units. Which one you take is a choice you make when you apply, and it can be changed later.

EOP English Only Policy

The rule that students speak English on campus rather than their own language. It exists because the students who improve fastest are the ones who stop translating in their heads, and that only happens when the easy option is not available. Breaking it carries a penalty and a small fine.

ESL English as a Second Language

Teaching English to people who already speak another language first. It is the umbrella term for what this whole school does, and it covers everything from a beginner learning to order coffee to a professional polishing a presentation.

Group class

A class with several students and one teacher, used for discussion, listening and the kind of practice that needs more than two voices. Most courses combine group classes with one-on-one hours rather than choosing between them.

Group pick-up

The shared transfer from the airport up to Baguio, arranged through BESA and travelling with arriving students from other schools. The cheaper of the two pick-up options, and the more sociable.

Guarantee course

A course sold against a target score rather than a length of study, with defined terms about what happens if the target is not reached. Read those terms carefully, on any school's guarantee, before you sign.

IELTS International English Language Testing System

The most widely accepted English test, used by universities and by immigration authorities in several countries. It comes in two versions, Academic and General Training, which are not interchangeable, so confirm which one you need before booking.

Level test

The assessment taken in your first days that decides which class level you join. It is not an exam to pass or fail; putting yourself in the wrong level is the fastest way to waste a term, so answering honestly serves you better than answering well.

Make-up class

A replacement class scheduled when lessons are lost, usually on a Saturday. It is how the guaranteed number of teaching days survives a month with several public holidays in it.

حصة مسائية

Any of the optional evening sessions that run Monday to Thursday. You apply on the day, and having applied you are expected to turn up.

Post-test

The test at the end of each month that sets your level for the month ahead. Compulsory: missing it costs points and blocks a teacher extension.

PTE Pearson Test of English

A computer-based English test known for returning results quickly. Widely accepted by universities and by visa authorities in Australia and New Zealand.

Quiet hours

The overnight window when noise stops across campus. It is not lights out: the study rooms stay open well past it for people who work best late.

Self-study

Use of the lecture building for your own work once the teaching day ends. Quiet, no meals, and open far later than most people expect.

Semi-Sparta

A middle setting between a full Sparta course and a relaxed one: a full teaching day, but fewer compulsory evening sessions and more freedom at the weekend.

Sending service

The scheduled transfer back down to the airport at the end of a course. Scheduled, not private, so it runs at set times and needs booking with the office in advance.

Sparta

The industry word for an intensive, tightly managed course: more classes, compulsory evening study and stricter rules about leaving campus. Our version is Eco Sparta. It works, and it is genuinely demanding, so it suits a student with a deadline more than one who wants to see the country.

SSP Special Study Permit

The permit from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration that makes it legal for a visitor to study at an accredited school. It sits alongside the tourist visa you entered on rather than replacing it, and the school arranges it after you arrive.

TESDA Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

The Philippine government agency that oversees technical and vocational education and the standards attached to it. One of the bodies whose accreditation is worth checking before you book anywhere.

TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language

An academic English test most associated with universities in the United States, though it is accepted far more widely than that. Academic in style throughout, including the listening and speaking sections.

TOEIC Test of English for International Communication

A workplace English test rather than an academic one. In Korea and Japan in particular it is a currency employers already know how to read, and it is often written directly into a promotion track.

Visa extension

Adding time to the stay your entry visa allows, done at the Bureau of Immigration while you are in the country. Students staying longer than a short course normally extend at least once, and the office tracks the dates so nothing quietly expires.

Vocabulary class

An evening session built around a booklet matched to your level. It is compulsory for every student during the first four weeks, and stays compulsory for the whole term on the most intensive courses.

Working holiday

A scheme run by a number of countries that lets young people live and work there temporarily. The visa rules belong to each country; the English you need to land a decent job when you get there is the part a course can help with.