The General English course is designed to prepare students for conversation, everyday situations and daily interactions that take place when travelling or living in an English speaking country. Students learn and practice the four macro-skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking in an interactive environment. Levels of difficulty increase over the duration of the course to assist students to develop their skills and to be more confident and fluent in English. The course is structured into 6 levels (Starter, Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced). Each of the levels has a duration of 10 weeks (the study period) and the course in total is 70 weeks. The specific outcomes for each level are detailed in the section of this curriculum document on course outcomes.

The principles of access and equity require that vocational education and training is responsive to the individual needs of clients whose age, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disability, sexuality, language skills, literacy or numeracy level, unemployment, imprisonment, or remote location may present a barrier to access, participation and the achievement of suitable outcomes. Equity is a term used to cover issues relating to access to VET, participation in VET, and achievement of outcomes in VET. Equity issues range from providing a supportive learning environment to adjusting assessments to meet individual circumstances, from policies on fee reduction to development of inclusive training materials. Basically, equity refers to the ability to achieve results in training and to receive training in an inclusive environment with inclusive materials. An inclusive environment or set of materials is one that acknowledges and values the differences between people and cultures. It includes rather than excludes.

Marriott Academy is committed to ensuring that all prospective clients are able participate and have the opportunity to build on their potential, make choices and receive responsive and appropriate products and services. Whilst the destination for all learners may be the same (i.e. demonstrating competence to the standard required), the journey may be different. For example, some learners may gain their credential through skills recognition, while others may complete the training before being assessed. Some learners may need more time than others, for example because of their family responsibilities or because they are mature aged learners returning to learning after a long break. Marriott Academy aims to ensure equity by being flexible and responsive and avoiding a ‘one size fits all’ solution to training and assessment.

‘Access’ generally refers to the ability of a student to enter training. Marriott Academy’s commitment to improving access includes improving physical access to the training venues, ensuring that selection criteria do not discriminate against clients, and adapting marketing activities to encourage all Students.