Essential Soft Skills in English Online Courses

Course Structure

Essential Soft Skills in English courses are offered multiple times a year. Each course comprises approximately 25 hours of language instruction broken down into four modules. A course is completed over a 4-week period (one module completed per week). Each module includes a one-hour live class held on Thursdays at 7:00 am and again at 8:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)/Eastern Standard Time (EST)). You can choose to attend one or both of the Thursday classes depending on your time zone and availability. The course content covered in both classes will be the same. 

A live orientation session is held at the beginning of each course. Registered students will be given two time options to attend orientation. During the orientation, you will receive an outline of the course, including assessment details, and a demonstration of our online learning platform. At this time, you will also meet your instructor(s), have the opportunity to share information about yourself, and learn more about your fellow classmates.

Learning Outcomes

Essential Soft Skills in English will equip you with:

• the ability to effectively communicate with a variety of audiences in a range of situations;
• the confidence to deliver well-structured and engaging presentations;
• the skills to help you make a valuable contribution to whichever type of team you’re in; and
• strategies for persuasively communicating your point of view.

Essential Soft Skills in English Certificate

By completing all four (4) Essential Soft Skills in English courses, your work will be recognized in the form of a premier certificate in Essential Soft Skills in English from Renison University College at the University of Waterloo.

There are four courses available that you can register to attend. 

Working in Teams

Teamwork is important in many academic and employment situations, and working as part of a team requires a diverse set of skills. Successful teams need talented leadership, great ideas, strong communication, and respect for the skills and work styles of their members. In this course we explore what a team is, what makes a team successful, how to manage conflict that may arise, and how virtual teams function in English.

Interpersonal Communication Skills

Our lives are full of interpersonal communication. Whenever we are engaged with communication between people we are engaging in interpersonal communication. From placing an order over the telephone, to business meeting introductions or comforting a friend – these are all examples of interpersonal communication. In this course we will extend our understanding of interpersonal communication, develop verbal and nonverbal communication strategies, and learn how to strengthen relationships. Recognizing that listening is often a more powerful tool than speaking, this course will encourage active listening practice to help overcome communication breakdowns. This course teaches simple habits that will transform your communication skills in English.

Presentation Skills

Effective presentation and public speaking skills are necessary for many aspects of our professional lives – in school, at work, and in social situations. With practice and preparation, everyone can learn to present well in English. In this course we will identify what makes an effective presentation, including how to organize a presentation and speak in public, as well as how to use media and technology to create engaging presentations.

Persuasive Communication Skills

Persuasion is a necessary element in all aspects of our life – at work, at school and in everyday contexts. The ability to convince others of the importance of your ideas is a topic to be studied and a skill to be developed. In this course we will focus on the elements of persuasion and refine your persuasive skills in oral and written contexts. These oral contexts will focus on the elevator pitch and the job interview, and the written contexts will look at resume writing.

The Essential Soft Skills in English courses are modular in format. After attending a live one-hour orientation session, students will complete four modules (one module per week) over a four-week period.

Each week will require approximately six hours of study time. Students will be required to:

As you study in your courses, you will have access to the following supports: 

• English Language Institute Instructor: a subject expert who will guide you through the course content and answer any questions you might have.
• Student Experience Team: In addition to the virtual classroom community, you will be able to participate in virtual student engagement opportunities, including online social activities specifically designed to practice your conversational English with enthusiastic Peer Leaders, and regular workshops that will help you develop your skills as a successful student.
  
  Students are welcome to join our weekly virtual events. Each month, you can expect to enjoy a dynamic events calendar that features workshops, social events, conversation practice opportunities, and chances to build your networking and soft skills.

• After completing all four Essential Soft Skills in English courses, you will have access to a Student Experience team member who can support you with resume review and Canadian university application assistance if you are interested in pursuing further education. If you choose to study at the University of Waterloo as an Essential Soft Skills in English graduate, you will benefit from additional coaching support in areas such as study strategies, time management, and learning skills for a Canadian university environment.

Course registration is flexible. Students have the option to choose individual courses that are most suited to their learning needs. Each course takes 4 weeks to complete and is offered multiple times a year.

Students interested in obtaining the Essential Soft Skills in English certificate are required to complete the four (4) courses in the series. Courses may be completed in any order. 

In order to complete these courses, you will need a current email account, access to a computer, and access to the internet. You should be familiar with using a computer and accessing the internet. You will be reading documents in PDF format, viewing Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and creating documents in Microsoft Word.

These courses also require that you have access to a device that allows you to record video with audio. You will need to upload your video assignments as part of the courses.

Browser requirements

It is recommended that you use one of the following browsers when accessing these courses. Although it is not required to use these browsers, we have found that these browsers perform best, allowing you to access the materials with ease.

• Chrome 80 and 81
• Firefox 74 and 75
• Microsoft Edge 80 and 81
• Respondus Lockdown Browser
• Safari 12 and 13 (Macintosh only)

Course fees (in Canadian dollars)

• $275 CAD per course

Full payment is due upon registration.

Cancellation and deferral policy

The deadline to register and pay full fees is one week before a course begins. You can cancel your registration up until the registration deadline and receive a full refund (less any applicable banking fees). After this deadline, you can cancel your registration up until the second day of the course and be refunded 80% of fees (less any applicable banking fees). Refunds will not be issued after the second day. Requests for cancellation must be submitted in writing (please email eli@uwaterloo.ca).

The English Language Institute reserves the right to cancel any course because of insufficient registration. If your course is cancelled, you will be refunded full fees (less any applicable banking fees), or you can defer your registration to a future course.

Registration

You can register for one or more courses at a time. If you choose to complete all four courses, you may complete the courses in any order.

Step 1: Please complete the registration form

Step 2: Pay the course fee(s) to secure your registration.

Payment Options

You may pay your fee(s) through one of the following options:

1.  Pay online by credit card through Shopify (please note a 2.5% convenience charge applies to credit card payments)
2. Western Union GlobalPay for Students (international bank-to-bank transfer)
   • GlobalPay allows you to pay your student fees in the currency of your choice in an efficient and inexpensive manner. 
   • You will need a Student ID number (this will be emailed to you by Renison ELI after you submit a registration form).
3. Online banking (only available from a Canadian bank account) 
   • You will need a Student ID number (this will be emailed to you by Renison ELI after you submit a registration form).
   • In your online bank account, add Renison University College as a bill payment “payee”.
   • Use your Student ID number as the “account number”. Please be sure that you are using the correct ID number.
   • Allow 2-4 business days for your payment to reach Renison University College.