1-on-1 Academic English Tutoring · Grades 3–12 · Taipei
Academic English, for the serious work ahead.
A full integrated program for students at international schools, or moving into the kind of work those schools demand. Vocabulary, writing, grammar, and reading taught together in coordinated weekly lessons, calibrated to what your child is reading and writing at school.
What Students Learn
Academic English at the level your child's school actually requires.
Academic English is for students whose conversational English isn't enough for the work their school is asking them to do. Local cram schools and conversational English programs cover what's needed for daily life, but the vocabulary, structure, and reasoning real schoolwork demands are different from the skills needed to hold a conversation. The program is built around the four strands of academic English. Vocabulary covers the academic words students need to read history, science, and literature at grade level. Writing builds one essay type per level, taught as a structured project across the unit. Grammar moves from advanced parts of speech in early levels through to advanced linguistics by Grade 12. Reading progresses from analytical reading of short texts up to reading for research and literary analysis at higher levels. These are the strands behind every English-language assignment your child encounters.
The strands aren't taught in isolation. A Grade 6 lesson might pair Ancient History vocabulary, persuasive paragraph structure, advanced parts of speech, and analytical reading of a related text, all in the same 1.5-hour session. A Grade 10 lesson might pair Biology vocabulary, advanced persuasive essay structure, comparative grammar, and advanced literary analysis. The integration is the point. Students who work on writing in one room and reading in another rarely connect them.
The work follows Harland's leveled curriculum, which corresponds to international school grade expectations. A student at Grade 6 enrolls at Level 6. Each level breaks into four units of eleven lessons. Units 1, 2, and 3 each produce a complete essay in that level's writing style. Unit 4 produces a full presentation in the same writing style, where the student presents an argument or analysis out loud. By the end of a level, students have written three full essays and given one full presentation. They leave with both written and verbal command of the writing mode.
Progress shows up in places parents can see. Higher grades on writing assignments at school. More confident contribution in class discussions and presentations. Reading homework taking less time, with more retained.
How We Teach It
Academic English taught through subjects worth knowing.
Harland's pedagogy is content-based learning, and Academic English makes the principle concrete. Vocabulary doesn't get drilled out of context. It gets learned through subjects students should know anyway, with each level's vocabulary built around a different theme. The sequencing follows the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which most international schools track at these grade levels. A Grade 8 student studying U.S. History at school encounters Level 8 U.S. History vocabulary at Harland, building academic English while consolidating what their history class is already covering.
Vocabulary topics can also be chosen for specific fit. A student struggling with economics at school can take an economics vocabulary topic. A student weak in science can take a Physics or Biology one. The topic flexes to where the student needs the most support, and the rest of the level's curriculum (writing, grammar, reading) flexes to match.
This is why the program is strongest when students study slightly above their assessed grade level. A Grade 7 student in Level 8 learns U.S. History, including its vocabulary, expository essay structure, and analytical reading conventions, before their school class reaches the topic. By the time it comes up at school, they're reviewing rather than encountering it. Most students assess below their grade level when they arrive, and the first phase of the program is about closing that gap, often at two or three lessons per week. Once a student reaches or passes their grade level, families can step the cadence down. The program has an endpoint, and stepping off the gas is a fine outcome.
Students often arrive with a diffuse "my English isn't strong enough" rather than a specific gap. The 1-on-1 format lets teachers diagnose what's getting in the way across the four strands. Sometimes the writing is fine but the vocabulary base is too narrow. Sometimes the reading is solid but grammar errors are dragging down every essay grade. The lesson plan calibrates to the diagnosis.
International school students are assessed on class participation and presentations as heavily as on essays. The unit structure makes room for both. By Level 6, students can argue persuasively on paper and out loud. By Level 8, they can explain expository ideas the same way.
Curriculum and Alignment
A structured curriculum that aligns with your child's school.
Academic English at Harland follows a leveled curriculum keyed to international school grade expectations. A student who completes a level has demonstrated competence at that grade level across all four strands.
Level placement defaults to grade alignment but is set by the assessment class, which often points to a different starting level. A student who arrives ahead of grade level may start a level higher to stretch forward. A student who arrives behind may start at a level that lets them consolidate before catching up. Once placement is set, the level itself is fixed. The cadence is what flexes.
Lessons coordinate with whatever curriculum your child's school follows. For students at American international schools, the Academic English curriculum tracks against the Common Core State Standards. For Cambridge schools, against the Cambridge English benchmarks. For students in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years, Middle Years, or Diploma Programmes, against the IB language acquisition standards. Where a school uses its own internal curriculum or rubric, the Student Coordinator translates school expectations into lesson goals. This includes the bilingual departments at private schools that build their own English programs. In every case, Harland's curriculum provides the spine.
Prerequisites and What Comes Next
Where Academic English fits in your child's learning.
Before starting
Academic English assumes reading fluency at roughly Grade 2 level or above. Students still building decoding, sight vocabulary, or sentence-level fluency fit better in English Foundations (K–2), where the focus is on those building blocks.
Some students need only one of the four strands strengthened. A student who reads fluently but struggles to take meaning from what they read may be better served by Reading Comprehension, which targets close reading, inference, and academic vocabulary specifically. The consultation and assessment class establishes which program fits and which level is appropriate. Some students arrive needing both, and the lesson plan covers what's most urgent first.
What comes after
Most students complete a level in 6 to 12 months, depending on starting position and lesson cadence. At completion, families have a clear decision point.
Many students continue at the next Academic English level, working their way up through the curriculum as their school grade advances. Students heading into Grade 9 sometimes shift focus toward Analytical Reading or Analytical Writing, which target the kind of literary analysis and argument-writing high school courses demand. Students taking on AP or IB coursework often pivot to our AP or IB programs. Once academic English foundations are in place, students preparing for university often progress to Test Preparation for SAT, ACT, IELTS, or TOEFL, or to College Application Essays. Each move is a decision the family makes at level completion.
We see our role as removing some of the anxiety that comes with academic transitions. The program brings students to the point where their school's curriculum is the right level of challenge, and once they're there, they don't need this specific program. Many families step the cadence down to maintain. Others finish a level and stop. Some move on to AP, IB, or more targeted offerings as their academic goals evolve. We treat all of these as the right outcome. A parent who's no longer worried about their child's English is the point of all of it.
Common Questions
Common questions about Academic English at Harland.
Who is Academic English at Harland for? +
My child speaks English fine but their writing is weak. Is Academic English what they need? +
What does the program cover? +
How long is each lesson and how often does my child attend? +
How are lessons scheduled, and what if we need to reschedule? +
How do you measure progress? +
How do we begin? +
Take the next step
Start a conversation about your child's academic English.
Every Harland relationship begins with a consultation, followed by an assessment class for your child. Tell us about your goals and where your child is now.
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