English Learning Center

English Language Center

The English Language Center (ELC) was established at BUC in 2018. The ELC works in collaboration and cooperation with various departments and colleges of the University to encourage students to develop their English language skills in support of their academic and professional lives. The ELC offers several English courses for general, academic, and special purposes, along with a range of elective courses. These courses meet the needs of university students in all disciplines and colleges, as well as other training courses that serve the students, faculty, and overall community members.

Location and Accessibility

The English Language Center is located on the basement (B) level of the Administrative Building and is wheelchair accessible.

Hours of Operation

Saturdays-Thursdays 8:30 am-5:00 pm

Vision

To push beyond the boundaries of limitations and exceed in providing a high-quality English language learning program to students enrolled in all faculties and programs at BUC.

Mission

The ELC mission is to prepare university students to effectively engage in the delivery of instruction in the English language in relevant fields of study; to support students in the effective use of English as their primary means of communication; and to promote and encourage the successful acquisition of the English language for personal, academic, and professional purposes.

Goals

To prepare students to engage in studies with instruction delivered in English across all disciplines.
To provide English credit courses in all theoretical faculties.
To establish the cornerstone for the unified EAP and ESP courses for students across all university faculties.
To conduct academic research in areas related to English language teaching and learning.
To provide high-quality English language learning resources, on-site and virtually, in a wide range of languages.
To collaborate and share expertise with other language learning providers within the university as well as other organizations globally.

Policies

Dear students,

Please read the following policies to understand and become familiar with the ELC practices.

All classes are two hours long, and they run once a week. The morning classes are from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., the noon classes are from 12:00 to 2:00, and the afternoon classes are from 2:00 to 4:00.
You are obliged to attend in the group assigned to you when registering on the student portal in the LC.
Attendance will be counted starting Day One of the course beginning.
It is important that you hear your name called by your teacher at the beginning of each class, and that you answer back “Present” in a clear and loud voice so that your teacher can mark you as present. The same applies when the follow-up department representative checks the students’ presence.
A first warning will be issued when you are absent for 2 classes.
A second warning will be issued if you are absent for 3 classes.
A denial (DN) will be issued if your absence exceeds 6 classes, i.e. 7 classes and above, resulting in not allowing you to sit for the final exam.
It is important for you to check the university website to check messages of warnings and DNs.

You are neither allowed to skip the class nor leave in the middle of it for the sake of any other lecture since all English classes are synchronized with the other classes in all departments.
If you are a graduating student or taking English (repeating the course) at a later term than your fellow students, then you will need to coordinate your class schedule with the Director of the ELC. In case the conflict cannot be resolved, you will be advised to consider your enrollment in the course based on your priorities.
You will not be allowed early leaves unless it is an emergency. All emergency leaves need to be approved first by the Director of the ELC.
You will be excused for your absence only in case of presenting a written medical excuse from the university clinic. All medical excuses are approved by the University clinic. Otherwise, you may be subject to receiving a warning.
You will also be excused for your absence in case you are traveling abroad if your request is approved by the Vice President for Student Affairs. However, you will first need to present your passport to prove your departure and arrival date through your faculty.

If you encounter a problem in the classroom, which may affect your learning performance, kindly communicate your complaint to your teacher to overcome it rapidly and continue learning with a restored fine performance.
If you would like to make a complaint (or even a suggestion to improve your class or the like) anonymously, you can write it down on a piece of paper and place it inside the LC Suggestion / Complaint Box.
In case of urgent or imminent complaints that your teacher could not give aid about, you are entitled to make a complaint to the Admin and in case it was not resolved, you may approach the Director of the LC, whether orally or even better in a written form in Arabic or English. However, after delivering your complaint, you will have to await the response on the date and time given to you.

You are expected to be in class on time (i.e. at 9:00 a.m. for morning classes, 12:00 a.m. for the noon classes, or 2:00 p.m. for the afternoon ones).
If you are beyond 15 minutes late (+9:15 a.m., +12:15), you will be counted absent and will not be allowed to attend the session.
If you leave any time before the session ends, you will be counted absent.
If you are counted absent on the session of your test/quiz day, you will not be allowed to take your test/quiz.
Students who miss the test/quiz cannot have a makeup unless there is a written excuse approved by the university. All makeup tests/quizzes will be conducted at the end of the semester.
All answers should be in either a blue or black pen. No pencil should be used.
Students are not allowed to leave before half the time of the test/quiz is over.

You are strictly prohibited from smoking inside both the classroom and the ELC floor.
You are not allowed to eat or to drink any beverages, except for water, inside the classroom during lecture time.
You are held accountable for the cleanliness of your desk and classroom, notably if you eat or drink in the classroom during break time.
You are to switch your mobile phone off or to silent mode during lecture time. In case of emergencies, you can use it outside the classroom only with permission from the teacher.
Any misconduct or immoral behavior will be met with an appropriate penalty by the ELC management.

In 2019, BUC announced its partnership with America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST) Egypt resulting in raising the benchmark for its admission against international standards. AMIDEAST, the exclusive provider of ETS assessment in the MENA region, is a private American non-profit organization engaged in international education, training, and development assistance. BUC is proud to make use of AMIDEAST expertise to provide the TOEIC Bridge and the TOEIC Exam for all university graduates.

Attendance

All classes are held once a week for two hours. Class times are from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.; 12 noon to 2:00 p.m.; and 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
You are expected to attend in the group to which you are assigned when registering on the student portal in the ELC.
Attendance commences on the first day of the course. When you hear your name called by the instructor at the beginning of each class, please respond “present” in a loud, clear voice so that you are marked as present; this also applies when any department representative checks for a student’s presence.
The first warning is issued after 2 absences.
The second warning is issued after 3 absences.
Finally, a denial (DN) will be issued if absences exceed 6 classes and will result in not being allowed to sit for the final exam.
It is very important to check the university website to check for any warning messages or DNs.
Students are not allowed to skip class or leave once the class has started to attend any other lecture since the English class schedule is carefully synchronized with the class schedules of all other departments.
If you are a graduating senior or taking English (i.e. repeating the course) in a later term than your fellow students, you will need to coordinate your class schedule with the Director of the ELC. In case of an unresolved conflict, you will be advised to consider enrollment in the course based on your academic priorities.

Excused Absences

Students will not be allowed to leave early unless it is an emergency. All emergency leave needs to be approved by the Director of the ELC.
Students will be excused for absences only if there is a written medical excuse from the university clinic. All medical excuses must be approved by the university clinic. Otherwise, the student may be subject to receive a warning.
Students will also be excused for absences in the case of traveling abroad if the request is approved by the Vice President for Student Affairs. The passport of the student must be presented to the student’s respective faculty to validate the departure and arrival dates of travel.

Complaints

If any student encounters a problem in the classroom that may adversely affect their learning or performance, please communicate this to the instructor for resolution immediately.

In case of an urgent complaint that the instructor is unable to resolve, students are entitled and encouraged to make a complaint to the Director of the ELC or directly to the university Administration in written form in Arabic or English. After delivering a complaint, students will receive a response on the date and time provided at the time of the complaint.
If a student would like to make a complaint (or a suggestion) anonymously, it can be submitted in writing and placed inside the ELC Suggestion/Complaint box located in the office.

Punctuality

Students are expected to arrive in class on time.
After 15 minutes, students will be counted as absent and not allowed to attend the session without a valid excuse.
If a student leaves at any time before the session ends without a valid excuse, it will be counted as an absence.
If a student is absent on the day of a test or quiz, there will be no make-up test or quiz, unless there is a valid written excuse approved by the university for the absence.
All makeup tests or quizzes will be conducted at the end of the semester.

Code of Conduct & Ethics

Students are prohibited from smoking inside the classroom and on the ELC floor.
Students are not allowed to eat or drink any beverages, except water, while inside the classroom during lecture time.
Students are held accountable for the cleanliness of desks and classrooms if eating or drinking in the classroom during break time.
Students must switch off mobile phones or put them on silent mode during lecture time.
In case of emergencies, a student may step outside the classroom to take a call with permission from the teacher.
Any misconduct or immoral behavior on the part of students will be met with appropriate consequences by the ELC management and university security.

Partnerships

In 2019, BUC entered into a partnership with America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST) Egypt, which effectively and positively raised the benchmark for meeting and exceeding international standards in the field of English language learning. AMIDEAST is a private American non-profit organization engaged in international education, training, and development assistance and is the exclusive provider of ETS assessment in the MENA region, BUC is proud to make use of the vast experience and expertise AMIDEAST offers to provide the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) Bridge program and the TOEIC exam for all BUC graduates.

FAQs

No, the ELC does not award course credit for its English language learning program. Since there are no associated course numbers for ELC classes, there is no credit awarded. If a student scores well enough on the final exam (if the proficiency level meets, or exceeds, what is required by the respective college or school), the ELC will request a waiver of the foreign language requirement from the college or school.

If a student achieves a score higher (where) than the courses that we offer at the ELC, they can receive a language waiver. However, the student will still need to sit for an exit TOEIC Exam, prior to graduation.

The ELC does not have practice exams or test preparation materials. The best way to prepare is to practice reading, listening, and speaking of the language.

Exams are held in the ELC Laboratory, located in Rooms 013 and 014 for exams in the basement of the Administrative Building. ELC staff will arrange days and times during regular operating hours for students to take the exam.

The time for tests depends on the source or type of the test. For instance, students are allowed up to 2 hours for the TOEIC Bridge Entry Exam. Check with staff prior to beginning an exam for time limits.

The amount of time varies, depending on the test vendor. The entire process can take up to a week for online test results.

No, students can not retake a language exam.

If you have read and reviewed these FAQs, but you still have questions, please feel free to contact us at info@buc.edu.eg or by phone at 19592 Ext. 1123.

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