English for IT Courses

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Thanks to a fantastic partnership with Cisco Networking Academy, (starting 27th of July, 2023) you can use https://netacad.com/ to learn English for IT for free. If you are a school or institution involved in the Cisco Networking Academy program, you can use your Academy Support Center to help: Academy Support Center

English for IT Basics

English for IT Basics is a collection of four courses featuring instructional videos, reading, listening and various types of exercises and activities specifically designed to test the Common European Framework Reference (CEFR) Levels A2–B1 / Global Scale of English (GSE) range of 36–49.

This collection provides learners with essential English language skills embedded in real IT contexts such as DevOps, Quality Assurance, Project Management, and Data Analysis.

Each course integrates practical vocabulary, functional grammar, and everyday communication scenarios to support clear and effective collaboration in tech environments.

Through structured listening, reading, and language practice, learners develop confidence in areas like giving updates, describing processes, managing workflows, and explaining causes or quantities.

Each course steadily builds from A2 to B1 level, reinforcing core language skills while introducing relevant industry terminology and communication strategies. This is done by making use of typical IT related jobs in order to provide realistic scenarios, and using industry-specific vocabulary and terms. Each course section utilizes one or more of these jobs as a source for its material and topics.

There are narrative themes and connections between the various jobs and scenarios. For example, listening and reading activities make use of conversations or emails between people working in different positions who may be collaborating on projects across departments and disciplines, or seeking advice in order to resolve issues etc.

In these courses, you will:

• Learn how to read and write at A2 level with growing ability to understand short B1 texts
• Follow and respond to multi-step instructions, including basic troubleshooting steps
• Become familiar with a range of IT tools (communication platforms, cloud storage, ticketing or admin systems)
• Gain experience with independent tasks such as logging incidents, checking dashboards, or solving simple issues
• Develop an awareness of responsible digital practices and workplace communication norms
• Develop the ability to describe procedures, ask for clarification, and manage short digital interactions
• Gain an openness to learning new tools and seeking help when needed

and much more.

English for IT Intermediate Part 1

The first English for IT course starts at the lower-intermediate level (Common European Framework Reference B1 / Global Scale of English 43), and will take you up to the intermediate level B1+ / GSE 58.

In this course, you will:

• use the passive voice, the past simple, and the applications of the future perfect simple and the future perfect continuous tenses.
• understand relative pronouns, adverbs, modal verbs and the Imperative Instruction
• understand dependent prepositions and the Emphatic Do and its uses.
• understand how inversion works and how to use conjunctions to start a sentence.
• understand the concepts of an Information Security Policy and supplier evaluation modules.
• understand the concepts of job roles and responsibilities, relating to polite requests, expressing frustration, and adding seriousness.
• understand idiomatic phrases in the context of a Customer Support situation and applications in IT scenarios.
• use vocabulary related to user experience, fraudulent calls, Network Engineering, and Software Engineering.
• absorb information relating to compilers and interpreters.

English for IT Intermediate Part 2

The second English for IT course starts at the intermediate level (Common European Framework Reference B1+ / Global Scale of English 58), and will take you up to the upper-intermediate level B2+ / GSE 75.

In this course, you will:

• use the subjunctive mood, modal verbs, cleft sentences, conjunctions, and appropriate verb tense, including the present continuous tense when talking about the future.
• make logical deductions and polite requests and grasp the differences in formality in emails.
• recognize camel case and snake case, software issues and concerns and use key vocabulary.
• communicate in English at a CEFR B2 level and understand grammar topics necessary to be fluent at a B2 level of English Vocabulary.
• recognize key phrases related to networking, customer support, software and operating systems, and product management.
• use vocabulary related to cloud computing.
• use phrases to share feedback and update colleagues.

For students

The English for IT course and certification exam have been designed specifically to prepare students for the world of work.

You can take the course by yourself or as part of a program with an instructor or teacher.

It is aimed at the following non-native English speaking target audiences:

• late-stage K12 and Higher Education students and IT professionals early in their careers;
• software developers, network engineers, security engineers, product managers and IT support who want to work in an international, multicultural environment;
• IT specialists who want to start working in multinational or English-speaking companies;
• non-IT employees working in the IT sector.

For teachers, schools, and training organizations

The English for IT course and certification exam prepare students to work in the English language in the field of IT. Your students will learn many of the terms and phrases commonly used in the IT sector, allowing them to tailor their English-language learning to the jobs that they want, or that they already have.

There are ample training resources available for teachers and instructors, as well as the ability for teachers to follow the progress of their students through an online, interactive gradebook.

If your organization is a Cisco Networking Academy, you can access the courses directly in Cisco Skills for All.

If you want to purchase a course and exam licence for multiple students at a single price, you can get it from a licenced Certiport Partner.