IGCSE English as a Second Language Tutoring for Students in the UAE
The most-taken English route in UAE international schools after First Language, and the one with the most consequential small print: whether Speaking counts towards your grade depends on a syllabus number most students have never seen.
- The full assessment structure, read from the published syllabus
- 16 syllabus areas mapped to your school’s scheme of work
- Taught by a specialist in this subject, not a generalist
- 90-minute online lessons, scheduled in UAE time
How English as a Second Language is assessed, board by board
One awarding body's specification is set out below, with a link to the syllabus it was read from and the date it was checked. If your school uses a different board for English as a Second Language, send us the specification code and we will confirm what changes.
Cambridge International
Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510 / 0511)
| Component | Weight | Length | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Component 1: Reading and Writing | 70% | 2 hours · 60 marks | comprehension and essay |
| Component 2: Listening | 30% | 50 min · 40 marks | comprehension — Approximately 50 minutes, including six minutes to transfer answers |
| Component 3: Speaking | — | Marked in school, moderated by the board | coursework — Approximately 10–15 minutes, marked in school and moderated by Cambridge |
- The syllabus number decides what Speaking counts for. On 0510 it is endorsed separately and reported as a grade of its own; on 0511 it counts towards the overall grade. Two students with the same marks can therefore end with different certificates depending on which one their school entered them for.
- This is the most-taken English route in UAE international schools after First Language, and the two are not interchangeable: some universities and some sixth forms ask specifically for First Language English. Check the requirement before choosing the easier entry.
Read from the published syllabus and checked on 2026-09-22.
Weightings are the awarding body’s own published figures. Where a board tiers the entry, the same weighting applies to both tiers — what changes is the grade range available.
What students usually need help with
Not a list of topics — a list of the specific things that cost marks in English as a Second Language regardless of how well the content is known.
Answering every bullet point
Writing tasks list the points to cover, and the mark scheme checks them off. A fluent answer that misses one is capped below a plainer answer that covers all of them.
Register control
An email to a friend and a report to a principal are marked against different expectations, and mixing them is a frequent and avoidable loss.
Listening transfer
Six of the fifty minutes are for transferring answers. Students who use them for extra listening lose marks to transcription errors.
Speaking development
The assessment rewards extending an idea, not giving a correct short answer. That is a habit that can be practised in lessons and rarely is.
What the syllabus covers
The content both boards cover, grouped by area. Unit names and their order differ by specification — this shows the shape of the course; your own syllabus shows what is examinable.
Reading
Skimming and scanning for specific information · Multiple matching and note-making tasks · Summary writing within a word limit · Identifying opinion, attitude and implied meaning
Writing
Email, letter, article, report and review forms · Register: formal and informal, and when each is required · Organising a response to all bullet points given · Range and accuracy of structures and vocabulary
Listening
Short extracts, gap-fill and multiple choice · Longer talks and interviews · Note-taking against a given structure · Transferring answers accurately in the time allowed
Speaking
Warm-up conversation · A short talk on an assessment card · Discussion and development of ideas · Fluency, accuracy and range under interview conditions
Where marks are actually lost
ESL is a test of following instructions as much as of English. The writing tasks specify a form, a reader and a set of content points, and the band descriptors award content marks for each point addressed. A student with excellent English who writes a lively response covering three of four bullet points is marked down for content and cannot recover it through language. Reading the task properly — underlining the points, planning to each one — is worth more than any amount of vocabulary work.
The other thing worth saying plainly is that ESL and First Language are not interchangeable. Some UK universities and some competitive sixth forms ask specifically for First Language English, or treat ESL as satisfying an English-language requirement rather than an English requirement. If a student is comfortably strong, that distinction is worth checking before the safer entry is chosen by default — it is a decision made in Year 10 that shows up in Year 13.
Send the specification code
Two students can both be "doing IGCSE English as a Second Language" and sit different papers, at different lengths, with a different grade ceiling. The specification code — 0610, 4BI1 and so on — is on the front of your syllabus and on every past paper, and it is the first thing we ask for. With it we can put you with a tutor who has taught that paper; without it, the subject match can be right and the exam preparation wrong.
Frequently asked questions
The questions UAE students and parents ask us most often about this program.
Related programs
Other preparation tracks students often combine with this one.
IGCSE Tutoring
Subject tutoring for Year 10 and Year 11 students working towards IGCSE or GCSE. Lessons follow your school’s board and specification, with past papers from the start rather than at the end.
IGCSE Pricing
IGCSE tutoring is priced per subject. Starting in Year 10 rather than Year 11 is the single biggest thing a family can do to reduce what it spends.
How it works
Every student starts with a free consultation and ends with a plan that has a date on it. What happens in between depends on which exam you are sitting.
Tell us where English as a Second Language is going wrong
Send a recent piece of marked work or a past paper with the marks on it, and tell us the specification code. That shows us more in five minutes than a description of the problem does in an hour.