23 September 2011 / by Radmila Gurkova

Friday Meeting 23/09/2011

Developing the S1 Beginners Course

Teaching Beginners in any language can be a daunting task, which is why this week, a group of teachers set up a workshop in order to improve the S1 course. We came up with the idea of ‘building blocks’ - common vocabulary that will be incorporated in practically all the classes. Each class taught will cover the contents from the previous class meaning that students will be continuously learning without actually skipping any material.

WORKSHOP SUMMARY  

After a very intensive meeting at Oxbridge we are pleased to report the following:

  • The S1 course is almost completed with 25 classes (previously 16)

  • The material and content is easier to follow making it teacher friendly

  • Classroom activities are not repeated but used for revision purposes in the following class.

  •  The first couple of lessons will be focused on instructions, introducing yourself and others and allowing students to not only interact which the teacher but also freely interact with other students. (At this stage we are making the students feel comfortable with the language and the class itself).

  • Each class will consist of the same format as the other levels, meaning  formatting 4 activities per class. Each class will start with a revision of the previous contents so that the students retain all the vocabulary used and put it into practice for the duration of the course.


Now, it would sound too perfect if I told you that this week has been a total success which in many ways it has, but many language issues were raised, for example some common verbs and in which order they should be taught, should they be incorporated into the same class or taught separately? How do we teach certain verbs? Are they suitable for absolute beginners? Or are we confusing students at this stage? (To go, To like, To want, etc)

Another important issue for the S1 beginners course is of course the transition to P2 level. How can we incorporate everything covered in the S1 course to P2 transition? We understand that vocabulary and simple structures are the foundation of all learning so at this stage we want our students to have a basic concept of English.

We will start the preparation of the new classes soon. We’ll keep you posted.

04

May 2012
Somebody, Anybody, Anywhere and Nobody
by Radmila Gurkova
Singular indefinite pronouns  Somebody, Anybody, anywhe...
Read More...

04

May 2012
What is there? What are there?
by Radmila Gurkova
What is there in the classroom? There IS a table... There is a chair... there ARE windows! There IS a ceiling! There is/There a...
Read More...

30

April 2012
APRIL Monthly Quiz
by Radmila Gurkova
Test your knowledge with our April Monthly Quiz! ...
Read More...

29

April 2012
EUROVEGAS - America in Europe
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ZRZDVVjuw An America tycoon wants to build Vegas in Europe and has chosen Spain as the destination. The American business tycoon, Sheldon Adelson wants to emulate Nevada’s state cash cow 'Las Vegas' here in Spain and is deciding where to build - Madrid or Barcelona. The decision has sparked a row...
Read More...

29

April 2012
P2 Titanic prepositions of time
by Radmila Gurkova
Is it in the weekend, at the weekend or on the weekend? What time do you go to work?...
Read More...

29

April 2012
Homophones...TWO, TOO, TO
by Radmila Gurkova
Do you know how to use TOO, TWO & TO correctly? These are homophones (words that are spelt differently but have the s...
Read More...

29

April 2012
TITANIC - 100 Years
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xKDRmhp6lQ Titanic is the world’s most famous maritime disaster in history. The colossal four funnelled ship hit an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean during it’s maiden voyage on April 10 1912 and sank to the icy bottom, making history worldwide. The ships top speed was 23 knots with a total capacity ...
Read More...

09

April 2012
To be or not to be
by Radmila Gurkova
TO BE I am You are He/She is It is We are They are Examples I AM a teacher. You ARE a student. He IS an actor. It IS a cat. We ARE Spanish They ARE politicians ...
Read More...

09

April 2012
like and as
by Radmila Gurkova
Like and as can be confusing in English. Both like and as can be used to describe how similar things are. Like + noun/pronoun. For example I'm like my mother. Like my mother, I have brown hair. As + subject +...
Read More...

09

April 2012
2nd Conditional - If I had a million dollars, I would give it to charity
by Radmila Gurkova
We use the second conditional to talk about impossible situations. IF + PAST SIMPLE - WOULD + INFINITIVE (Condition) WOULD + INFINITIVE + IF + PAST SIMPLE  (Condition) If I went to Madrid, I’d visit the Prado Gallery....
Read More...
Inicio
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28