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The Joy of learning English  English learning journey of our students  “Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.” ——Roger Bacon Introduction  Learning any new thing can be very difficult. You must come at this task armed with patience and determination. If you encounter difficulties, you must be brave and persevere, and in time there will be no obstacle you can’t overcome. Our students faced the task of learning English admirably, and they continue to advance and learn more every week.  Curriculum 1. English class was designed centering around two parts. First part focuses on reading and writing skills, where we familiarize our students with Alphabet, Beginning sounds of words, and Upper- and Lowercase letters. During these classes we cover each of the letters separately, making associations with a special text, as well as an illustration, to help the students remember. After covering the pronunciation of letter, how to write a letter, and remembering words corresponding to said letter, we continue to do a set of exercises designed to reenforce and test the acquisition of knowledge. Once the students have successfully gone over all the letters, this part focusses on reading whole sentences and, maybe most importantly, understanding stories we read during the class. This part was designed to prepare kids for advance reading and writing they will encounter in further education.       2. Second part of the class is dedicated to covering topics form the STEM field. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math, and it introduces students to basic science concepts, and encourages creative thinking and problem solving. During this part, we cover various topics like: shapes-colors-sizes, ramps, magnets, float or sink, body parts, what do animals / plants / people need, earth and land, weather. In the class students are encouraged to ask question about the world that surrounds us, and their curiosity and imagination produced dynamic conversations where all the students can showcase what they are interested in, and how much they know. Inspired by students we talked about geography, dinosaurs, sea animals, volcanos etc. English class uses Start Smart; pre K and K, Read & Write, STEM; Evan-Moor books. Class organization 1. Before the start of the class teacher, always, asks couple of questions. These questions were designed to bring the sense of consistency to each class, yet the answers wary, so the students always have to think about what they will answer. For example: What’s the weather like today? or “What day of the week is it today?” 2. We begin each class with a warm up song or story that is chosen to be connected to the subject we are covering, giving us a chance to ease into the class in a fun and interactive way. 3. Next, we cover the lesson content in our book, all the while using multimedia presentations. We listen to audio of the stories, watch videos that explain main concepts and talk about key points we need to learn during the class. 4. Next part of the class is dedicated to using skills and knowledge we gained in the previews part. We go over exercises in the books or we create other tasks students do together using acquired skills and knowledge. 5. Class ends with the emphasis on the key points/key words/key sentences, and with enough time for any previously unanswered questions. Conclusion Besides the topics and tasks covered, English class was designed to be an English-only environment, following the fact that students learn best when they are immersed in the surroundings that emphasizes foreign language and culture. Over time and with constant work students will embrace things they learned in English class, using them as a solid foundation on which they can build in their ever-expanding journey of education. “To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world” Written by Stefan Simic |
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