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Frequently asked questions
Research confirms that a child's concentration span is 2 - 3 minutes per year of their age. For example, a 7 year old can maintain concentration for a maximum of 14 - 21 minutes. Learning a new skill, especially in a different language, is very tiring. Fatigue has an affect on a child’s ability to learn new skills. Because of this, we ensure learning time is limited to an hour, with regular changes of activities to renew their concentration and learning energy.
Classes are limited to 8 students per session. Small group learning holds positive benefits for both teacher and students. Students will likely feel more comfortable taking risks in a small group, and will also have increased time and space to practice verbal interactions with their teachers and peers. It equally provides the teacher greater instructional time followed by a closer interaction with individual students allowing a tailored teaching and learning situation.
They are learning grammar, they just might not know it! Grammar is taught within writing activities as opposed to a stand alone lesson in isolation. Rules are highlighted within a theme and context, so children can see how grammar can be used to organise their words and sentences to increase efficacious communication. This way, grammar is not restricted to memorisation of a rule, but is in fact utilised to expand their creative expression.
No work is compulsory, but the online classroom is highly beneficial and advisable. Revisiting a new skill at various short intervals is more beneficial than doing it once for an extended period of time. In fact, researchers estimate that a learner should have up to 17 different experiences with a new word before it is firmly integrated into their vocabulary. Also, visual online materials may be your child’s preferred way of learning, which means that they will increase their connection and understanding to the new language for the week. The key is to engage your child in frequent short bursts of enjoyable and engaging learning experiences.
There is usually an underlying reason if a child does not want to complete homework. It may be too challenging, too boring, too easy or they may be too tired after a long day at school. If a child is forced to complete work they do not wish to, the impact of practise is lost, and a negative feeling is created towards learning English. This must be avoided. Contact your teacher to discuss strategies and solutions.
No. Research shows that it takes 480hrs of lessons to have a basic fluency in a language - that is 480 weeks, or 13,3 years if they only attend 1 hour a week! Learning a new language takes time, and there are certain factors that can help.
Motivation and a desire to communicate in English
Regular practise
A safe environment where mistakes are welcomed as moments of learning and not of punishment
Support and encouragement through teachers, family and friends
Time to listen, adjust, learn, advance, listen, adjust, learn, advance…
Rewards of their achievements through recognition and results
Successful learning is measured by progress and achievement. As language learning is mostly an interior process, assessment plays an essential role in making a child’s progress visible. Formative assessment and teacher observations are ongoing, as they inform the teacher how to ensure the momentum of progress. Students will also be officially assessed at the end of each semester and a report provided as evidence of their progress and the next step in their learning.
Skipping levels would likely mean that your child would be with children of a different age. This is proven to be harmful to their social and emotional development. We prefer that your child is extended within their learning. All activities are authentic, rich learning experiences. This means that there is no predefined right or wrong answer, and caters to a range of abilities. If you are concerned that your child is not learning, contact your teacher to discuss strategies and solutions.
A happy child learns the most. We aim to provide themes and activities that keep your child’s interest and motivation at their peak. Each child has different interests and preferred ways of learning. It can take time for a teacher to recognise this in each individual in their class. By informing us of this information, motivation is the starting point for their learning.
Language is an emotional relationship between people. It is sounds, intonations and phrases that we use to convey meaning between us. If you are an English speaker and you have always communicated to your child in English, then you should continue. If you speak another language to your child, the effect of a change in language can result in miscommunication, emotional frustration and dislike towards the additional language. However, language learning can also be a family affair. Some multilingual research advises language ‘zones’. For example, the family may choose to speak English at the dinner table, and their home language at other times. This validates the additional language while maintaining a positive and supportive learning atmosphere.
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