Course methodology

GETTING STARTED

Each unit begins with a ‘Getting Started’ page, designed to engage learners from the very start of the unit – leading to greater motivation and more successful learning. It does this in three ways:

• Clear learning goals – ‘can do’ statements immediately focus learners on their objectives.

• Striking images that take an unusual perspective on the unit theme – this raises curiosity, prompts ideas and questions in the mind of the learner, and stimulates them to want to communicate.

• Short speaking activities that prompt a personal response – leading to longer-lasting learning and a sense of ownership from the start. These activities also offer a diagnostic opportunity to the teacher.

SYLLABUS AND COURSE PLANNING

A key elements in making learning material have been used in the development of the course syllabus and the writing of the material. These resources provide reliable information as to which language items learners are likely to be able to learn successfully at each level.

The learners are presented with target language that they are able to incorporate and use at that point in their learning journey, and they won’t encounter too much above- level language in reading and listening texts. It also means that learners are not overwhelmed with unrealistic amounts of learning and they progress through the levels based on their individual progression.

Lesson flow

Learning is also made more manageable through the careful staging and sequencing of activities. Every lesson starts with a clear ‘Learn to …’ objective and ends with a substantial output task. Each lesson is comprised of several manageable sections, each with a clear focus on language and/or skills. Each section builds towards the next, and activities within sections do likewise. The final activity of each spread involves a productive learning outcome that brings together the language and the topic of the lesson, allowing learners to put what they have learnt into immediate use.

Task and activity design

Tasks and activities have been designed to give learners an appropriate balance between freedom and support. Grammar and vocabulary presentations take a straightforward approach to dealing with the meaning and form of new language, and practice is carefully staged. Reading and listening activities allow learners to process information in texts in a gradual, supportive way. Speaking and writing activities are made manageable by means of clear models, appropriate scaffolding, and a focus on relevant sub-skills associated with a specific spoken or written outcome.

As an overall principle, our methodology anticipates and mitigates potential problems that learners might encounter with language and tasks.