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ENGLISH WEEK intensive courses offer school-age students the chance to experience an English-speaking environment at a fraction of the cost of travelling to an English speaking country. Our fully qualified native-speaker teachers spend up to a week with students in their own school, helping them build on their existing language skills by creating a student-centred environment conducive to student-generated communication and natural language acquisition. The words 'natural' and 'holistic' are often overused today, but they are perfect for describing our approach to intensive courses.

 

 

 

  • we use students' existing levels and skills as our starting point

  • we do not use a 'one-size-fits-all' course for students of a particular age or level - each course is unique

  • our activities are based on students' needs and interests to enable natural language development

  • the majority of new language on the course arises out of interest or necessity rather than being 'presented'

 

 

 

  • everything is conducted in English, whether rearranging classroom furniture, making democratic class decisions or collaborating on complex problem-solving activities

  • the 'full-immersion' environment blurs the traditional separation of grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening and speaking so that the constituent parts of the language blend together to form a communicative whole

  • all students are encouraged to contribute whatever unique skills they have, maximising their potential within the class (and maximising the potential of the class as a whole), enabling them to play to their strengths and creating positive and rewarding class dynamics

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One very important aspect of our courses is project work. Depending on the students, this may involve drama, film-making or more formal presentations. As with other aspects of the course, students are encouraged to have a maximum level of input, deciding on everything from the nature of the project to the final details of time and location to present it. Throughout this process a multitude of real life skills can be developed, including brainstorming, choosing roles and responsibilities, delegating tasks, collaborative script-writing and peer correction. The project offers a unique point of focus for the week, representing a move from 'private' classroom language to language in a public sphere, enabling students to build confidence as the week progresses and inspiring in them a great sense of personal achievement. And that really is our central aim: for students to derive pleasure, confidence and fulfilment from their use of English as an effective communicative tool.

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