LET'S SPEAK / LET'S WRITE BEGINS!!

October is here and the Let's Speak / Let's Write classes have begun. 

We're very happy to have Mandy with us again. She's an experienced South African teacher. She takes half the group to work on their speaking skills while the other half stays with the English teacher to work on their writing skills. In February we'll swap the groups so that everyone gets a chance to improve both. 

Students are very engaged because we plan game-like activities. Being in a small group setting allows for intensive practice and a lot of teacher attention. It is a great way to learn English!

How do you feel about...English?

I like to get to know my students as soon as the school year begins. Every year I plan some fun games for the first day to get them excited about learning English, but also, especially in the 5th grade, to get to know how they feel aboout several topics including school and especially English. 

So I label the four corners of the classroom "love", "like", "don't like", "hate" and the centre as "indifferent". As I say several things or activities students go to the corner of the classroom that corresponds to their preference. I tipycally say something like: "chocolate", "basketball", "dogs", "maths", "reading",... and I always say "school" and "English". 

An important added lesson is that all opinions are valid and should be respected. I have to model this by reassuring those who say they dont' like or even hate English. My goal is to try and change their minds during the school year. It's only September. There's plenty of time.