Language is the key that opens the world. That is why we strive to ensure that our students are fluent in English. Based on the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodology, we change the approach to teaching and conduct lessons in a more multifaceted way as part of integrated learning. This is one of the most interesting approaches to learning a foreign language.
“As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In grade 4, before finishing primary school, students take the A1 Movers (YLE Movers) Test.
To confirm the level of knowledge gained, we invite representatives of the Cambridge Examination Centre to conduct the test.
The test consists of 3 parts (Listening, Reading & Writing, Speaking) and tests all 4 language skills. Children receive an internationally recognised certificate.
More details can be found here.
Practical tests at the end of the school year
The main function of language is communication. Therefore, we have created and implemented a Speaking Test at the end of each semester, twice a year.
At the end of the first semester, in December, teachers record a video interview with each student, where they talk about the topics they have studied during the semester. By saving the videos, we can track how students’ speaking skills develop from year to year.
At the end of the second semester, we hold an on-site practical exam, where children are exposed to real-life situations and communicate in English. So the children go all the way from check-in to boarding a plane at the airport, order food and drinks in restaurants, and are able to solve the problem if they get the wrong order or find foreign objects in their food. In hotels, zoos, and on television, children can see the practical use of the language, which certainly motivates them to learn it.
Traditions and holidays
In our English lessons, we use a variety of methods, interactive resources, audio and video libraries. All this to make our lessons as interesting and informative as possible.
We have also created a calendar of events with interesting international holidays and competitions, which we mention and hold activities dedicated to them.
Among our favourite competitions are: Guinness Records, where we set records for our school in speed reading, the ability to name the most synonyms/antonyms or words on a topic, and Spelling Bee, where children go through qualifying rounds and compete for the title of the spelling champion. Such competitions help to motivate students and make them interested in learning the language.
She graduated from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hryhorii Kochur Department of Translation Studies and Contrastive Linguistics) and the University of Warsaw (Faculty of Education, Teaching English to Young Learners, CLIL). She has over 14 years of teaching experience.
“I love it when children’s eyes “burn” in the classroom. I like to find an approach to everyone. I want our children to not to know what a “language barrier” is and to discover the world through their language skills.”
