Teaching and Learning
As teachers, we think of our main activity as teaching. Good teachers, however, are not simply providers of lessons but facilitators of learning – this includes choice of materials, planning schemes of work, guiding out-of-class work, providing feedback and offering encouragement and support.
Our methodology practises communicative language teaching; acknowledging that languages are acquired more than they are consciously learned. In other words, the ability to communicate is more important than metalinguistic knowledge.
Fluency should have the edge over accuracy, but students want and need regular feedback and correction. The effort required to acquire language skills successfully is considerable and students expect teachers to provide guidance and correction. Students often comment that they would like their pronunciation to be corrected more regularly.
A classroom is a safe environment for practising language skills and for being adventurous. When students make mistakes, encourage them to see it as a normal part of the learning process. Learning a language is not like learning maths; students can’t learn a language structure and always reproduce it correctly. It takes time and practice to assimilate language. Skills-based lessons help the process by giving the opportunity to see and use language in action, albeit in a controlled way and assimilate natural usage.
Learners come with different ideas, aptitudes, preconceived ideas and expectations about learning and about languages. It is part of successful teaching to understand the expectations of learners, to introduce them to our way of teaching and to manage the transition.
Outcomes
The speed at which students learn depends on a number of variables, including learning background, cultural background, length of course, motivation, and existing level of English. The majority of the students are motivated, having clear learning objectives. These are often defined by the long-term goals of their education or the desire to develop their English for their career. These goals are often, particularly for the younger students, defined by their country’s educational system. Students’ placement tests and accompanying Needs Analysis questionnaires are stored class by class in the staff room and can be referred to by teachers.
While the length of a student’s stay has possibly the greatest impact on how much progress they/we can expect them to make during their course, we endeavour, through supervision and guidance from the academic team, to let students know how they are progressing, where they stand in terms of the levels in the College and any exams they are preparing for in order, what they can do to make better progress and elicit from them what we as a College can do to help them achieve their goals.
Nationalities
Different language groups/nationalities have different strengths and weaknesses. It is not uncommon for students to be more tolerant of errors made by their compatriots than those made by other nationalities. This is particularly true with mispronunciation. It is important that we stress tolerance, respect and the fact that English is an international language. Try to encourage integration by always mixing nationalities and never allowing, if it can be helped, two students from the same language group to work as a pair.
Remember that almost 50% of English vocabulary is of French/Latin origin and if necessary, remind students of this if they grow exasperated with students who do not have this advantage.
Above all, remember we have an “English only” rule. At any time, in any place, whether in class or not, if you hear a student speaking a language other than English Ask them politely but firmly to speak English!
Placement and First-Day procedures
Apart from some closed groups, all students start lessons on a Monday. The procedure for their first day is broadly the same for almost all students irrespective of which course they are doing. The exception is students on the Gold Course (for students aged 40 and over). Given the students’ differing needs and the fact that many of the students may have been out of formal education for a significant period of time, There the placement takes the form of a conversation between the student and the Gold Course Teachers, if possible online before the course starts.
For all other students the morning of their first day and placement takes the following form:
0900 - 0915 -Students arrive in the school and report to Reception. They hand over their passport or ID card which is checked. Visa passport holders have their passport and visa photocopied and retained by the College.
- 0930 Induction (welcome talk)
- 1000 Test
- 1115 Break
- 1115 Induction Part 2
- 1230 Join allocated class
As part of the first day, all students will complete an Emergency Contact form (paper or online). Their details are then put onto their Student Record on the College computer system and these are also printed and kept in the College Emergency bag.
Of the sections in the Placement test, the essay has been shown to be the most reliable, supported by the listening. Occasionally, the Principal/Principal may decide to conduct a short interview with a student, particularly if the placement test has thrown up questions about the student’s level and which class is best-suited for their needs.
Once the new students have completed the written section this should be given to the Principal, who will start looking at the placement of the students. While the students are doing the Grammar section the supervising teacher can mark the Listening section, which should then be passed to the Principal. The students’ level of English and age (on Junior courses) are considered when placing them.
More information about the student’s level can be sought informally during the morning break and the induction session which follows, however, it would be impractical and unnecessary to include a spoken element in the test, particularly in summer when intake numbers are highest.
It needs to be remembered that a placement test is not a diagnostic test and, the busier the College, the greater the potential overlap between adjacent levels.
Students are issued with a Student Folder on their first day. Students will join their classes as soon as their class has been decided and they have received their Induction.
For many closed and Junior courses, the first afternoon includes a guided tour of York. This gives us to chance to help new students orientate, note the way to places they will be visiting, know where the main transport hubs are and get a sense of where the College is in relation to the centre. It also allows us to emphasise good traffic sense. The students may have a small amount of controlled free time in Parliament Street. This is a good opportunity to visit the Bureau de Change in M&S, the banks and phone shops if they have SIM card issues or need to buy anything they may have forgotten to bring with them (e.g. electrical plug adaptors from Boots, which are also available in the College café) Occasionally students’ luggage may have gone astray during their journey and this offers them an opportunity to buy “emergency clothes” etc.
Levels
The number of levels running at Melton College is a product of three factors, the number of students, the age of the students and the level of the students. Levels are broadly defined as follows:
|
Level |
Summer Name |
IELTS |
Cambridge ESOL |
CEFR |
|
Beginner* |
N |
1~2 |
|
A0 |
|
Elementary |
O |
3 |
|
A1 |
|
Pre-Intermediate |
T |
4 |
KET |
A2 |
|
Intermediate |
L |
5 |
PET |
B1 |
|
Upper Intermediate |
E |
6 |
FCE |
B2 |
|
Advanced |
M |
7-8 |
CAE/CPE |
C1 |
* Not always available
If a student wishes to move class, they need to speak to the Principal. The request will then be considered. The Principal will ask teachers for their opinions as regards a possible move before meeting with the student concerned. Teachers who think a student would benefit from a change of level or class should also speak to the Principal.
Student Progress & Assessment Criteria & Procedures
Students on our courses generally do not attend for long enough (2 or 3 weeks) for the issue of moving to a higher level to appear. Given the system of continuous enrolment on these courses, as the make-up of classes changes due to students arriving and departing, leaving some continuing students) the Principal consults with the class teachers and they look at the needs and level of the individual students when deciding whether students should move up to a more difficult class.
Continuous Entry
New students will join classes most Monday mornings and others will leave each Friday. This means that work must not continue from one week to the next. Classes should be planned as a self-contained weekly block while respecting the longer programme.
Classes usually follow a four-week cycle, although particular patterns of continuous enrolment may affect this and the cycle extended or contracted to reflect this. Returning students may also influence this. The Principal will let teachers know if this is the case. However, as most learners attend for two or three weeks, this means that, assuming the placement is correct, the composition of a class will have changed completely after four weeks and work from the first week of a four-week programme can then be repeated.
Reports and Certificates
All students get a Certificate that states their course and period of study, plus a short, written Report. However, students on some closed groups will only receive a certificate as their course is too short to make a report from their teacher practical or useful. A student’s report is written by one of their teachers, as directed by the Principal. Reports must be completed by 1700 on the Thursday of the student’s final week. To find student reports, look in Academic/Preview Reports in the College System.
You should include:
- Comments about any improvement
- Comments about positive attitudes and effort
- Comments about contributions to the class
- Your name and the date
- Reports should be at most 10 lines as more than this will not fit on the report. Usually 4 or 5 sentences are enough.
You should not include:
- The student’s name and level. This is already auto-printed and wastes space on a short report form.
- Comments about classroom behaviour. It is the teacher’s job to manage classroom behaviour. If a student is causing problems which are disrupting the class, the teacher should bring the student to the Principal. The report is not the place for negative comments.
- Reports should avoid ‘cut and pasting’ stock phrases as students will compare them
If a student requires a report (for their sponsor, educational institution etc.) that states their level and number of hours studied, the Principal will edit the report to reflect this. Reports will state that the student has studied a course for x hours at CEFR Level X, rather than they have achieved CEFR Level x.
Reports on short courses will tend to be positive and encouraging but do not worry if, in the time you have known the students, there is little you can add. In this case teachers should mention any piece of work that was particularly good, and contributions the student made to the class, suggestions for future self-study and wishing them well strikes the correct note.
When a large number of students (especially during the Summer/Easter/October courses) or a closed group are leaving their certificates may be presented to them in a small “ceremony” on the College terrace at lunchtime on Friday. When only a few students are leaving they will be given out in class on Friday. Teachers should let the Principal know if any students are leaving before their last lesson on Friday so their reports can be prepared and distributed earlier.
