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 PARENTS STUDENTS WHAT YOU SAY ... ASSESS A SCHOOL HOW WE TEACH SOFTWARE? CLASSES SOCIAL SKILLS PERSONAL SUPPORT HOMEWORK
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Small LIVE class tutor groups 5 - 15 students. Exam preparation up to 17yrsFirst College students live in the UK, in Europe or Asia. Our English teaching ensures that students can use good, clear, formal English – and understand why it is worth the effort to learn it too. Otherwise it can seem like a sad adult torture game. But once it's clear what a superb weapon good English is when dealing with difficult authorities, obstructive companies, or awkward people anywhere, the slow detailed training makes sense. As in all our lessons we strongly encourage discussion, and personal opinion. The skills and courtesies of sharing ideas, especially where there is disagreement, are essential parts of a young person's education. Materials are provided, or are available online, so families are not asked to supply books except for the exam program.  FIRST CLASS Young students or students who have had problems are placed in the FIRST CLASS, or basic level. .Here with Shan we concentrate in English on the most basic skills of capital letters, full stops, chopping up sentences, and how to write a 250 word essay. Spelling is corrected but not pushed as if it doesn't come easily harassment can damage a student's confidence. A short list of the most common errors are taught, and the rest is encouraged to grow over time. To help foster mutual respect we investigate types of English. Teen dialects, txt, patois, etc are described as part of the huge English family of language. But formal or shared English is explained as essential both to understand each other, and impress powerful people! Comprehension is a powerful skill taught so that reading really grips the sense of a text. We use short fun news items, or articles that are interesting to this level: topics like animals, sports, games, adventures. But these basic skills are what will lead to mature skills in understanding English in very adult documents later like business letters, contracts etc Essays are set together with training in how to do them so they are not a frightening empty area where a novice gets lost. With step by step guidance an essay becomes like a lego project. Lastly students learn to write a short formal letter, in a simple but adequate style for business correspondence. HOMEWORK for ENGLISH is 1 hour a week. SENIORS Students with good study skills move up to the intermediate SENIORS level - a big shift upwards.Seniors have two English teachers Shan and Kelly. Both are familiar from the previous class. Shan's course includes a strong emphasis on organising writing tidily, so essays are developed in strict style, using control and structure to support imaginative students, and descriptive students alike. The aim is a strong essay of 500 words. Comprehension passages push and build vocabulary, description, looking further into how things are said, not just at the surface. Formal quoting is taught in the Chicago format, to prevent plagiarism, and to promote precision. Kelly's course is geared to styles of writing. She examines advertising as the art of persuasion to see how it gets its effects. This is an essential modern skill, to grasp how language is used to manipulate people. The course also looks at biography, autobiography and journal writing. Both teachers examine classic grammar, insisting this becomes a natural skill. But grammar is kept to a necessary core so as not to swamp or switch off motivation. Students are trained in descriptive and analytic writing, such as reports, reviews, and narratives. Research skills are developed to make efficient use of resources, especially the internet. Business correspondence is developed from the basic level, with more nuanced work on writing to an equal, and to a hierarchy superior. Students are invited to present lessons independently, especially in the last week of a term. This is an exciting opportunity to learn to work in a partnership or alone, to research and prepare thoroughly, to handle presentation stress, and to cope with the unexpected. Student presenters are carefully guided and monitored. SCHOLARS The exam program, "Scholars" ~ prepares for the prestigious IGCSE exams. These are better quality exams than ordinary GCSEs, and universally recognised. The exam program is a minimum of 5 terms of study (there are 3 school terms a year).The IGCSE English materials have a broader, more international content than GCSE. Building thoroughness and confidence is vital as the student will also face a similar text never seen before in the exam. Formal quoting introduced at intermediate level is reinforced, and developed to push for precise understanding so the student HAS to derive an answer from the text in the most specific way. ESSAY: An exam essay is 500 - 750 words, concisely planned not just written out without a plan, taking 30 mins to write. This is a skill that has to be built over time. As in previous levels essays are taught as step by step tasks, that build out of preparation. Final checks are heavily emphasised: these can add a whole grade! No textbook required: all materials supplied. HOMEWORK 2 hours weekly. Involves short, formal questions and essay work. To prepare for the exams students are provided with a comprehensive self test quiz which drills the necessary information they need. However the skills needed to use this information must be built up over a period of about 5 - 6 terms. Descriptions of all Exam Subjects.
Why is it called "First College" when it's a high school or secondary school? We train a strongly collegiate style of studying so that the student learns to take responsibility for their own work and deadlines. It means the transfer to later qualifications, University, or (self) employment is much easier as a result. First College UK is very much a family business. We created it to educate our own son, who is now a junior online teacher in the school! (under strict supervision) CRB checks (Standard Level) on all teachers; DP registration (Notification reference: jvl530); Please do ask for any of this to be explained. |
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