Are you in Secondary 1 or 2?

On our courses, you are grouped by age and language level from elementary to advanced. Our qualified, experienced teachers use a topic and task-based approach to:

• make grammar and vocabulary memorable
• build confidence through speaking in pairs and groups
• encourage independent learning and good study skills.

Course Content

These courses are suitable for students with a range of experience and confidence in English, they offer:

• topic-based materials to present and develop grammar and vocabulary in natural contexts which interest students of this age group
• strong emphasis on the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, extending language that students know
• speaking practice with a variety of activities such as role-plays, debates, interviews, class presentations, group and pair work
• writing tasks such as reports, letters, e-mails, stories, poems and articles
• project work which uses topics of interest to activate and consolidate English learned in class and develop collaborative learning skills, for example writing a newspaper, designing an ideal school and creating a poster or brochure
• interactive activities such as role-plays and communicative games which boost confidence and emphasise spoken fluency while also appealing to different learning styles
• regular assessed speaking and writing tasks to encourage you to self-assess and reflect on your own learning.

Course Aims

These courses will:

• develop confidence in speaking and writing English in real-life situations
• provide the opportunity to develop reading and listening skills in authentic contexts
• encourage interaction with other students and the teacher in an English-only environment
• consolidate and further develop grammar and vocabulary learned in school, enabling students to use new words and structures in their speaking and writing
• develop literacy skills through exposure to a range of text types that supplement the course book
• develop skills for international qualifications such as Cambridge English: Key and Preliminary exams.

Demonstrating Progress

We evaluate your child's progress through continuous assessment. Each seventeen-week semester features regular assessed speaking or writing tasks and after each assessment your child and their teacher will reflect on how they performed. After each unit of work students are given a short grammar and vocabulary test which is designed to check their progress.

A report is sent home on your child's progress at the end of each semester if they have attended 75% of classes. Our observations on learning progress and strengths during assessments help inform our comments as well as the grades we award for writing, speaking and effort/participation.

Working in Partnership

We understand that you want to be involved in and support your child’s learning. To this end we have created an outline of  the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in the learning process.

We have various means of keeping in touch with the parents of our students to ensure you are well informed about the centre and your child’s progress in class, these include:

• parent events and informal chats
• class visits
• one-to-one parent-teacher meetings
• workshops
• report cards
• newsletters
• parents information sessions
• e-mail and telephone e.g. if your child misses a class
• our website and Facebook page.

SEN (Specific Educational Needs)

We are committed to providing an inclusive learning environment in which children are supported to achieve their potential in a spirit of inclusion and acceptance. We value the abilities and achievements of all our pupils and recognise that parents hold key information and knowledge of their child.

If your child has a specific educational (or medical) need, please share this knowledge before registration.

Placement test and counselling

A placement test will be required for new students before registration in order to determine their English level. A course counsellor will then help select the course most suited to their English level. Test results are valid for six months.

Course Information

Registration for September Semester 2012

A parent's or guardian's signature is required for all new young learners (under 18) registrations (Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary courses) to acknowledge the acceptance of our terms and conditions.

Parents would need to register for students in British Council Hong Kong, Admiralty. Should parents not be able to turn up in person for registration, please download and sign the Registration Form (Secondary).