We have been piloting this course since October 2008 with two groups, and thanks to its ongoing success we are repeating it from September 2009 with four groups. The four groups running from September 2009 are named after flowers: the Roses, Dandelions, Tulips and Daisies.

Our course is designed to simultaneously:

• expose five and six year old children to the English language and help them interact with it
• introduce their parents or carers to some basic techniques which they can use to continue the child’s English language experience at home.

The course is unique for a variety of reasons. At the British Council we realise that promoting truly effective learning at this early age requires a very specific approach, with the active involvement, support and encouragement of a parent or carer whose English language level exceeds that of the child. Therefore:

• parents or carers will join their child in the group and play an active part in the lessons
• each group will consist of seven children and seven parents or carers (i.e. 14 individuals)
• the children should be absolute beginners (A0)
• the parents or carers should have some basic English (A1+).

Central Aims

We aim to facilitate early acquisition of English in pre-school learners by:

• providing regular immersion into a child-friendly, language rich environment
• enabling parents or carers to facilitate learning outside the classroom having seen and practiced techniques in the classroom
• providing a positive and happy learning environment
• focusing on the development of listening and speaking skills
• developing a positive start to the child’s language learning journey that will truly encourage them to continue along this road with pleasure.

The child’s achievement will be judged by the parent or carer in consultation with the teacher.

Special features of the course

This course is special because we want to work with children and parents or carers at the same time so that parents and carers are able to help their child develop outside the classroom.

Parents and teachers should be confident that, provided the child is enjoying the activities, he or she is benefiting. However, at this age, the benefit to the child is not always measurable and may only become apparent later in the child’s learning experience.

We believe that, in the long term, children learn most effectively when activities are learner-centered and enjoyable and we will try to pass on techniques and activities which parents and carers can use at home.

Our lessons

The syllabus and indeed each individual lesson will be based on ‘Can Do Statements’. These are short sentences which state what we want the learner to be able to do better at the end of each lesson than at the beginning.

The lessons will make use of a variety of activity types involving music, movement, logic, craft work etc. so that children with different tendencies will benefit from each lesson.

The lessons will encourage children to enter into the learning process as conscious participants by offering learners choices where possible and by asking learners to do some classroom organization tasks themselves (arranging the floor mats, handing out pens etc).

Testing and placement of children in the groups

The carer who will accompany the child is a key part of the success of the course. They will be briefly tested to see if their English of an appropriate level (A1+). They will also be asked to sign a letter agreeing that the child should be accompanied to the lessons by the same person each lesson and that person should in a position to:

• take part in the lessons
• learn teaching techniques
• work with the children outside class.

This letter should be handed back to the British Council before any placement decisions are made.

Placement of each child on this course is decided by an experienced teacher or tester who will meet the children and play games and conduct activities together with them. This ‘tests’ each child’s suitability for the course. Based on what they observed, the teacher or tester then draws up lists of children for each class. The aim is to create successful and harmonious groups in each case.

If new clients appear during term time and a class has less than seven children then the new child and carer may be invited to attend a lesson during which the teacher assesses the suitability of the child and the carer for the existing group. The child and carer may then be able to join the group permanently if it is felt they can successfully fit in at that stage in the course.