DEPARTMENT We have three dedicated, enthusiastic and qualified native speakers . The area co-ordinator sees all new children being admitted to the school and then liases with the class teacher and, where necssary, with the English as an Additional Language Department to provide English support. There is a system of assessment from intake through four years of teaching for beginner children and parents are aware of progress throughout the academic year. ORGANISATION We can accept children into school who have an elementary level of English. Children who have no English must undertake an intensive course, normally lasting one month, prior to full-time admission into class. At present this is an additional one-off cost for parents; although many employers will cover the expense. The materials used are designed for primary children and are colourful and fun to use. The teachers work through the medium of games ,toys and a variety of role play and video. Children who can read are given additional literacy work to do at home. In addition we have an ever increasing lending resource of story tapes, videos and simple readers. Ours is a small school and we know all of the children by name . Our department is in no way separate from the on-going education but a fully- linked vital element. We liase frequently with class teachers both formally and informally. For parents there is an open door policy and parents are encouraged to be present during assessment sessions. Language and culture are closely linked so we also provide information about classes for adults and some of the possibilities to help their child integrate into our international school. ASSESSMENT All children, including native speakers, have an interview prior to admission. This provides the school with a detailed profile of the language skills educational and social background of each child. Our students come from over twenty countries so it is essential to learn as much as possible to enable each child to gain from an international education. WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THE LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT? We aim to give your child a happy, caring environment to gain English language. We are professional, accountable and up to date with our teaching methods. Many children coming to our school are already multi-lingual and all children will be to some extent bi-lingual. Those children who have no English will take approximately a year before they "THINK" in English. We continue to provide language help for a further three years to enable all children to have "NATIVE" language. See schema. We admit children at any time during the year from age three to eleven. Children are usually placed with their peer group, regardless of the level of English and taking into account previous educational attainment. We have a whole school policy, which includes our children, to welcome and help new students to feel they belong in our school. Existing parents provide an information network to help with some of the practical issues. A child who is happy and valued will learn and EACH CHILD is unique at Elckerlyc. Those children receiving English language teaching are tested at the end of the academic year using standardised tests . This provides parent and teacher with information about language progress. This can be carried out at any time in the year where there is concern about progress. Parents are welcome to attend testing sessions! Beginner Intensive one to one/small group Target 500 words First Year Two times per week Structured English Target 2000 words Second Year One session per week Structured English Target 3000 words Third Year One session each week Vocabulary building Target 4000 words Fourth Year One session each week Bridging the gap between native and non-native speakers PARENT QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS What can I, as the parent of an ESL student, do to help my child learn English? Parents of ESL students should ensure they are kept informed of their children's progress in the English language. As progress in a second language is often dependent on progress in the first language it is important to support the development of your child's first language at home. One way to do this is by going over the work your child covers at school and discussing the material in your own language. You may also want to get books in your language which cover the same topics and concepts that your child is studying in school. As far as the second language is concerned it is important to provide your child with opportunities to use the new language. You could invite English-speaking friends to your home to play and you could rent quality English video tapes for your child to watch or watch BBC TV. Most importantly, parents should let their children know the value and advantages of gaining a second language in an increasingly multicultural world. Should I speak and read to my child in English? Parents of ESL students should continue to use the language of the home to communicate with their children. (If there are already two other languages in your home, continue to use both of them.) If parents are proficient in English, they should let their children see them using English to communicate with others. It is important that second language students see the value of bilingualism. Parents of ESL students should read to their children in their language. Skills related to reading transfer from the native language to the second language and this will help your child to learn and use English. It would also be a great help if you could listen to your child read English on a regular basis but be careful not to correct your child too much (see below), concentrate on furthering his/her enjoyment of the language.