When a child is learning English, they will inevitably sit for a test or exam at some point in the future. Most high schools in Bulgaria now do Cambridge exams, Intermediate or First Certificate or Certificate of Advanced English. Exams could be at their school or a private language centre, or test centre, either way they will be tested in some form or another during their learning.
English has become the leading language in the world now and even though we are in Bulgaria, most Universities offer courses in English and most employers give interviews in English. English is vital nowadays for any successful career. How can LuckyKids help my child with preparation for his/her exam? Is a common question we are asked here at LuckyKids, let’s look at what children do whilst at LuckyKids summer camp.
Children who attend our summer camp will learn English if they are beginners, but if they are older and already know the language then they are the children who will do a course that is written for their level whilst at camp. These are the children who will be sitting tests or exams in the next year or two. The english grammar that they study with us is what they should know for their level and of course for their tests.
Each day at camp a different grammar point is taught or it’s a revision day. But we don’t teach it like they are taught at school, we cover the grammar as a team, there is no pressure on children and it is more relaxed at LuckyKids then school, so children tend to remember the points covered easier and quicker than they do at school.
Main stream schools have anything from twenty five students up to thirty five in a single class, with us the maximum is twelve. When a class is smaller students get better attention and tend to speak more and the atmosphere is more relaxed. All people regardless of age learn better when they are relaxed and the lessons are more fun than the normal lessons which are full of boring exercises to do.
Yes we do exercises but in a different way, in our classes the grammar point is explained via a power-point-presentation and the teacher gets the children involved by either asking questions or even getting them to present it themselves if they are capable. Once the grammar point is understood then the children try to do them on their own, then they are checked as a group, not individually like main stream schools. Our classes are interactive in most class rooms, which means they are not writing the exercises, they are typing them, using a Tablet which children love doing.
After the course is complete most students will be more confident in using English, but quite a few actually progress to the next level. Our lessons also concentrate on speaking which all students of English need more of, practice!
Practice is such a big part of learning a language. A lack of practice is a major problem in main stream schools globally, as the teachers give instructions in their native language and the students reply very rarely in English.
All our teachers are native speakers, from different parts of the UK, Australia or The USA. We only speak English, all the time! In a two week stay that is a lot of listening practice and speaking practice for children, probably more than they have ever had or will have here in Bulgaria.
All tests have a speaking part, which is a main part of any language exam. It is not just speaking that is covered but listening as well. Two weeks of only hearing English puts students in a great position, because they hear different people speak the language with different accents, instead of just their main teacher.
Fluency is very important in any language, speaking tests look for fluency, not accuracy. Fluency means to be able to communicate easily and confidently, which is where practice comes in, to build fluency you need to practice, practice and do more practice, ‘Practice makes perfect!’.
In our lessons, most of them anyway, children don’t just learn English, they also learn about a certain subject or about a certain person from history, children do a power-point-presentation or Google slides presentation on a subject that they normally pick from the ‘Theme’ of the camp.
Each session or two week stay has a different theme, like Films or The Universe etc. Children do one and half hours of lessons in the morning, followed by the same again after a break but on the theme part of the course (at the end of their stay they need to present their presentation in front of the whole class, this gives the child a great confidence boost in using the language).
Children also learn computer skills which will come in handy as Cambridge want all English tests done via computer sometime in the future. Computers are a vital part of education these days and they will get more popular as the years go on (most schools are interactive these days in The UK, with the use of mainly computers, not books and it is spreading globally).
Basically we cover all the grammar needed for the student’s level. this is a recap or revision for some students, but not all. They get lots of listening and speaking practice. The campers also get to learn phrases or idioms and new words that are not in their course books.
LuckyKids is an ALL in one English summer camp, children are only spoken to in English by all staff and they have to speak in English all the time in a relaxed enjoyable atmosphere. This is a great way for children to practice, practice and do more practice but to also learn new skills whilst having fun. Fun, is important in learning, without fun classes are mundane, long winded and not very effective. So in conclusion, LuckyKids is great for children to get into shape for their English tests or exams.
Written by
Neil Waters
(English Coordinator)
