The Learning Process

Participants in a Communicative English course are carefully guided towards their objectives from beginning to end.

At the outset, prospective participants are interviewed and given a diagnostic test to determine their objectives and present level. With this information in hand, we are able to plan the course and select the appropriate materials.

As the course gets underway, the emphasis is on interaction. Participants have lots of opportunity to practise. Grammar points are dealt with, of course, but the stress falls upon practical use.

Up-to-date and highly regarded materials are used throughout (from Oxford, Cambridge and other well-known publishers). These include the course book that participants receive, as well as audio and video material, and still more.

At the end of each lesson, the teacher makes a recording of the main items covered: these are our Memophrases. The recording is tailor-made like every other aspect of the course. It is communicative and reflects the participants’ own reality. This Memophrase recording is then taken home between lessons and listened to. It is the ideal aid to acquiring fluency and steers the participant towards natural pronunciation and intonation. The contents are cumulative so that at the end of the course, the recording contains the main points of all the lessons. Where requested, the complete Memophrase recording is transferred onto a CD, which the participants keep and use for follow-up practice and review.

The participants' progress is regularly evaluated and the original objectives can be modified or adapted according to changing needs. Moreover, student-generated evaluations augment the constant student-teacher interaction in ensuring that the course stays on track.