Academics and Curriculum
Our Academics & Curriculum Overview
Our school’s academic curriculum is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and engaging learning experience that enhances their English language skills. Our curriculum focuses on developing the key areas of language acquisition: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Here is an overview of our curriculum:
Foundation Level
- Introduction to basic vocabulary and grammar.
- Building fundamental reading and writing skills.
- Developing listening and speaking abilities through interactive activities.
- Introduction to phonics and pronunciation.
Intermediate Level
- Expanding vocabulary and grammar knowledge.
- Enhancing reading comprehension and writing proficiency
- Encouraging oral communication and conversational skills.
- Introduction to more complex language structures
Advanced Level
- Refining vocabulary and grammar usage.
- Developing critical reading and analytical writing skills.
- Cultivating effective speaking and presentation skills.
- Fostering advanced listening comprehension and discussion abilities.
Current Topics and Culture
- Exploring various current topics including culture, health, education, travel, and business.
- Engaging in discussions and debates on current and cultural topics.
- Developing appreciation for different cultures and perspectives.
Test Preperation
- Providing guidance and practice for standardized English language tests, Eiken and TOEFL particularly.
- Developing strategies for improving test scores.
- Focusing on test-specific skills such as reading comprehension and essay writing.
- Offering mock exams to assess progress and identify areas for improvement.
Specialized Courses
- Offering specialized elective courses based on student interests and needs.
- Examples include creative writing, public speaking, business English, and more.
- Allowing students to delve deeper into specific areas of English language learning.
Our curriculum prioritizes interactive and engaging teaching methods, incorporating multimedia resources, group activities, and real-life scenarios. We aim to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment that nurtures students’ confidence and fosters a lifelong love for the English language.
Please see our course details page for more information.
Reading
Beginner students read the alphabet and simple words and progress to longer terms and shorter sentences. Intermediate students read from textbooks, short chapter books, and other reading material. Native-level materials that promote new vocabulary and proper reading cadence are used with advanced students.
Writing
As we generally begin teaching students who have entered elementary school, our beginner students start off writing individual letters. Through workbooks and printouts, students continuously work on their writing skills. By the time students reach junior high school, they are taught how to express their opinions in writing and to write with clarity and structure.
Speaking
Students practice speaking in the lessons by interacting with the instructor and fellow students. We teach basic self-introduction phrases and use textbook repetition and flashcards with beginner students. For more advanced students, role-play activities, reading aloud newspaper article passages, and longer texts are the primary tools used in lessons.
Phonics
Phonics is the teaching of sounds made by individual letters and letter groups or blends. We start off with our younger students in learning the alphabet, short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds and then to blended sounds.
Listening
Listening skills are reinforced in the classroom by listening to the instructor's explanations and examples. Students are also exposed to different speech patterns via online and recorded voices and fellow students' interactions.