Monthly Update June 2024
Welcome to our school monthly update for June 2024. Our school offers lessons for elementary school-aged children and above. We also provide daily conversation and business English classes for adults. Customized and short-term lessons are also available for families moving abroad, business presentations, or students studying for English proficiency exams such as the Eiken, TOEFL, DuoLingo, and IELTS tests. Our classes are held at our school location in Setagaya, Tokyo. Online lessons via Zoom are also available.
Our monthly blog update includes information about our group and private lessons for our children and adult students.
Please get in touch with us at staff@bumblebenglish.com if you are interested in a trial lesson or have any questions about our school.
Lessons for Children
Our beginning-level classes are doing well. We are using a combination of the following materials: Let’s Go Level 1 textbook and workbook, Scholastic small reading books, and a phonics level 2 textbook. A lot of the progress in this class comes from regular class attendance and diligence with homework. If students can achieve both, their English level will grow along with their confidence.
We use native-level materials for a few advanced classes emphasizing reading comprehension, writing, and grammar. The students in these classes are more studious, and though the level is challenging, we support and encourage each student to do their best. Our students are also good at encouraging each other, and it is good to see some of the more advanced students helping other students in class.
Sometimes we receive requests from parents to study a particular coursework, either a textbook or for a specific English proficiency exam. Lately, we have received a request from a parent to help with the TOEFL Primary exam. This exam is for children aged 8 years and older. The tests are designed to assess young students’ school and social English-language proficiency. The test covers listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Some primary and international schools use this exam to test their students’ English language abilities.
In general, if students do well in one English proficiency exam, they will do well in all exams. The key is to understand and become familiar with the test format. So, we have been using textbooks especially made for the TOEFL Primary exam.
For our private lesson students, we customize each lesson based on the student’s needs. We have lessons for elementary, junior high school, and high school students. While most of our students come to our classroom, we are active in online learning and teach several students via Zoom. As mentioned last month, one 5th-grade elementary school student, in particular, is focused on entering an international school in Tokyo. In addition to group lessons, he is taking a private lesson with us where we have been intensely focused on his grammar and writing ability. This student is highly motivated and has been diligent in doing homework. We have introduced online English educational tools that he uses at home. We have used this particular service for advanced students and have found it very helpful for our students.
Lessons for Adults
As a small school, we cannot offer many adult lessons throughout the day. However, we can help adults interested in daily conversation, business English, or pre-graduate school preparation.
Currently, we are teaching six adults: one group lesson and four private lessons, including an online student in Paris. Our adult students have a range of abilities, and we accommodate each one with suitable lesson plans.
For example, we include material from NHK Kiso English for one adult student. These videos and scripts are exciting, and a new country and culture is introduced in each lesson. This is a great way to learn about different cultures, and because there is a lot of support for the Japanese language, this learning tool is appropriate for beginner-level students.
We have also been teaching a pre-MBA student for the past few months. At the same time, we are still working on short case studies to help this student with English discussion and critical thinking skills.
Summary
Our enrollment is ongoing, and we welcome new students throughout the year. We do our best to assign students to the appropriate level.
We encourage anyone interested in our school to contact us for a free trial lesson. Online lessons are available as well for students regardless of location.
Please read our FAQ page for detailed information about what types of students do well in our class. Unlike a typical English conversation school, our school does not focus on an “English is fun” approach to learning and does not typically include games in our learning process.
Our goal is to develop global citizens, students who are interested in the world around them and who can express themselves. We have been teaching English for over ten years and have many happy students; quite a few have studied with us for several years. However, not all students fit our approach. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions.
As always, please get in touch with us directly for information about our school: staff@bumblebenglish.com
